January 10, 2024
Jan. 10th - Vientiane to Nong Khai
Welcome back to Thailand to me!!! Yay!!! But first, how I got here. On my ride into Vientiane I tried using my big chainring in the front (a rarity) but it kept squeaking away. When I got here, I asked Michael if he could look at it. Of course, out on our ride last night, it didn't make a sound. He double checked it and said it's set perfectly. I'm guessing dirt was somehow playing a factor. Much to my surprise though, he mentioned he adjusted my brakes. A nice surprise. I had noticed on my last big descent that I was squeezing a ton to slow myself down, you know, to not miss those sharp curves! He also adjusted the position of the brake levers. Guess what, now my handlebar bag doesn't press against the cable either which ultimately breaks the housing and I need everything replaced. Umm, why hasn't any bike shop thought of this before? Anways, I left there pretty happy about the fixes.
He'd also given me the lowdown on the roads to the border. I opted to stick to the main highway rather than the river road. I rode by the US Embassy and stopped and security walked right up. I asked if I could take a picture because sometimes they frown on that. They did. No picture. I continued on and eventually took a break just a few miles before the turn to pass through Laos immigration. Stamped out pretty quickly with no issues.
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Remember how I wasn't allowed to bike across the last Friendship Bridge? Well, this one is no problem to cycle across so off I went. I had read a blog (maybe two) where people crashed on the railroad tracks because of the angle. I made sure cross at a 90 degree angle. After the bridge, I see lanes for buses and cars. I start to go to the car lane and the guys indicated to park my bike and go to the window that stated with was for ambulances and something else. I think the charter buses too. I could see some lady was going to totally cut in front of me so I edged her out with my handlebar bag and moved to the window first. Nice try woman. 😂 Wait your turn! The guy looks over my passport, hands me paperwork and then sends me over to window 5A. I'd read in other blogs that there is a new 100B fee they are changing. No one is sure if it's legit or not, but I was guessing not. He gave me my arrival form to fill out and two full size pieces of paper although one of the guys had already stamped my passport as I checked the date of the visa exempt entry. (I get 30 days for free.) I fill out the paperwork and then he tells me 100B. He had given me the big piece of paper indicating I need to save it until I depart Thailand. I ask him what is the fee for and he indicates my bike. I tell him I arrived with my bike from America and I did not pay a fee, why now? He spoke little English, but his solution was to type into Google translate "fee." Anyways, I won the battle and he took the big papers back and indicated I could go. I'm guessing it's not as official as they want to make it! Grrrr.
Just as an fyi for people that don't know, it is a common scam at border crossings to add on miscellaneous fees for ridiculous things. So far, I have avoided paying them. I don't want to contribute to the corruption.
I went back to the car lane and the guy asked if I had my papers stamped and I just indicated yes. I'm not stopping for anyone at this point if I can help it. Went alongside a car and then realized it was stopped for customs. I kind of looked back at the guy with a inquisitive look like, "Am I good?" He motioned me to keep going. And just like that, I'm back in Thailand.
I turned left onto the road where the sign indicated the way to Nong Khai and within a couple of minutes I hear a dog barking. Didn't see one though and then I check my mirror. Oh, he's coming! I slow down/stop and yell a firm "no" at him and then some other people yelled at the dog too. Like I said, "Welcome to Thailand." 😂
My hotel is really close and it's early so I detour back to a 7-11 I saw. I chose the Park and Pool Resort hotel (via Agoda) because it had a swimming pool and the reviews were great. I knew it wasn't in the thick of things, but I didn't mind. I booked a little villa figuring it was easier to have my bike with me than if I booked in the hotel building. No problem.
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I had some snacks then headed off to the pool. It was a little cold, but it's big and in a beautiful garden setting. I already knew I was taking an extra day here, but the surroundings sure did make me want to take another day!
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Today's ride: 19 miles (31 km)
Total: 481 miles (774 km)
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