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I had hoped to catch up with David who I had ridden into Laos with.
He had stayed a few days longer in Luang Prabang with his noted Blues singer girlfriend, Meow.
But he was having electrical problems with his Africa Twin and had broken down twice before hiring a pickup to bring him and his 14 year-old beast down to Vientiane.
So I set off just after dawn leaving Vientiane before the morning’s traffic got underway.
The last few days had seen periods of torrential rains and it wasn’t long before it started spitting and then raining properly.
Traffic was light and I was able to make good progress in spite of the rain.
Heading south-east the road only connected with the Mekong a few times. At Thakek, almost half-way,
I pulled into the sleepy riverside town for coffee and toast.
Filling up at the local Caltex the bike ran poorly until the next refill a hundred miles or so further south.
My Californian mate Jim, who runs bespoke dirt bike rides had warned me of adulterated fuel, even from ‘reputable’ filling stations.
If you ever into adventurous dirt riding you can contact him through
www.remoteasia.com
Riding Route 13 south on the good Chinese road, apart from boredom there were the natural hazards of chickens, goats dogs, hogs & kids.
But it was the cows and water buffalo, whose tendency to bolt across the road meant a cautious use of the throttle.
The burning season has begun and the air was filled with smoke, getting into my nostrils making me sneeze violently in the helmet and adding further visual impediment to my already bug-splattered helmet.
It was late afternoon when reached I Pakse, the southernmost town in Laos, just in time to watch the sun slip slowly down behind the Mekong and Thailand.
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