Laos to Thailand

I'm on the train. The 6.20pm from nong khai to Bangkok.  its a sleeper night train.

The last few days have been good. I got to savenakhet and stayed at a hotel the Australian guy recommended. Bit of a gamble because he was a bit annoying but I gave it a go.  Surprise surprise he was there.  We went for a drink and had a look at a local guesthouse. There was a teenager plying badminton in the yard so I asked if I could join in, we had a bit of a knock around, he was a pretty good player.

The next day I rode to tha kaek, it was 125km and a bit of a slog.  the longest day so far on the bike.  I got up early, set off when the sun was rising and finished when it was setting.  The bike is slow going, only having one gear is a bit restrictive. It is OK on the uphills but on the flat and down hill it is geared too low.  It limits my speed about 10-12 mph. 

I had a few mothers offer me there daughters.  I turned them down.  I ended up having a fair few drinks along the way, thats what kept me going I think.  Each stop was a water and a beer :-)

I got to tha kaek, and stayed in  posh hotel.  I was planning my next few days before Helen gets out and I found a muay Thai cub in hua hin.  the nectar day I cycled to the bus station, and got a bus to Vientiane.  It was a bus journey from hell. I literally sat sweating my Boll#@ks off for 7 hours with no legroom.  Then found a hotel with a room that stank of piss and a toilet full of mozzys. 

I cycled from Vientiane to the Laos/Thai friendship bridge funded by the Australians. It joins Laos and Thai over the Mekong river.  I had  a good result at the border, I was expecting only a 15 day visa which would of meant I would of had to pay for an extension but they stamped 30 days into my passport!!  I rode to the train station in nong khai and booked my ticket to Bangkok, then spent the rest of the afternoon in a bar beside the Mekong river.

Now I'm on the train to Bangkok, I hope the restaurant car turns into a party wagon like the Chiang mai train!