Step, Huay Xai > Luang Namtha (195km, 3 days)

What a change! I always thought Northern Thailand was the hard part but I was wrong. The first two days in Laos was so hilly that I had to push my bike several times. At that time I thought: “Was it a good idea to get here?”. Fortunately, I met some other cyclists travelling the opposite way so I didn’t felt alone. It gave me motivation to make it! Bloody hills!

Roadhouse > Nam Fa (72km)

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That second day in Laos is on the list of the toughest day I’ve done in my whole trip. The road is in very good conditions but most of the slopes have a 10% steepness (and sometimes more I’m sure). When the weather becomes hot it’s barely possible to push the bike. Fortunately, every uphill are following by nice downhills :-) Today I could observe with more details how Laos people live. Of course, their habitations doesn’t look as solid as Thailand but the people seem to live well. Especially the kids who say hello every time they see me and any cyclist I’m sure. Some of them run next to the road and raise their hands so we can do “high five” haha.

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Ban Saeo > Thailand border (47km) > Laos border (3km by bus) > Roadhouse (53km)

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Big day today, I’ve done much more kilometres than expected. This morning, I’ve covered the 47km that separated me to the border. I had one gentle hill few kilometres after I started and then all the way was flat. Then, I went directly towards the immigration office. I realised that my visa ended on the 4th so I had to pay 500baht (about 13€) for this extra day. I’ve read online that for one day the immigration would let me go but that was not the case today. That’s my fault, I should I checked more carefully. Another surprise is they did not let me cycle on the bridge. I had to catch a bus and pay for that… Finally I arrived on the other side of the Mekong, organised my VOA (Visa On Arrival) and started my journey through the mountains in Laos :-)

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