Vientiane – Pak Ngum – Dokphet Hotel. – 78 km
I woke to a bright, sunny Sunday morning and hurriedly packed up.
My urgent departure was twofold: I wanted to get underway before
more rain set in and before Vientiane woke up. Seeing I was early, I
decided to swing by Buddha Park, situated just outside town on the
banks of the Mekong River. The previous time I went there, it was
along a terribly potholed dirt road, and I wasn’t sure I could get
there, taking the rain of the past few days.
I was, therefore, surprised to find a new paved road and was grinning
from ear to ear. Soon, however, I noticed the flooding, and most
structures between the road and the river were already underwater.
Thus, it was no surprise to find Buddha Park nearly completely
submerged. Still, I continued along the new road, even though I was
unsure if it would lead me to Route 13, the main road south to
Cambodia. I sure hoped so, as I didn’t want to land on a muddy dirt
track.
You may wonder why I didn’t just ask the people if the road to Route
13 was paved. I did try a few times, but they just smiled politely. The
signs of flooding increased, and I noticed that the Military was called
in to try and stem the flood waters by packing sandbags along the
road. Still, the road was flooded in places, but I could get through.
Eventually, I was delighted to find that the road spat me out on Route
- My delight was short-lived as it was in such poor condition that it
was downright dangerous. Not only is it a busy, narrow road,
jampacked with busses, trucks, and cars, but the road has fallen in
disrepair and now sports potholes the size of small cars. I kid you
not! Luckily, I caught up with a “two-wheel tractor,” for lack of a
better word, and sat in his slipstream for a few kilometres until he
turned off.