Vieng Kham – Thakhek - 104 km
I had an incredibly restless night. I had just settled into bed around
midnight when I was startled awake by an unexpected knock on the
door at 1 a.m. It turned out to be a mistaken visit, but the adrenaline
rush kept me wide awake. Unable to fall back asleep, I whiled away
the early hours watching YouTube until I finally managed to turn off
the lights at 3 a.m. My attempts to rest were further thwarted as I
found myself awake before 6 a.m., lying in bed and listening to the
relentless drumming of heavy rain outside. The downpour finally
relented around 9 a.m., and I got underway.
By 10 a.m., I was drenched in sweat, labouring up the little inclines.
After covering about 50 kilometres, it dawned on me that I
desperately needed to stop and refuel, having had very little sleep
and no breakfast. If I wanted to reach Thakhek, sustenance was a
must. Following an omelette on rice at a local restaurant, the weather
took a turn, and I encountered road construction with ominous clouds
looming in the distance. Thankfully, the roadwork concluded after five
kilometres, and the threatening clouds dissipated.
It was a stunning journey, with the magnificent Annamite Range
always gracing my left side. Stretching across approximately 1,100
kilometres through Laos, Vietnam, and a small region in northeast
Cambodia, the range offered a breath-taking display of typical
Vietnamese scenery.
I rolled into the riverside town of Thakhek at around 5 p.m., secured
an affordable room at the Mekong Hotel, and settled into a family
room on the ground floor. Famished, I dined at the hotel's outdoor
restaurant, savouring the view of the swift-flowing Mekong River and
the sparkling city lights of Thailand.