I guess this will serve as an introduction as any. I write this half-drunk at Bangkok airport, in between flights. I turned down a night out on the town in return for a little solitude and a slightly greater chance of making my 6:00 AM flight to Udon Thani.

This is a long deserved holiday. Four weeks cycling in Laos and Cambodia. It is a long overdue rest away from it all. I am escaping an intolerable colleague, who only today treated me like a dog in front of my students and boss, and some weird stalker who calls twenty times a day yet won’t say a word whenever I answer. I need to distress. I hope that the cycling may help to relieve some of it.

This is probably my first trip of which I have planned so much. That said, this is my first cycling trip in excess of three days. But it is as yet entirely planned. There are still a few uncertainties of which I haven’t even begun to plan. I’ve winged it before.

This was, originally, a solo trip. Indeed I am quite alone whilst writing this now. I did invite my friend Ken along, my cycling buddy in Taiwan. At first he couldn’t come but then jealousy started to overcome his sense of logic. He booked a flight to leave nine days after mine and to return on the same day, due to work commitments. Two days after he booked his flight he finds out that his boss got confused and he could leave a week early after all. He was unable to change his ticket date though.

Two or three days ago Ken informs me that he might be able to meet up with me a little earlier. His application for residency has been denied and he will need to do a visa run sooner. So maybe he’ll meet me in Vientiane. Maybe a little further down. It is all very uncertain for him until he comes to Bangkok in three days time and tries to get another visa at the Taiwan consulate, or whatever office they call themselves as Thailand do not recognize them as a separate sovereign state. Heck, even I almost landed in trouble trying to leave Taiwan. I was taken aside at passport control because some government agency had failed to cancel a disused re-entry permit. Don’t worry though as I have another, valid, one.

So yeah, the plan for the next few days I catch a 6: 00 AM flight to Udon Thani. Then I buy a bicycle. Then I ride the 55km to the border, over the friendship bridge, and into Vientiane. Then I plan to book a flight up to Luang Prabang. I’ll take the bus back down to Vientiane, via Vang Vieng, spending a couple of days in each. I have pretty much decided to leave my bike somewhere in Vientiane. I do not want to do any long distance cycling in these few days and figure that it will only prove to be a hindrance on the plane and buses.

So that’s about it. Saturday is sure to be one long random day. I’m not sleeping tonight so I’m not quite sure how I will handle everything tomorrow. At least I won’t have to put up with the crap that Ken has to go through.

One night at the airport.

Luang Prabang: Only non-cycling tourist stuff here

Sunday January 15, 2006

14—01 I just awoke from a nap so am not quite all ther

Olete lõpetanud tasuta lõigu lugemise. Kas soovite edasi lugeda?