So the plan was for my 60th birthday to be somewhere in South East Asia, and I made it. Today on my birthday I am travelling through Pakse, Laos. Wow - what a journey it has been, I have shed so much more than just physical weight and I am feeling stronger and more alive than ever - amazing!
Taking a step back to Thailand, the route I travelled went from Bangkok, Chon Buri, Pattaya, Rayong, Ko Samet, Chanthaburi, Trat, Cambodia, Hat Lek, onto Cambodia with Boeng Preav, Sihanoukville, Krong Chbar Mon, Phnom Penh, and from there up through to Laos.
The last thing I did whilst in Bangkok was to have a barbeque close to the sky train station. For only 200baht, you can eat as much as you like! I found it to be the best restaurant in Bangkok for less than $10 - and a lot of fun :)
 |
| Another feast! |
This part of Bangkok is quite arty, the black statue is made of old biking tyres, and even the toilets are entertaining - a great place for tourists. The following morning I left Bangkok for Pattaya.
On my way out I passed a very famous elephant temple just outside of Bangkok. I decided to take an offering of a garland of flowers to ask the gods for a good and safe journey. The three headed elephant - I had no idea what it means, but it is very big! And in the front is a smaller elephant covered with gold where you place your offerings.
The trip from Pattaya to Phnom Penh went without a hitch - and from there it was on to Pakse, Laos. The plan was to cycle from Phnom Penh, Srei Santhor, Kampong Cham, Snoul, Kraite, Strung Treng, Laos border, Don Det, Don Khong, Wat Phu and finally Pakse.
From Phnom Penh I followed the big Mekong River. The next 3000km to Chengdu I tried to follow the Mekong as close as possible; that meant a lot of ferries to go to the side of the river, which is the best way to cycle from Thailand into Cambodia.
The roads and traffic got a lot worse, particularly on the highways, where they bump you off the road, and a lot of the roads are under construction which means a lot of dust, I had to design special head gear for that leg of the journey.
When I arrived in Kratie, Cambodia I was fortunate enough to see the Irrawaddy dolphins; there are two groups in the world of these rare creatures, one in Cambodia and Laos in the Mekong River and one in Bangladesh. I tried to take a photo but they didn’t want to jump out the water for me ok guys next time.
From Kratie I went to Treng which is close to Laos. At the hostel I stayed in they were making a new concrete road - not with power tools, but hand made with concrete mixers and a lot of man power - that is hard work!
 |
| Hand made concrete road making |
After Treng I travelled over another very dusty road to Laos and ended up in a guest house 20 km after the border. I met a couple of people from the BBC who were making a documentary about fishing on the Mekong river. There are apparently 40 different ways of fishing on the Mekong - really amazing.
The BBC guide gave me a tip to go to the Don Det islands - what an amazing experience! This is a must if you are in that area. No cars, they pick you up from the shore with a long boat, put your bike in it and bring you to the other side.
 |
| Beautiful waterfalls at the Mekong River |
 |
| Peaceful Mekong riverside |
I jumped from island to island to get to the other side of the river on my way to Pakse. It is almost Spring time here and the farmers are putting the rice out in the fields. I have now cycled 9450 km and one of my wishes to be cycling through South East Asia when I turned 60 has come true - I want to thank everybody for their support and especially Daphne, who has followed me everywhere I go, always cheering me on - thanks dear, I love you.
Greetings from Pakse
