Day 74! Alrighty! It’s time for another day of travel. It’s nice leaving early and arriving with time to do things in a new town! I got to explore a bit of Thakhek before I head out on the famous Thakhek Loop tomorrow. We’ll see how it holds up to the rides of Vietnam and the ones I’ve completed in Laos already! But that’ll be tomorrow.

My alarm went off at 7am! Nope, this wasn’t an accident… I set it!

I got up, got dressed, and stepped out of my room where a Laotian lady was getting ready to knock on my neighbor, Bryce’s room. She started speaking to me in fluent French and I was able to catch enough of it to understand she was trying to see if he was ready for breakfast.

Eventually Bryce answered the door half awake and she said it was time to go! So Bryce told her in a few minutes and he went and got ready. I ended up chatting to this lady in broken French about my stay and where I was heading, the usual conversation. This was my first realization that, of course…, Laos was colonized by France.

I then hopped on my motorbike and rode four minutes to a nearby gym, Fit Factory!

When I arrived I honestly wasn’t sure if it was open… but after stepping in and yelling Sabaidee, I was responded with a bonjour!

The gym was open and I enjoyed a very nice workout in an old school style gym that felt like it should’ve been facing the beach in California!

I finished up a great workout and enjoyed a refreshing protein shake! There’s a temple directly across the street, so I wandered over to check it out. I didn’t step in because the monks were at work rebuilding things and I was not dressed appropriately. But it looked like it had a gorgeous lawn hidden deep within.

I got back to my room and packed up! I decided to skip showering after my workout because I was just going to get hot and sweaty again on the ride.

And just as I expected, it only took loading up my motorbike to start profusely sweating again!

I set off on my 124 kilometer ride. It was only 9 am and it was already 84 degrees Fahrenheit out… and quickly climbing.

I started my drive down the city streets of Savannakhet. The roads quickly changed into ones not as nicely paved as the city roads as I reached outlying towns. And then eventually I hopped back onto the same highway I road all of yesterday!

At the hour mark I was about halfway to my destination! So I pulled over for gas to ensure I was good to go for my last half of the drive.

I stopped to use the restroom and enjoyed a sweet snack on a package of the cookies I got the other day.

After a nice bit of relaxing, I got back on my motorbike and set off for the last stretch of the journey! This stretch was filled with similar scenery but had a splash of green to it as I passed by a thriving farm field amongst all the dry ones.

The ease of the drive came to an abrupt halt around 30 minutes outside of the city, as I rode into a construction zone where the road became unbearably bumpy and hazardous!

I spent the next few kilometers carefully navigating this treacherous terrain and just hoping it would end soon.

At one point I hit a bump and one of my water bottles (not my treasured green one) went flying off my bike and onto the side of the road. So I had to stop and pick it up.

Eventually, I made it back to paved roads and rolled into the town of Thakhek!

But as I approached my hostel I heard a rattling of a plastic bag, looked down, and noticed my cookies had fallen out somewhere along the way! I was very disappointed because I was enjoying them, but I didn’t take the time to go look for them because I had no clue when they fell out. I’ll get more at some point!

I arrived at Bamboo Hostel Thakhek just before noon! I checked in and noticed a guitar behind the counter! So after changing into shorts I started strumming away to reward myself on a good, safe drive!

The adrenaline of the ride finally wore off and hunger started setting in. So I put down the guitar and went out into the streets of Thakhek to find food!

As it kinda seems is becoming a trend, the first two restaurants I went to were closed! So I kept wandering and found a noodle soup restaurant facing the Mekong River and sat down for a bowl!

I’ll be honest… soup wasn’t my first choice on such a hot day. But this soup was really good and the broth wasn’t scalding hot, it was almost refreshing!

I sat enjoying my food and the view in front of me. What I was staring at was not only the beautiful Mekong River, but also Thailand!! I’m that close that I can see clearly across and into the country that made me fall in love with South East Asia! I really can’t wait to get back there and better yet, enjoy it with my cousins Ben and Sam!

After lunch, I was craving a smoothie. So I found a nearby cafe where a review said their blueberry smoothie was a “MUST try.”

It wasn’t bad, but it was a pretty tart smoothie. I’m glad I TRIED it, but I can’t say it was a MUST try. While enjoying my smoothie I wandered around a few nearby sites before finishing off my smoothie in the shade of a gazebo overlooking the river.

After finishing my smoothie, I hurried back to my hostel where I finally took a shower! A shower has never felt so good and I relished in for quite some time!

After finally getting out, I laid in bed for the next few hours reading more of my book and planning my Thakhek Loop! This journey will take me the next three days and I’m very glad I decided to take a look at homestays because most were booked out!

I didn’t book my bed for tomorrow because I want to leave myself some room for flexibility. Most people take the first day stopping at many caves between Thakhek and Thalang, and ending their day one in Thalang. However, I can’t say I’m too enticed by more caves after seeing so many in Vietnam. So I may take day one all the way to Lak Sao, which would make my day two a lot nicer! It’ll all depend on how I feel after the other stops along the way!

I did book my bed for my second night on the loop because this one is sitting right next one of (if not the main) attraction, the Konglor Cave! A 7.5 km long cave that you take a boat through to explore!

Of course, I’m doing a revised loop just like I did for the Ha Giang to make it easier to get to my next location and not back track all the way to the beginning. But I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself and you’ll see what I’m talking about in a couple of days!

I waited till after sunset today to avoid the heat and then headed out for dinner! I wandered a few minutes down the road to a night market I had seen closed down earlier in the day.

I started my evening of eating with a 35,000 Kip meal of chicken and basil, one of my favorite dishes from Thailand! I guess since we’re so close to the border the dishes seep over.

I still was hungry so I grabbed a mango smoothie for 25,000 Kip and duck with rice for 35,000 Kip. This totaled the evening of eating to around $4 for a lot of food! Since I skipped breakfast I was okay with splurging a little.

I got back to the hostel and sat outside, playing more guitar, and sipping the rest of my smoothie. I played until a guy came over to put on his shoes and I asked him if he was coming or going so I could pick his brain about the loop.

He was going, so this worked out perfectly! He gave me some suggestions on what he thought was good and not so good. He also told me to check out a “cool pool” so that was added to my trip list as well!

After he left, I thought the rest of my night would be spent alone. But out of nowhere another traveler came out of the hostel, saw me playing guitar, and asked if I wanted a beer! I couldn’t pass on a free beverage so I ended up joining her and her friend in the back of the hostel by the pool!

Their names are Sam and Guy. Sam is from the US and Guy is from Israel (two days in a row meeting a Guy from Israeli)! We ended up chatting late into the night and there’s a chance we ride the loop together, but I probably will be leaving earlier than them. I have a feeling our paths will cross again though!

Also, Bryce decided to skip the Thakhek loop and head further north and then go back to Vietnam because he wants to avoid the smoky air that’s around during burning season. So I’ll be starting the loop solo!

It was another great, full day! I’m very glad I could get another workout in, it’s already helping my sleep and my appetite too! On top of that, I’m starting to finally meet more travelers now that I’m in more sought out areas. As fun as it would be to do the loop with others, I’m looking forward to riding it solo, doing the stops I want to do, and at the pace I want to do it! Once I get to the next 3 towns I’ll be looking forward to more group outings and hangouts though!

Get ready for some more motorbike filled adventures over the next few days, with hopefully some impressive views!

– Elie