The change of culture and climate from China to Laos could not be greater. We are pleasantly surprised.

Just a few kilometres after the border we are already in the middle of the jungle of the provinces of Oudômxai and Louangphabang. Not a single square metre that isn't covered with deep green plants, and a road that squeezes its way through the undergrowth. At 35 degrees and over 85% humidity, the sweat pours out of our pores. Our shirts and shorts have long been dripping wet, and the Brooks leather saddle has changed colour from light brown to deep black.

Again and again a cheerful "Sabaidee" reaches us, from little huts, from the roadside or from somewhere in the thicket. These are spontaneous calls from Lao people with shining eyes and warm laughter. The children jump towards us and slap our hands for a "give me 5". We feel welcome. People use what nature provides, and the "huts" are built and furnished accordingly simply: 4 posts, a few wooden slats, woven walls and anything that will make a roof. Running water is fetched from the village well. A washing line turns out to be a live power cable, and the satellite dish gives away that there's a TV. The people seem happy and content.

In Laos there are lots of places to stay, and they are extremely cheap, so we do without camping in rice fields and banana and rubber plantations. Besides, wild camping is forbidden in Laos and not advisable anyway because of wild animals you'd better avoid (poisonous snakes and scorpions). In Oudômxai, a place where you would certainly not expect a "multi-star hotel", Laos shows its best side. In a newly built hotel we were surprised with a room that lacked nothing. As a "welcome" there was a free massage instead of beer or wine, and for breakfast bread, butter, jam and coffee like at an Italian's. The hostess thanked us for our visit and handed us the bill for 400,000 kip. Expensive? No! 1,000 kip = CHF 0.12

Good to know:
06:00, the day breaks. The sun rises quickly above the horizon. By 8:00 the thermometer is already over 25 degrees, and 2 hours later over 30. At these latitudes (Oct./Nov.) we reckon with 12 hours of sunshine and a dusk of 30 minutes. At 17:00 the sun is still so high that you'd like to ride on. But careful! By 18:00 it's already dark, and street lighting is sparse or doesn't work. When time gets short, we are always relieved to reach the "guest house" in time, without needing our headlamps.

Rested, massaged and well fed, we set off at 08:00 into mountains unknown to us. The 82 kilometres and 2 "hills" ahead are normally nothing unusual for us and should be easy to manage. What we didn't reckon with: the mountains reach 1,400 metres, and the valleys lie 1,000 metres lower. On top of that we were surprised by two "cloudbursts", which meant waiting for a while under our rain capes. Heavy downpours are refreshing, but they don't last long. After half an hour the sun comes out again, the water evaporates within a few minutes, and the temperature is back where it was before the rain.

Just before dark we reach "Pak Mong". With 2,600 metres of climbing in 9 hours (moving time), Laos has given us a new record. In a country where we would never have expected it, we achieved our biggest climb in a single day. Tajikistan and China, which had seemed impossible to "top", were now outdone in the jungle mountains. Unbelievable!

Luang Prabang: the infrastructure, lots of hotels, and restaurants with an astonishing choice of menus remind us of Europe. From our hotel room with a balcony, we enjoy a holiday mood and the view of the "Nam Khan River". In flip-flops, shorts and T-shirts, we stroll through the streets of Luang Prabang, watch the calm at the market and visit various temples. The sights in the town centre are well visited by tourists, but not so overrun that there's nothing left to discover. The rather unspectacular temples a little further out have often turned out to be a "highlight". As so often, we skip a guided tourist excursion and set off to explore by bike.

In "Vang Vieng", 130 kilometres before Vientiane, there's a lot going on. A magnet for travellers who like backpacks and public transport. Among the many places to stay and eat, it's easy to find something for every budget. For the first time since the start of our journey, something like a holiday feeling sets in. We have breakfast on the veranda of our bungalow and even have time to do "nothing". Countless billboards with package deals from travel agencies line the streets. The signs plastered with photos are impossible to miss and made us curious too. Why not let someone else organise our day for once? With "tubing/caving/kayaking", TCK Adventures.laos.com is our favourite. Float through stalactite caves on a lorry inner tube, and paddle 7 kilometres by kayak through small rapids back to the starting point. With only 5 participants, we were offered professional guiding, a relaxed atmosphere and a tasty lunch. This restful holiday day gave us a lot of fun. Laos was the right choice of route for us to cycle from China to Cambodia (without Vietnam!).

We leave the mountains heading for Vientiane. Hilly at first, then flatter and flatter, we reach the capital of Laos after 2 days. By now we've seen lots of temples and their shrines. The Buddha Park is a sight we don't want to miss. In 1958 the mystic Luang Pu Bunleua Sulilat created a large number of huge concrete sculptures of Buddhist and Hindu deities. In the afternoon there's still time to visit That Luang, the landmark of Vientiane. We meet Clare and Moritz, who are covering part of their round-the-world trip on "recumbent bikes". We arrange to meet for dinner and swap travel experiences. From the wide choice of restaurants, the decision is quickly made: the Korean is to surprise us with his specialities. We were served an excellent meal. After an entertaining German-Swiss evening, we once again say goodbye to international cycling friends. The next day takes the two of them towards Thailand, and us towards "Thakhek".

Having already achieved our biggest daily climb, now comes the 166-kilometre "mammoth stage" to Paksmong. Only 320 kilometres to go to the border with Cambodia. By now the alarm goes off at 04:30. In bearable temperatures, we want to cover 100 kilometres each day from sunrise to midday. Claudia has caught a bad cold with fever. We suspect air conditioning and ceiling fans are to blame. So in Pakse, rest and recovery in a suitably air-conditioned hotel room are more important than pedalling on. As a change from a boring stay in the hotel room, a trip to the "Bolaven Plateau" was to provide some variety.

A "day off" in the green:
The scooter – the workhorse. Locals use it to carry all kinds of loads, tourists to reach the sights. For one day we swap our "iron horse" for a 100 cc "moped" to explore hidden caves and the surrounding rivers. With a rented scooter, we wanted to visit the waterfalls and a coffee plantation. The rental man pressed a sketch map, photocopied several times over, into our hands for the road. With a full tank, we rolled off in the direction the map showed. After 60 kilometres we reached "water" but no "fall". It was immediately clear: wrong turning! Turn the map 180 degrees, now east is where west used to be, and back to the junction. Here! A signpost that roughly matches the sketch. Now nothing can go wrong. By now we've done 120 kilometres, and the tank needs filling. A Coke for us, petrol for the "Laomoto".......

30 kilometres on, a bang, the rear tyre has burst! Far from Pakse city, somewhere in the middle of nowhere, no mobile phone, now what? Together, Claudia and I push the two-wheeler back to the main road. The Lao people are very helpful and usually have a mobile with them. The rental man promises us a mechanic with "tyre repair patches" in 30 minutes. That's bound to be a long half-hour. It might well have been the pizza baker from next door who brings us a replacement scooter after 2 hours.
Conclusion: the "pizza mechanic" waits for hours more with the broken scooter for the lorry that's supposed to collect him, we have covered 220 kilometres like in "Easy Rider", and the "Bolaven Plateau" stays in our memory just as it looks on the advertising flyer.

From Pakse (N13), over the Mekong bridge and the "New Road", we reach the town of Champasak and the temple complex of "Wat Phou", a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Wat Phou is an ideal stopover for us before we have to cover 100 kilometres the next day to "Khong Island". The province of Champasak lies right on the Mekong, and Wat Phou is close by at the foot of Mount Lingaparvata. The historic remains include the former royal city, and this is also where the road to Angkor Wat begins.

From Champasak we get ourselves taken to the other bank of the Mekong. The barge ferry consists of two narrow hulls held together by a few planks. This spartan float has room for 2 bikes, 2 people and 1 captain. Like a food mixer, the craft is driven through the water by a 3-metre drive shaft and a propeller. This way of getting around is chosen because of the many shallows and sandbanks.

These small boats are the only way for us to cross from one bank to the other. The privately run ferries don't have to keep to a timetable, and the price can be negotiated. A detour we don't want to miss: "Don Khong", the largest river island in the Mekong. In a barge that can float 14 people, we got to the "beach". A change of clothes behind the bushes, followed by a bold leap into the water. So you don't get caught in the dangerous current of the Mekong, the beach is secured with a 15-metre rope. The river water just a few metres away pulls as hard as a counter-current system in a swimming pool. Pure nature – getting our tired legs going again.

It's only 30 km to the Cambodian border at "Veun Kham". We leave Laos with memories of a natural, varied country and our encounter with one of the greatest rivers in the world.

Now we're looking forward to Cambodia.

Biker info for the route

-	Active (14 days of riding)	1,235	kilometres
-	Total climbing	12,400	m
-	Average speed	16	km/h
-	Riding time in motion	78:56	hrs