| Cycle Touring Routes > Laos > Vientiane to Savannakhet > Map > Day |
| Day 2 Thapabat to Paksan Kilometers 57 Miles 34 |
Ride/Road - Hwy 13 South. Road sealed the entire way.
Narrow to no shoulder for long stretches. Not really a
problem because traffic is very low to non-existent. Had
long stretches of riding where we pedaled side-by-side
chatting.
Plenty of enthusiastic locals, yelling and waving to keep us
company. The locals seem to gradually get more excited to
see us the further we pedal south of Vientiane.
Weather - Cooler, dryer with a moderate headwind that
came on at the last 20 kilometers. Landscape is desert
with some views of the Mekong River.
Food/drink - Small town with food/drink 15 kilometer (9
miles) south of Thapabat and more at kilometer 30 with
several stalls displaying an array of mysterious snacks
hanging from clear plastic bags.
Paksan town is a small town that has restaurants, a large,
well organized market with fruits and vegetables located
next to the bus station about 500 meters south of the
intersection of the two paved roads. There is an internet
café on the same side of the street as the Paksan Hotel,
just south of town on the same side of the road as the hotel.
The café was closed when we pedaled by early in the
morning on our way out of town so we don't know any
details.
Slept - Huaenveneg Hotel
Cost - 30,000 ($3.00)
Location - Take first left off of Hwy 13 if coming from the
North. It's the other paved road in town opposite the Port.
Amenities - Large room with double bed, a/c, fan and en
suite bath with western toilet, shower with no hot water. The
light in the bathroom didn't work. Worst of all bed bugs
kept us up all night. The cost of the hotel befits the quality.
Rolled bikes right into the room and we had plenty of room
for secure night parking.
Other Cyclists on the Road Share Great Tip! - While
munching on our lunch in a concrete gazebo on the side of
the road about 20k north of Paksan a cheery, couple from
England cycling our way stop to chat. We met up again
with the couple in Paksan at the Huaenveneg Guesthouse.
We had a horrible nights sleep as the bed bugs made a
feast of us. The Brits on the other hand slept like babies
inside their cozy sleeping bag liners. This made us realize
we need to get ourselves a couple of those.
Other accommodations In Paksan - There are several
sleeping options in town, but the best we saw was the
Paksan Hotel, about 3 kilometers south of town. Really big,
modern and new hotel.
At about 5k south of town we also pedaled past two nice
looking guesthouses, one on the left side of the road and
the other on the right. Both worth a look.
Narrow to no shoulder for long stretches. Not really a
problem because traffic is very low to non-existent. Had
long stretches of riding where we pedaled side-by-side
chatting.
Plenty of enthusiastic locals, yelling and waving to keep us
company. The locals seem to gradually get more excited to
see us the further we pedal south of Vientiane.
Weather - Cooler, dryer with a moderate headwind that
came on at the last 20 kilometers. Landscape is desert
with some views of the Mekong River.
Food/drink - Small town with food/drink 15 kilometer (9
miles) south of Thapabat and more at kilometer 30 with
several stalls displaying an array of mysterious snacks
hanging from clear plastic bags.
Paksan town is a small town that has restaurants, a large,
well organized market with fruits and vegetables located
next to the bus station about 500 meters south of the
intersection of the two paved roads. There is an internet
café on the same side of the street as the Paksan Hotel,
just south of town on the same side of the road as the hotel.
The café was closed when we pedaled by early in the
morning on our way out of town so we don't know any
details.
Slept - Huaenveneg Hotel
Cost - 30,000 ($3.00)
Location - Take first left off of Hwy 13 if coming from the
North. It's the other paved road in town opposite the Port.
Amenities - Large room with double bed, a/c, fan and en
suite bath with western toilet, shower with no hot water. The
light in the bathroom didn't work. Worst of all bed bugs
kept us up all night. The cost of the hotel befits the quality.
Rolled bikes right into the room and we had plenty of room
for secure night parking.
Other Cyclists on the Road Share Great Tip! - While
munching on our lunch in a concrete gazebo on the side of
the road about 20k north of Paksan a cheery, couple from
England cycling our way stop to chat. We met up again
with the couple in Paksan at the Huaenveneg Guesthouse.
We had a horrible nights sleep as the bed bugs made a
feast of us. The Brits on the other hand slept like babies
inside their cozy sleeping bag liners. This made us realize
we need to get ourselves a couple of those.
Other accommodations In Paksan - There are several
sleeping options in town, but the best we saw was the
Paksan Hotel, about 3 kilometers south of town. Really big,
modern and new hotel.
At about 5k south of town we also pedaled past two nice
looking guesthouses, one on the left side of the road and
the other on the right. Both worth a look.