{"id":378,"date":"2025-02-10T12:50:09","date_gmt":"2025-02-10T11:50:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/travel.thatmanmatt.com\/?p=378"},"modified":"2025-02-10T12:50:09","modified_gmt":"2025-02-10T11:50:09","slug":"day-22-mistakes-were-definitely-made","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/travel.thatmanmatt.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/10\/day-22-mistakes-were-definitely-made\/","title":{"rendered":"Day 22: Mistakes Were Definitely Made"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Almost too tired to write this, so I\u2019ll keep it brief. Today was hard<\/em>, physically and mentally challenging to keep a bike upright and focus on the \u201croad\u201d ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The route from Anouvong starts off badly, with the trucks from the open-cast mines in the area tearing up the road north out of the village. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ugly<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

But I became accustomed to it, able to negotiate the dips and lurches, the scrabbling tyres over rocks. In places, there are hints of what the road surface once was, and I began to look forward to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is no other option, for me or the trucks, or the people who live here. This is their daily life, spending hours at a time going tens of kilometres. My trip was 115km, and Google-Who-Must-Not-Be-Trusted says it takes about 4h30m. In fact it was more like 7h.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I spent two hours negotiating my way across 15km of sand, rubble, gashes in the landscape. The only thing that stopped me giving up was that I couldn\u2019t. Nobody is around to come to the rescue. Gotta keep keeping on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m not<\/em> an off-road biker, but this terrain is basically off-road, and I owe a lot to the bike for getting me through it. It handles these conditions well, even when I could not. Thanks, little Honda CRF250L<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doing so well, despite being caked in dust. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Beautiful<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Still, the country of Laos still served up a delightful variety of vistas. Today was actually sunny from the offset, and that helps to lift the gloom of the dust (the dust, oh my word the dust. Some of the poorest people living by the roadside are drenched in it repeatedly as trucks, 4x4s and, to be fair, bikes, rattle past their doors).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite my needing to heavily focus on the road surface, and despite the ravages being inflicted by strip-mining, there are epic, wondrous moments when the brush drops away and I\u2019m almost at the apex of the mountain and\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mountains for days. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I took a lot of photos at this point. But I also stopped to just drink it in. Who else has been here? This took effort<\/em> to get to. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also took effort<\/em> to get away from, but again I don\u2019t have pictures of the worst of it. So here\u2019s some others from the day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Bully for me. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Anouvong<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Cow and bike. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Moon-landing hairpin. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
That view, again. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Before the nightmare section.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Thanks, I did not. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Finally off the mountains.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Is it worth it?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

None of this would have happened if I\u2019d taken the obvious route from Vang Vieng to Phonsavan. It would still have been hard; the roads here are not pretty for anyone. But I certainly made an interesting choice<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harry, who I rented the bike from, messaged me:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

I did see you in the tracker heading towards Phonesavan from Vang Vieng via Long Chen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That’s a hell of a route \ud83d\ude02<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But you’re a brave dude for taking that route. I’ve not been there for a year but last time I went it was pretty clenching so to speak!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s been an experience. One I\u2019ll remember. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not one that I wish to repeat though. <\/p>\n

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Almost too tired to write this, so I\u2019ll keep it brief. Today was hard, physically and mentally challenging to keep a bike upright and focus on the \u201croad\u201d ahead. The route from Anouvong starts off badly, with the trucks from the open-cast mines in the area tearing up the road north out of the village. […]<\/p>\n

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