What should have been a walk in the park today - ok, a ride in the park - was in fact not such an easy day. Surely there was some fatigue from yesterday's effort, but it was not flat cycling all along. To the contrary, there were some short but very steep climbs, we hadn't encountered many of that kind of steepness yet. If the scenery yesterday was 5*, it was maybe 4* today. Not bad at all, but not as stunning as yesterday. On the good side, the road was excellent (most of the way, there was a stretch with some roadworks but even that was not too bad) and traffic has not yet been invented here.
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| Another 5* location for our break today |
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| We've seen them just a few times yesterday and today, these bright orange trees, contrasting wonderfully with the green environment |
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| Finally, the Mekong! The stone's throw to Laos would be a bit more difficult now... |
We did our intended 60km - yes, we sometimes do what we plan - and ended up in Chiang Khan. This is a small town at the Mekong (we have now arrived at the Mekong indeed!) that has (rightfully) found a way onto the tourist maps. For the entire part of cycling along the rivers since yesterday, we have been in remote land, no tourism, hardly any restaurants or resorts (every kind of accommodation is almost called resort here, by the way). Then suddenly there is Chiang Khan, definitely touristy BUT definitely nice as well. It's a town full of old wooden houses, with a beautiful promenade along the Mekong, stylish bars, restaurants, resorts and shops, ... The main street is traffic free in the evening with small stalls popping up everywhere. We had never heard of this place before and it seems to be new on the tourist maps, but what a gem!!!!
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| A street corner in Chiang Khan |
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| Seems like a fallen holy tree |
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| Sunset over the mighty Mekong in Chiang Khan |
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| Walking Street |
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| Heritage |