Remember how in my last post, I told you I’d embraced this whole backpacker-ish lifestyle that Laos was providing? Showers. Beds. Fruit shakes. Snappy wifi connections. How I’d decided to simply enjoy it while I still had the chance?
I sort of lied a little bit.
Or at least I didn’t stick to the newfound concept – at all. Basically in the very moment of proclaiming this new mindset, I realised it wasn’t going to work. This weird claustrophibic feeling was creeping up on me in full speed, and I just had to do something about it. And I’m happy I did.
Sure, calling the Laos experience an adventure would definitely be stretching it. In the end however – it was an amazing bike ride. Leaving the capital Vientiane there were no more tourist sites in sight. From there on it was me and the open road.
Finally.
Every day on the bicycle is unique. In opposite to my old working life at home, I can now recall every single day of the last year. I flick through my journal and am instantly thrown back to the hills of Albania, ‘my’ families in Uzbekistan or those instant noodles in the Chinese desert.
But at the same time my days are more the same than ever before in my life. It doesn’t matter if I’m sweating away under my hijab in eastern Iran or freezing my nose off on the Tibetan plateau. I’m cycling. Patiently pushing those pedals, and at times making a turn or two.
The contradiction doesn’t always make sense, but that doesn’t make it any less true.
My last week in Laos was very much like that. Same, same but different. That perfect balance of things always staying interesting, while a constant sense of familiarity gave room for that to-die-for feeling of… flow.
So. Last week in Laos. I thought I’d hit you with a few photos to give you the gist of it.
First off I moved back home.
Newfound camp spot love of mine: Rubber plantations!
I was spoilt to some quite incredible nature.
Limestone mountains. Pretty as could be!
…and people.
The village football team (who totally kicked my butt…)
(Well, this one doesn’t have anything to do with anything. I just didn’t want to be all alone with this absurd uphill. Can’t believe I spent hours of my life on this one. Total trauma!)
Can you see how CRAZY steep this is?!
What do you say. It’s not one with a whole lot of luxuries, at least not if considering luxuries to be those thing-things. One thing is very clear though. This is my way of traveling. And apparently it’ll take a bit more than backpacker Laos to change that.
Actually no. I think it’ll take a lot more.
See you in Vietnam!
Fredrika