Lockdown in Laos

Location: Thakhek
Km on the clock: 10,552

It took a load of my mind when I left Vietnam and finally entered Laos. The thought to finally leave the hostile environment in Vietnam behind and to start a new positive chapter in Laos gave me a sense of relief.

The glowing red sun set behind the mountain peaks and the last sunrays of the day reflected on the river alongside the mountain road. As I rolled down the road I sent some prayers that the Covid situation would be calmer here and that I wouldn't feel like an alien anymore.

My route

A guy on a motorbike appeared to my left. Since it was my first encounter with a Lao local and I didn't yet how the Laotian people would react to my appearance. I got a bit nervous. My first thought was Please! If you don't have anything nice to say, then please keep moving.
In broken English he asked: "Need help?"
"I'm good. Thanks!"
"Push Lak Sao", he said and pointed down the road.

I didn't understand, but in the same moment he put one of his feet on the back of my bicycle frame and started to push me. With about 30 km/h I rolled the last few kilometers into the sleepy town Lak Sao. As we arrived at the town's main junction he turned left and waved at me with a big smile on his face. I went straight and checked into a local guest house. The owner seemed happy to have me since he barely had any customers. He didn't show any trace of dislike towards me. Thank God! The first encounter was more than positive.

Sieh dir diesen Beitrag auf Instagram an

Ein Beitrag geteilt von Chris Fritze (@fritzechris)

I took a quick shower, grabbed some Kip out of an ATM and walked across the street to a restaurant. I was super hungry since I only had an orange and a handful of crackers throughout the whole day. I stopped for a second at the doorstep and took a deep breath. Please let me in and if not, at least don't yell at me.

I sat down. The waitress handed me the menu and I ordered a portion fried rice with vegetable. Nothing extraordinary but it felt like a feast to me and shuffled it into my mouth.

On my way back to my room I saw a group of teenage boys playing barefoot football in a park. I joined and played until I got blisters under my feet. :D

I know, reading about buying food in a restaurant and playing football sounds incredible unspectacular, but due to my latest experiences in Vietnam it felt just amazing to me and made me feel like a human being again.

I planned to follow the 1E road to Thakhek and then basically follow the Mekong River south to Cambodia. I expected to arrive in Cambodia latest in three weeks including rest days.

I wasn't aware that the 1E road is part of the Thakhek Loop which tourists usually drive on motorbikes. I found out about it later that day. The scenery was spectacular. The road meandered through the Nam Theun river basin and was almost empty. Countless dead tree trunks stick out of the water on the first third of the road which created sort of a spooky but also fascinating atmosphere. Only every now and then someone on a motorbike passed me, goats grazed by the roadside and behind one curve even a cow lay in the middle of the road and didn't seem to have any intention to move. Rice fields, limestone cliffs with caves and villages in which the locals live a rural lifestyle characterize the landscape of the other two thirds.

Sieh dir diesen Beitrag auf Instagram an

Ein Beitrag geteilt von Chris Fritze (@fritzechris)

I arrived in Thakhek a couple of days later. Meanwhile I almost forgot about my unpleasant experiences in Vietnam because wherever I was in Laos, everyone greeted and welcomed me with a friendly "Sabaidee!" (Lao: Hello!).

The Vietnamese border was already closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Now the media reported that Thailand would do the same and the Lao government announced a Lockdown. How Cambodia would handle the situation wasn't clear yet.

A decision had to be made. Easier said than done. After all, this journey is one of my life dreams and I wasn't ready to give it up (and I'm still not). Thus, quitting and flying home wasn't an option to me. I also wasn't ready leave Laos yet and take my last chance to cross the border to Thailand. I just arrived in Laos and was also nervous that my Vietnam experiences could repeat themselves. I'd be in a Lockdown on the other side of the Mekong as well. The Cambodian border was too far away to make it there within a day. Even if I could make it, I also wouldn't know how the locals would react to my appearance.

Sieh dir diesen Beitrag auf Instagram an

Ein Beitrag geteilt von Chris Fritze (@fritzechris)

In Laos I felt welcomed and appreciated and I was also convinced that the lockdown and its related travel restrictions would last for maximum three months. No economy can afford to shut down for a longer time. I know, looking back it sounds naive. But whoever knew better, I hope you made a bet with your bookie back then and you're a rich now. ;)

I was in sort of a decision rigid. I discussed the options with Irina, another hostel guest. We talked for a couple of hours and spitting out my thoughts helped to clear my mind and to make a decision. I'd stay in Laos and sit out the pandemic. It'll last three months! Maximum!

Sieh dir diesen Beitrag auf Instagram an

Ein Beitrag geteilt von Chris Fritze (@fritzechris)

---

---

The days of the following two months looked pretty much the same. Get up, drink coffee, eat breakfast, read, watch YouTube, eat again, work on something (e.g. my blog), work out (more or less regularly), chill in the garden in a hammock, hang out with my hostel lockdown buddies and go to the local market to buy food for the next day/s. Dinner was the highlight of the day. Six Friends, the small open air restaurant in the neighborhood, stayed open throughout the whole lockdown and fed me well. Every meal cost only 10,000 Kip (approximately 1 Euro). If I really wanted to go crazy, then I got three scoops of ice cream for another 5,000 Kip at the stand around the corner. :D

Sieh dir diesen Beitrag auf Instagram an

Ein Beitrag geteilt von Chris Fritze (@fritzechris)

The lockdown got lifted after two months and thus traveling across province borders was allowed again. According to the news it was still possible to enter Cambodia. What a relief. Happy that I could continue my journey I set off and pedaled in direction south.

If you enjoy reading this blog then please support my fundraising campaign to equip school classrooms in Darfur, Sudan. Thank you!

And if you enjoy reading it a lot, then I'd appreciate if you'd support me with a virtual cup of coffee on Ko-fi. Cheers! :)

Click here if you want to take a look at my equipment.