Thakhet Loop Continued

Day 2: January 12, 2025 – Ban Sankeo to Thalang – 35 kms – Mind House Bungalows 

Gord – It was a short ride today, although it did include a steep 400 metre climb.  Once we were on the higher plateau we paralleled the shore of a large reservoir.  Our guidebook describes the ride as jungle on one side of the road and the blight of development on the other.  It was obviously written a few years ago, as the jungle was very much in the process of being leveled and replaced by cassava farms.  It reminded me of images I have seen of the destruction of the Amazon basin.  Ruth has been reading a murder mystery series set in Laos.  The protagonist, Dr. Suri, makes the observation that “Hungry people make poor environmentalists.”

The Thakhet Loop is one of the few tourist draws in Laos, and we anticipated seeing a lot of foreigners.  So far we have only seen a dozen or so, mostly on rental scooters.  The Loop generally seems much less developed than we anticipated, with limited options for accommodation and dining.  If this was the only part of Laos that you visited, you would feel that you were in the back of beyond.  The locals are certainly surprised to see us on bicycles.

Day 3: January 13, 2025 – Thalang to Lac Sao – 55 kms

Ruth – We found the birds! It turns out they have been hanging out in Nakai Nam Theun National Protected Area. Today was a complete contrast to yesterday’s ride. Our first 20kms had no human settlement or development and the jungle was pristine above the flooded forests killed by the reservoir. 

We saw more species of birds today than during the rest of our time in Laos. Highlights included a flock of blue magpies, fairy birds and a common kingfisher. 

We also found the tourists! Perhaps the wind kept them off their scooters on the previous days, but today they were buzzing past us with some regularity. We enjoyed visiting with a number of them as we huddled by the fire last night at our guesthouse. 

It was 6 degrees when we woke up this morning, which corresponded to about 8 degrees inside our drafty bungalow.  It was challenging to get out of our bed with its three comforters.  We ate our breakfast at the outside restaurant bundled up in everything we brought.  The built environment in this country does not contemplate temperatures as low as we have seen the last couple of days.