We got a room at a guesthouse that faced the famous Mekong
River. Pankaj marked all the Indian restaurants of the city on his
map and made sure that we visit them one by one. And I happily
accompanied him ! Masala Chai, Hindi music in the background and
a smile on our faces. We spent 2 days there, highlighted with a great
sunset boat ride.
We kept hearing that our next stop 'Vang Vieng' was very
happening place, full of bagpackers and I had built up huge
expectations of it. we rode about 180 kms from 'Luang Prabang'
and Pankaj stopped his bike on the road, between some shops
and a dusty road and said, "We've reached". I was like. "Here?
ARE YOU KIDDING ME !! ?
I think my reaction was a bit extreme and he immediately said.
"Not my fault, neither can I change anything". And I got into a
really bad mood. The lesson here is - we react to circumstances
and situations based on what expectations we build in our
heads. we have been on the road for almost 45 days and I never
had a single problem with our stay as I had no expectations.
Here, I was expecting something extra ordinary and I couldn't
come to terms with the fact that 'Vang Vieng' was just a simple
place with normal restaurants and dusty roads. my eyes failed
to notice the beautiful mountains in the horizon, nor the
beautiful river flowing past, or anything else. That is when we
had our first argument. and I have to admit that it was my fault.
We got a room and I went to sleep while partner started
worked on a video. By the next morning, things were back to
normal and I started to see 'Vang Vieng' for what it really was
and it wasn't so bad after all !
We spent 3 days here and decided to visit the 'Kong Lor Caves'. This
time, I resolved to build a more realistic expectation of the place.
After leaving 'Vang Vieng', we rode for a couple of hundred
kilometers and reached a quite beautiful village where we halted for
the night at a guesthouse close to the caves. we could not find
anything to eat as every place had shut by 7 pm. We got to sleep,
with the hope that we would get breakfast somewhere in the next
day. Our visit to the caves was worth it - a nice boat ride through the
caves and on the other side, a jungle untouched by civilization.
Food is a big problem in theses villages, especially for Pankaj as he is
a vegetarian. There is no concept of bread here - rice and noodles
are all that we can get and what we manage to survive on. By the
end of this section of the ride, I think we ourselves will look ready to
start our ride towards 'Muang Khong' (4000 Islands). Partner was not
feeling too well. He mentioned that he was feeling uneasy from the
night before and was throwing up. I suggested that we stay back an
extra day, as we had no rush to reach anywhere. But he insisted that
he preferred to carry on with the ride. Enroute, we stopped a couple
of times, as partner was not feeling well at all. We could not get
anything to eat -