BIKERS CLUB JULY 2019 ISSUE | Page 45

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 -