- not even I could bring myself to eat pig skin and pig
stomach. We both felt it was best to stick to liquids for
the day. The weather was hot but the roads were
smooth and good. we managed to cover 600 kms till we
got to 'Muang Khong'. We halted at the first guesthouse
in sight, right in front of the lake. We parked our bikes,
dragged ourselves to the room, took a quick shower and
crashed ! Partner was unwell through the night and it
was evident that we needed to get to a doctor to get
some treatment. Here, none of the local people spoke a
word of English, only those who rented rooms could
manage to talk a bit.
I checked with the owner of the guesthouse and he
mentioned that there was a hospital a short walk away. I
joked with partner, "Make sure that the doctors
understand English, else don't accept any medicine
from them ! "
We reached the hospital, all the doctors seated in a
single room and were chatting. It looked more like a
classroom than a hospital. one of them stepped
forward and we explained Pankaj's symptoms to
him. He told us that it was a food poisoning and with
an injection and some medication Pankaj would be
fine. Partner rested all day, and by the end of the
next day he was much better and we were ready to
resume our ride.
We are now just 20 kms away from the Laos -
Cambodia border. we have read and heard that
many riders have faced problems while trying to
enter Cambodia.
We have been suggested to get an exit stamp from
Laos before entering Cambodia, to ensure we get
entry for our bikes and ourselves into the country.
We followed the advice and after the border control
personnel checked our carnet and passports, they
told us we would have no problems to exit Laos and
enter Cambodia. And I shall keep my lesson from
Cambodia for life : It's all about expectations and
perceptions. 10:00 am. Laos - Cambodia Border, 2nd
May 2017.