A bit of pie

As I'm loading the bike I see 7 touring cyclists come by, I catch them again, they are from Vietnam and come ride in Laos for 5 days. I get a great tip, visit Pho Wat tomorrow, they are headed there too.

I set out with a pointy boat to the nearest island where a trail goes north. It's narrow and bumpy, my hip is not really liking it. I don't have the blue gps dot. No problem right? We never used to have that, A little referencing of land features and the map and if needed ask a local. No gps, no sim card, no ATM. Humble planning pie.

Locals now look at you very funny when you ask for directions, don't you have gps? The land is flat and the trails are not on the map so I take a few more detours than expected, Humble pie.

I meet up with the Vietnamese again by the ferry. You don't see any cycling tourists for weeks and then you also meet a couple from Germany who rode from their home and are still pedaling to Singapore. So far they have been on the road for 2.5 years and 36,000km. Humble pie.

A long wait at another ferry, and 45 minutes at the bank exchanging money where they don't take euros and I'm out of USD so I get 14 dollars worth for the rest of my Thai bath. No ATM until tomorrow evening, the last one was empty. It is just enough to eat tonight and all day tomorrow, maybe. Humble pie.

I'm falling asleep in the bank and at my late lunch that is actually breakfast. I'm feeling deeply tired. Humble pie.

If I want to visit Pho Wat tomorrow I should ride another 47km, the meal kicks in and I flip the switch, let's go on. I'll eat the rest of that pie later.

It's getting dark and I'm looking for a guest house, no advance booking for tonight. The signs don't say hotel, so you have to go by looks. I score one with a simple bed on a small farm like property, no wifi of course and no pie for dinner.Read more