Pho Wat - Pakse & the millionaire

I have to manage my funds today, I have just enough to eat and drink to ride 80km. I count 48,000 kip, that's $2.45. I'll need 2 bottles of water, that's 1.00, leaving 1.45 for food. I'm poor today even by Laos standards.

Breakfast is 15km into the ride, pork bbq with rice from a street vendor, delicious! 1 dollar.

Pho Wat is a very old temple around 500AD, moved, rebuilt in an Indian Angkorian style. The architecture is as striking as the temples in Angkor Wat. This temple is set apart by the way leading up the 1.4km climb, the old steps are flanked by gnarled trunks of flowering Frangipani, It's worth sitting on a stone for a while to take in the scene.

On the way to Pakse, which is a larger city, I manage effort vs water and food. Luckily, I have a leftover pack of crackers in my bag for lunch. The remaining 8000kip buys nothing in the shops along the road. I ride slow so I don't bonk. The 100 euros n my pocket are useless, if only they were dollars.

Task number one is to find an ATM, the first one is local, it doesn't take Visa. No luck. Around the corner is a 7 eleven, they have wifi and I find out that the location of the hotel is nearby. Yes, still no sim card and no gps. Shower up and figure it out from there.

ATM and super market are around the corner from the hotel I'm told. I score 1.5 million kip from the nice machine. Now I'm a Laos millionaire!

I select a fancy restaurant on the Mekong river. Getting money from the ATM is like winning the lottery. I order three plates of food, watch the sunset, fireworks and a live Laotian band, and after all that I'm still a millionaire.Read more