Cycling In Coffee Country

posted by: Justin

Emma loves coffee and the Bolaven Plateau in Southern Laos is a major coffee growing region. Could it be fate, luck or has the planning behind our entire cycle journey been leading towards Emma’s coffee Nirvana? As we head south from Thakhek the presence of coffee becomes impossible to ignore. Every small collection of shops we pass through requires a stop for mugs of thick black Laos coffee or cleverly tied and twisted takeaway bags full of ice, sweetened condensed milk and more of the black stuff.

Sunset vendor by Mekong Beer by the Mekong

I have always been less of a coffee aficionado than Emma (being easily satisfied with a sacrilegious ‘3n1’ Nescafe sachet) who on the road carries a Turkish cezve, a Vietnamese coffee maker, single cup coffee filters and will only in the direst circumstances submit to a cup of anything instant. Bearing all this in mind I thought it wise to agree to a visit to the town of Paksong where we would find an enigmatic Dutch expat known as “Koffie” to educate us about his specialist topic.

Between Thakhek and Paksong there were three days of 100km+ riding preceded by three days off the bike in Thakhek. Not such a bad ratio and one that we are growing more accustomed to as we make our way through South East Asia at a snails pace.

Thakhek is the main stopping off point for people traversing “The Loop” and being located on the main North/South highway also sees its fair share of cycle tourists passing through. One evening we got chatting with Matthew, a British cyclist on his way to Singapore. He had spent the last ten years living in China and until recently was running the GoKunming website that we found useful for planning our cycling in Southern Yunnan.

Gate made from bike bits Dried peeled coffee beans

Leaving Thakhek we hit the road a few hours ahead of Matthew, but he easily caught us in time to enjoy lunch together before he disappeared into the horizon at racing speed. We laughed that he would probably get to Singapore before we get to Bangkok!

Its hot riding. The landscape undulates gently but offers little in the way of shade. In the sky above a relentless sun bleaches the empty rice paddies a dun-brown and burns any exposed skin in minutes. We resort to wearing socks and sandals to save our feet from getting burnt and seek shelter in roadside shacks for drinks and shade.

One village we pass through has a large Christian church and no wat, which is unusual in this Buddhist-dominated country. Each household has a small altar outside which the residents sit solemnly beside. While they smile and wave as we pass there is no indication of what they are waiting for, creating a strange atmosphere that makes us feel like interlopers on the busy main highway. Outside the town is a large bustling fair where avoiding pedestrians stumbling drunkenly towards their motorbikes gives Emma a reason to cycle extra cautiously for the next few kilometres.

The night before Pakse we were hoping for a guesthouse but had also heard reports that this stretch was devoid of any. Pushing on into twilight we finally found one around the 545km marker complete with an almost empty but still ear-piercingly loud karaoke bar serving food a few doors down.

Emma walking to Phu Asa Buffalo in Xi Pian NPA

We make Pakse by early afternoon and find a big room complete with balcony and fridge. Opening the door of the empty fridge I hold my feet in the stream of cold air that emerges and think I could spend the next four days doing only this.

There are four proper western style cafes in town and over the next few days we make a point of visiting each one to try the house brew. One evening we stroll by the Mekong and as the colours of the sky fade towards dark and the waters gently lap below us we watch the patrons of the simple riverside beer shacks ebb and flow. Pakse is an easy town to pass time in with few sites to visit, a steady stream of tourists flowing through the town and a good variety of food with Indian and a Laos fusion joint being our firm favourites.

We decide not to cycle the largely uphill 40km to Paksong (note: we are sticking religiously to the new lazy cycling regime mentioned above) in favour of a day trip by public bus. After spending an hour on the bus collecting passengers from all over Pakse the freedom of our bikes makes us reconsider. The town of Paksong is a single row of dusty shops and in the distance we see a faded sign reading “Coffee”. It is here that we meet Koffie.

Woman + buffalo

We set off with our guide on what proves to be an informative and highly enjoyable stroll around his neighbourhood. We wander through coffee farms seeing plants in various states of growth while he enthusiastically explains aspects of the plants themselves, the local coffee economy and what separates a coffee farm from a plantation. Koffie’s enthusiasm for his topic (maybe fuelled by the multiple cups of    freshly ground Bolaven Plateau Espresso drunk before the tour) is infectious and I quickly find myself engrossed in his stories.

Post tour we down a few more espresso shots, managing to miss flagging down our bus, although the mad scramble Koffee does attempting to catch the drivers eye makes us all laugh. Finding a backup bus we farewell Paksong but not before loading the roof of our already groaning vehicle with a few hundred cabbages on their way to market.

A short half day ride from Pakse is the Xi Pian National Park and the Kingfisher Ecolodge where as a Christmas treat we have reserved a bungalow for two nights. Our bungalow overlooks a wetland area where a large herd of buffalo noisily squelch through the mud and munch grass, flocks of ibis swoop low across the ground using their long beaks to skewer the occasional small fish. One evening we spot a few of the local domesticated elephants wandering the horizon.

The sight of the elephants convinces us to use a donation (thanks Emma’s dad) to take an elephant ride around the wetland area on Christmas day. The ride is great with our elephant named Kona being guided carefully through the village while children scamper around her feet and wave Sabaidee.

Elephant + mahout Leaving Kingfisher Ecolodge

At one point the mahout trades places with me and I’m in ‘control’ of Kona. Using my feet to nudge behind her ears I manage to guide her towards a small opening between fields but I cant quite coax her through the gap. Handing the front seat back to the mahout, I decide that driving an elephant is much harder than riding a bicycle, though maybe if we took Kona with us she could carry our luggage.

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2 responses to “Cycling In Coffee Country”

  • Meery Christmas and Happy New Years yous fellas, We were in Prague (where we live now) with Cat and Graham. Carp for Christmas! You’re always in our thoughts just wanted to with you smooth roads and wicked experiences for the New Year, We’ll be in NZ from 31st /1/12 to 5/3/12 Whoop! Arohanui

    • Andrea Grant on January 4th, 2012 at 12:59 pm

  • Hey Andrea – we’re very much looking forward to seeing you and Jan and chasing little Lily around a little. Cool to hear you had traditional Czech carp – there were plenty in the pool at our lodge but I don’t think that’s what we were eating… see you soon x Emma

    • Emma on January 10th, 2012 at 1:11 pm

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