We put our bikes on a small boat: it’s our transfer to the mainland. The first 20 km of the day, the latest in Laos, are full of emotions and pleasant memories. They run fast, also thanks to the cool morning air and the asphalt road.
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We arrive at the border early. They require our passports from an obscured stool, from which we can’t see who is speaking. We have to lean over and peek inside a small slot to see a guy in a beige uniform. His face is serious, tired, bored. He asks us 35 dollars each, 5 dollars more than expected. It’s well known that on land borders, people ask for extra money with the most varied motivations, illegally.
With the proper manners, we explain that we’re aware of the official price list, and that their behaviour is not correct.
In response, the officer slams our passports onto the table and says he can’t help us if we don’t pay what we owe. We try to keep calm and respectful, and we ask again for further explanations.
The reaction is that of a furious boy who starts screaming out loud “35 dollars, you have to pay 35 dollars, 35 dollars and stop”. An unbelievable scene.
To which, amazed and irritated by the reaction of the customs officer, we stand aside and try to take stock of the situation and choose the best strategy of attack. The options are: wait and see who yields first (in Vietnam worked) or pay and go.
But we have still many kilometers to ride, and we read online about people who have had to wait up to 50/60 minutes, so it’s a pity to waste precious time in this way. Even if it would be the right choice to do, to wait and not to pay the extra tax, we decide to give in and proceed.
And so, within a few minutes, we have our beautiful visa in our hands. We greet the rude customs officer, making fun of him, dancing and humming “peace and love”. Yes, we know: it’s not to be done. But we couldn’t resist!
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We start riding again and we immediately realize how the situation changed: we’re in a dirt road, with short paved stretches, with small gravel dunes on the sides (very dangerous for those traveling on two wheels). Even nature become more barren, more disordered, more inhospitable.
Cars run fast, too fast and too close to us, raising every time a big cloud of dust. And moreover people always sound the horn.
On the sides of the streets, all around us, there is trash. People throw anything they don’t need on the ground. In short, the feeling is to be back as in China and Vietnam. And we don’t like it at all.
