Today Mir and I just concluded our first ever road trip in Laos. We spent the week in Luang Prabang, which is about 240 miles north of Vientiane. Because of the amazing infrastructure of Laos the drive took us over 9 hours. Well, I won't put all the blame on the roads, the mountains make it slow going too.
It was my bright idea to take this trip in the middle of the rainy season, thinking that it would cut down on the number of tourists and we could get the off-peak rate at hotels. What I forgot is that during the rainy season the roads in Laos stop being roads and become one continuous pothole covered in mud. The trip to L.P. was fairly uneventful, I went pretty slow and enjoyed the scenery. However, on the ride home we had some bad luck. About 80 km from Vientiane we got a flat tire. Luckily I was prepared. I pulled out the jack, the lug wrench, and our portable air compressor and set to work.
Because I am a man, changing a tire gives me a feeling of enormous satisfaction. But there is always that one lug nut that makes you almost break down and start crying. You're thinking two things simultaneously; "Who the heck tightened this last time?" and, "If I don't get this lug nut off I will lose my manhood." So I sat there for 30 minutes or so, pulling and jumping on the wrench to get that final lug nut off.
And the end result...
I am still a man.
It was my bright idea to take this trip in the middle of the rainy season, thinking that it would cut down on the number of tourists and we could get the off-peak rate at hotels. What I forgot is that during the rainy season the roads in Laos stop being roads and become one continuous pothole covered in mud. The trip to L.P. was fairly uneventful, I went pretty slow and enjoyed the scenery. However, on the ride home we had some bad luck. About 80 km from Vientiane we got a flat tire. Luckily I was prepared. I pulled out the jack, the lug wrench, and our portable air compressor and set to work.
Because I am a man, changing a tire gives me a feeling of enormous satisfaction. But there is always that one lug nut that makes you almost break down and start crying. You're thinking two things simultaneously; "Who the heck tightened this last time?" and, "If I don't get this lug nut off I will lose my manhood." So I sat there for 30 minutes or so, pulling and jumping on the wrench to get that final lug nut off.
And the end result...
I am still a man.
Awesomeness beginning.
Awesomeness continuing.
Awesomeness sweating...a lot.
Awesomeness complete.
I have now changed a flat tire by myself, in a 100+ degree heat, in a third world country.
I have now changed a flat tire by myself, in a 100+ degree heat, in a third world country.
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