Joe’s real expertise  is in health care information systems.

Joe is coming with his Dad, Mike.  Sharing a bike tour with another generation is something that few people have the pleasure of doing.  We are thrilled they are both coming.

It is great that Joe is going to join us. Joe is no stranger to International travel. This photo was taken in Europe somewhere.

Mike, in his spare time, likes to gaze at stars.  I hope it is clear in Kiu Kacham.  A clear night in KK can be pretty spectacular…although most people are conked out in bed (it is a big climb).

I think this is Mike at a star-gazing event.

I think I over ordered a little for lunch, but that[s ok, better to have too much than too little.

We have a day in VTE and then people take off for home or other destinations. 

There have been a few moments of excitement on the road but it has been a fun tour.   It is especially great having a group of 7 Americans and 6 Australians.

Many thanks to:

Ms. Nedene
Ms. Rosie
Ms. Kate
Ms. Pip
Ms. Beth
Mr. Ron
Mr. Alex
Mr. Graeme
Mr. Brian
Mr. Philip
Ms. Louise
Ms. Clara

and our support crew:

Mr and Ms Cyfong and Xay and, most of all to Mr. Daolit.

WE pretty much all conked out on the boat. Kate, Pip and Rosie used the op for some creative scene setting...

I drafted this guy on the way in. He had a peanut cart on the front. I couldn't believe how fast he was going with an umbrella on top. It never ripped off though.

Welcome to Vientiane! After 500 miles, everyone is glad to see this.

Nedene, Philip and Daolit arrived about 4:30pm.

The timing or our arrival was good because the resort just opened their brand new swimming pool that very day.  Philip and Nedene took full advantage.

We had a little party that night on the floating restaurant on the lake.  I have no pics since my camera battery went dead, but we had a good time.  I gave some little presents to Mr and Ms Cyfong and their 5 year old son who has been with us the whole way.

The Resort we stay at is perched on the side of hill overlooking the Lake and the mtns behind.  We had great weather….a nice sunset and a little bit of lightning show.  During dinner a big wind came in and blew the boat about that just resulted in some original dance moves.   If you ever get to the little part of the world be sure to visit "Nee" and the dancing waitresses at the floating restaurant.

This is 5 year old Xay. He was with us the whole way. We gave him some books from Big Borther Mouse.

We all had this view of Lake Na Ngum from our rooms.

Our swim spot.....

Brian grabbing coffee in the am....

This happened just after Damen and Andy joined us at a rest stop. They are from England and are spending 8 months traveling around the world. They had already crossed Australia and been through Malaysia. They had the right equipment…Thorn bikes with Rolhoff hubs. Damen told me that they planned to bike all the way to LP by tomorrow night. That seemed pretty unlikely to me since they had 25k to reach Kasi and Kasi to Kiu Kacaham, the half way point, is 9,000 ft of climbing. We stopped 10k short of Vangvieng, our destination for the day, for our usual kayaking. The weather was good and it was a nice break. We had a BBQ lunch on the shore.

Philip, Louise, Kate, Rosie, Pip, Ron and I and Daolit went kayaking. Everyone else headed straight into VV. We had a nice dinner along the River on the Terrace of the Ban Sabai hotel. We even managed a birthday cake for Louise. Tomorrow most of us plan to ride our bikes to Houay Mo and then take a boat to Na Ngam. The road from VangVieng is dusty and hot so it seems wise to cut the ride short by taking the boat.

At the rest stop headed into Vangvieng

Damen and Andy...I think pretty unlikely they made it to LP in 2 days.

Beth on the road to VV

The ride into VV is fairly flat...but still scenic.

Oranges galore along the road.

Ou BBQ lunch on the river.....

A knock on the head and a bruised shoulder were not going to keep Pip and Louise off the river.

Our BBQ lunch.

View from the balcony of our place in VV

Birhday girl Louise at the Ban Sabai

I heard what sounded like flamethrowers in the am....and that is exactly what they were. A couple of balloons floated by...at tree top level. Apparently there is know more than tubing in VV.

It's not an easy ride to Kasi. Phoukoun, which is the cross road to the Plain of Jars sits on a ridge and the road to get there is up and down along another ridge. Not easy by any means.

On the way to Phoukon we all passed Tamir, the Israeli guy that had just bought a bike in LP and started to ride. He had shifted from flip flops to army boots. I think that was a wise move. He still wasn't moving fast though. When I passed him he was zig zagging up a hill and barely making progress. I offered to carry his bag again in our truck, but he wasn't having it. I had no doubt he was going to make it.

We stopped in Phoukon where we all had noodle soup. There really isn't too much there other than a local market. The soup was very good.

From there is was a massive downhill to the hot springs where some went into the water. And then on to Kasi, which sits hard by a river. Kasi is famous for its oranges and ladies line up on the street to hawk them.

Everyone seems pretty tired and after a dinner of Fish Soup, beef laab and fried vegetables.  We all hit the sack early.

Tomorrow we have some kayaking and Vangvieng…..party town.

This was the view from Kiu Kacham in the morning. KK is at 2200 meters and the valley below fills with fog.

Same spot the night before...with the sun setting.

At lunch in Phoukon on the way to Kasi. Phoukon is where you turn off to go to the Plain of Jars.

The view shortly after Phoukon on the way to Kasi....it is 30k of down.

Philip and Daolit soaking at the hot springs on the way to Kasi

View from the hot springs.....

It has been an interesting day to say the least.

Weather perfect and the road a lot better as well. We met Tamir on the road first. He is Israeli. He just started his ride from Luang Prabang. He is riding alone and had his backpack lashed to his rack. He was riding in flip flops. He told me he bought a bike for 500,000 kip…about US$60…from China and then had it break a couple time on his shakedown ride to Kuangsi Falls…about 30k…so he traded it in and added another 140 to buy a Trek. It looked pretty good for the price to me.

I told him he should put his bag in our bus and just ride to Kiukacham and meet up with it there. It would be a lot easier. I could tell he did not want to do that. It is not unusual. He doesn't know me and all his stuff is in it…stuff he could ill afford to put at risk. He took off up the hill.

What he didn't realize is that he left his expensive SLR camera on our rest stop table. Our bus caught up to him and we delivered it.

Then we met Mark, from Holland, he was riding fully loaded. He has started in Hanoi….basically our Tour d' Indochine.

Then Pip crashed and gave her head a good bump. A few of her fellow Australians were quite prepared to put a hole in her head if there were internal bleeding (I am quite serious). Thankfully there wasnn't.

Then, who showed up in Kiu Kacham but Sasha from Big Brother Mouse (Lao children's reading books).

We invited all of Tamir and Mark and Sasha to dinner and had a little bit of a party on the new deck (KK has gone a little upscale!).

Anyway, it was a nice ride and a nice day and it is ALWAYS nice to meet independent travelers on the road. I have been on the road alone enough to know that it is good to meet a group and share some time with. Tamir is on the road for 5 weeks and I think Mark…for several months.

Sasha gave a little tutorial on Big Brother Mouse at dinner. If you have chance Google it. It is a good cause that we have supported over the years.

Great sunset, nice dinner and good company. It is hard to top that in KK. I even had hot water.

View on the way to KK

Pip after her crash...she is going to be ok...thankfully.

Sunset in KK

Lots of shade for our rest stop

Here is Tamir. He was riding in flip flops. He made it to KK just as it was gettibg dark.

At the start of the ride to KK in front of Sabaidee GH.

Today's ride is “Lao flat”….about 105k. “Lao flat” translates to rolling hills with a few short climbs over the humpty dumps.The entire morning it was overcast which was good for riding. After about noon though, it burns off and it gets warmer.

We rode along the Nam Ou River and lunch beside it at a restaurant….we each had a plate of fried rice big enough to choke a horse.

The excitement of the day, was that Philip had a kid run into him in the road. He wasn't going fast, but they kid got bowled over and suffered some minor scapes. A small fee was paid and all was well, but not before 90% of the village came to observe the proceedings.

I had some excitement myself when a chicken decided to run into my wheel. I was going fast enough that it just bounced off and went on its way. Everything and everybody is on the road here so it is a wonder that more bad things don't happen. You need to be vigilant all them time. Not everyone is watching what they are doing.

We arrived in Luang Prabang and everyone found the guesthouse without any problem. Luang Probang is a lovely town where the Nam Ou River enters the Mekong….temples, traditional architecture with French influences, a huge night market, shopping, great restaurants and plenty to do and see.

Tomorrow is a rest day, which give everyone a chance to explore and do as they please.

Mushrooms at a stand on the way into LP....hmmmm

Everyone was happy to get to the Sabaidee Guesthouse.

Temple by the National Museum in LP

Sunset on the Mekong in LP

One of the trucks that adorn the grounds of the Sabaidee Guesthouse

We had a great little ride to Pak Mong. It stayed overcast for quite a while so it was comfortable for climing. There are two climbs, but they are not all that steep. The descents weren't really that great as sections of the road have deteriorated from years past….I assume due to the wet weather.

We made sandwiches for lunch. Tuna, tomato and cucumber and laughing cow cheese. Also Nutella and Cucumber for those so inclined. There are definitely some different tastes on this tour.

We had dinner down the road. Brian, Graeme and I made our way to the “nightclub” for some Lao dancing with the usuals after dinner. Everyone else turned in fairly early.

All in all, a good day of ridiing. Pak Mong is a lot more comfortable these days than it used to be, although those not hear for the good 'ol' days will find that a little hard to believe.

We keep seeing all these trucks loaded with huge teak tree trunks....headed to china...presumably to be made into furniture.

At the "nightclub". I can't really see it...which is kind of dangerous.

Our guesthouse in Pak Mong...it has its charms.

Mr. Daolit, our Lao guide, on the bike Maryvonne and Doug gave him about 4 tours ago. He says it has never had a problem (Campy). The gear shift broke off a couple days later.

I had breakfast with Muong and Huang. They were clearly enjoying having a visitor. We “talked” about our kids, etc etc. as we sat around their fire in the kitchen and cooked an omelet. To go with the omelet we had sticky rice and little time fried fish…heads and all. They were smaller than smelt. It's not something I would eat at home, but I choked a few down to be polite.

After breakfast, we visited the local school, presented a contribution and we provided some entertainment for the kids.

Unfortunately, my camera battery died…so no pics of the school but perhaps other'ss can post some to the Facebook page The kids were cute and well behaved.

We arrived in Odomxay about 1pm and had lunch at a local restaurant. Everyone has the afternoon to do as they please.

Ron and Graeme having breakfast with their hosts after the Homestay

At dinner in Odomxay

This is Xay. He is the son of Mr and Ms Cyfong. He drives the bus and she helps with everything. Don't mind the masks.....