17
November, Phou Khoun to Kiu Kacham, 55km
Duangvichit
Guest House 70,000LAK
We
breakfasted on omelette at the small restaurant we had frequented for both
lunch and dinner yesterday. When we had asked for a menu, the proprietor had
said: “No menu. Fly vegetable, fly noodle, fly egg, fly ly.” Last night we
opted for fly ly (fried rice) and this morning for fly egg (fried egg) which in
fact turned out to be omelette. Our day began misty, calm and cool, warming
somewhat as it progressed, and cooling dramatically after the sun set. It was another
gorgeous day in the mountains of Laos, the road hugging the ridges wherever
possible and rewarding us with superb views into the valleys below, where there
is little farming on the steep slopes. Villages are strung like bead necklaces
along the thread of the road. Where space allows, there is a single row of
houses on either side of the road. Where the road is cut into a mountainside, villages
comprise just one row of houses, usually built on stilts over the drop into the
valley below. Our Kiu Kacham guest house was very basic with a cold water bucket
bath and a squat loo, but a welcome sight at the end of a hilly day. Laos is a
popular cycling destination (little traffic, stunning scenery, exotic
destination, inexpensive) and we have lost track of the number of cyclists we
have met on the road. There were 15 or more in Kiu Kacham this evening.
Between Phou Khoun and Kiu Kacham
Between Phou Khoun and Kiu Kacham
Between Phou Khoun and Kiu Kacham
Between Phou Khoun and Kiu Kacham
Between Phou Khoun and Kiu Kacham
Kiu Kacham
Kiu Kacham