Damn Moped

Got myself into a good moped adventure while Tyler was climbing. Drove about 30 km out of town through beautiful Laos karst countryside. Turned around when I got to half a tank, drove about 20 m and got a flat, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. I rode the flat for about 1 km and saw a shack on the roadside with an air compressor out front. After being greeted by some weary children, a young Laos man came out, took my tire apart, and patched the whole in it. He didn't speak any English, and I can only say hi and thank u, so it was hard to figure out what to pay. After I offered him $5 the whole family erupted with laughter and faced paced Laotian talking, of which the only word I heard was falang (white guy). He then informed me on paper that I owed him ten times less, a true testament to how kind and honest Laotian people are. I safely made it back to Tyler and spent the rest of the afternoon chilling at the cave swimming whole near the climbing wall. After more moped problems, and getting separated from Tyler, we got to the bus station for our overnight bus as it was pulling away. Everything always seems to work out in the end.

Climbing

Had a good fun day of climbing yesterday. Today Tyler is going to do some more challenging climbing with our Catalonian friend David. I'm going to burn off the rest of the gas in the moped exploring, and will most likely find my way to a good long massage. Tonight we will take the 15 hr overnight bus ride to our next stop, Si Phan Dan.

Tha Khaek

Made it to Tha Khaek yesterday evening and found some climbers at a guesthouse. Gonna rent mopeds for two days and see what climbing we can find outside of town.

Konglor Village

After a couple long days of busses, and a frustrating overnight in Vientienne, we arrived in the extremely peaceful town of Konglor. Very small place with a cave and endless tobacco fields. Got whipped through the 7 km cave on an Asian style longboat to the village at the other end through the biggest cave I've ever been in. Gonna spend the rest of the day relaxing, then heading to Tha Khaek tomorrow in search of rock climbing.

Luang Si Falls

Headed up to a local swimming hole outside of town. Cool waterfalls with travertine pools and a super fun rope swing. Heading down to Tha Khaek tomorrow morning early with an overnight in Vientienne. Gonna be another long couple days of busses on questionable mountain roads, but its the only way to get around this country. Good thing it's easy to be a millionaire here :)