SE ASIA ON A TANDEM

Having extended our stay in Luang Prabang we decided to check into a different hotel for the last few days - to mix things up a little and experience another side of town. I chose Baan Pila, a new boutique style hotel across the other side of town. Max was horrified to discover there was no TV in the room but I figured we'd easily manage without one for a few days! Baan Pila boutique hotel  Max soon made himself at home 😂 Tom, the manager at Ban Lakkham, had recommended a trip out to one of the small communities (the Hmong) on the outskirts of Luang Prabang for their New Year festival. He arranged a taxi for us to move our luggage  and then take us to the festival. It was about a 30 minute drive and took us into the hills with some fabulous views en route - that was definitely an added bonus 👍 At the festival many of the locals were all dressed up in traditional Hmong costumes and looked very grand. There were food stalls and game stalls (abit like our fairgrounds) everywher...

View of Luang Prabang from Mount Phousi We caught the high speed Chinese train from Vientiane to Luang Prabang opting to splash out on 1st class seats (actually they were only marginally more expensive).  The first half of the journey retraced the route we'd cycled to Vang Vieng, but our two days of cycling rolled past in under an hour 😳 Arriving at Luang Prabang station we were greeted by dozens of white mini buses waiting to ferry people into town. We were offered a lift by one of the drivers but we couldn't agree a price - it turned out he was a private taxi and wanted three times the minibus rate of £2 (Max's detailed research paying dividends here once again 😉). Having refused the taxi we turned back only to see that the line of 50 minibuses had dwindled to only two remaining. The walk into town would take over an hour so we dashed to the last remaining bus and tried to hop in. It was full though so we were directed to take the lift to a lower level to ca...

  Cycle route Vientiane to Vâng Viêng and back We set off bright and early on day 1 of the 2 day ride to Vang Vieng. I knew the hills were beckoning but the expectation was that this was the slightly easier day - 52 miles with some climbing - which would warm us up nicely for a much tougher second day! 

Cycle route Thailand to Loas  Although reluctant to leave the Bua Daeng Resort we managed to tear ourselves away around mid morning (after a delicious and very hearty breakfast) to head to Udon Thani where we would be staying for 3 nights. Yes, another rest 😀 Today's ride was quite short which again meant we could take a leisurely pace and follow some of the quieter roads. This was really pleasant and we passed through lovely countryside and small villages. At one point we stumbled across a really quaint english style tea shop with a red telephone box outside. Although not far from Udon Thani at this point it caught our eye and we were drawn in. Their blueberry fruit shakes were really delicious 😋  A short pitstop by a rather grand archway  A lovely english themed cafe - rather ornate gardens too! We arrived at the hotel in what seemed like no time at all and although we were early they let us in to our room anyway. That's usually a good sign and...