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This looks like a good day for driving yet another 100 km. Let’s see if Mike is going to be able to get himself together and if this freaky junction village has another joint to have some coffee ‘cause I could sure use some with all this food I’ve been not having lately. And then, maybe even find the right way to go on...

Hey, it only took us an hour to actually get started but at least I had some coffee and now I’m ready to go! And look at the other white people on bikes, which can only mean that we’re on the path to salvation, or, at least to the next stop. Oh, how I wish to get Mike to move faster and maybe stretch it a little bit and drive up to Tham Kong Lo today so that we’ll have less to drive tomorrow... Now that would be a nice thing: for once, I wouldn’t have to wake up this early and just take my time. Well, all in due time. For now, let’s drive!

Hmm, it appears that this rocky dirt road is not that bad and I can almost drive normally. Cool. Wait a minute! Did I put some sunscreen on? Although it doesn’t matter much because I’ll be orange anyway, although it will be from the dust and not the sun. This is what ‘safety first’ means, not that silly helmet that Mike always insists on tying tight around his head. And, if you think about it, driving with no shirt on, as he does – men and their tans! – is far more dangerous than driving with the helmet untied, as I do. Well, at least my skin won’t peel like that of a moulting gecko and like it once did. But I don’t want to remember that. It could make an interesting blog post but there definitely has to pass more time until I can actually think about that.

And look at that! So this is the ‘environmental disaster zone created by the recent flooding of the Nam Theun 2 dam’ that the prick of a guidebook was talking about. It really looks amazing. I guess I have enough time to stop and take some pictures until Mike gets here. And even if he does stop, I’ll catch up with him soon.

What the hell is wrong with the bike? Something’s definitely off but I don’t understand what. Could it be this gravely road we’re driving on? Damn! I should stop and check the bike because not being able to take curves is not my style. Oh, yeah, cool: another flat tire! How come everything’s going wrong for me these days?! Well, at least Mike is here, not that he can be of any help but at least I can shout at someone. Bad self-joke, I know... Anyway, let’s see how we can go about this: there’s nothing here, except this ‘environmental disaster zone created by the recent flooding of the Nam Theun 2 dam’ so trying to fix the tire here is totally out of the question. Which only leaves me with driving like this ‘till we get to some village or someone that can help. Let’s see now... oops, too fast. This piece of Chinese metal doesn’t want to do what I say any more. Slower... Okay, it looks like I’m getting the hang of it and I can think about some people who could actually appreciate my skills. Even I’m impressed by this. And I actually imagined something like this a lot, only getting the flat tire while driving really fast and on some blacktop back in Romania. Well, this will have to do. But why in the name of unnamed higher forces did this have to happen here: there are so many ups and downs and hairpin bends and I could have had so much more fun with a bike that’s properly equipped and with enough atmospheres in its tires...

This looks like it could be one of those villages made for people displaced by the flooding that the guidebook was describing. Well, this is my chance. How was that again? Yang hua, right? Flat tire. But I’m sure I’m not the first... and they actually have a proper workshop! Oh, how could I have imagined it would be that easy?! Of course they’re out for lunch. And of course we’ll have to wait, who knows how long... At least he’s a fast one. And nice enough to line the tire with another piece of rubber so that the tube will be protected from further mishaps. Yeah, man, I know, you don’t have to explain... I know the tire is bad but hopefully you did your job well and I’ll stop having bad luck from now on.

Well, look at that! We’ll have to ‘datour’ from the dirt road onto some dirt road... now this is a change. But the scenery is something I’d love seeing every day; granted, not with the bike’s seat imprinted on my butt and I really have to stop thinking about it for a while, maybe the pain will go away. How did I do this driving-a-motorcycle for so long without ever thinking about the pain of countless of hours of sitting down? Maybe bigger bikes have bigger seats or something. Let’s get back to what’s important: which Disney soundtrack was I singing now? Oh, if only Mona were here, she could recite all the lyrics I forgot... oh, well. Caaaaan you feel the love toniiiight...

So, if all the surroundings look like this, than that’s how I probably look like. Hmm, a small price to pay! And it seems that the dirt road is finally over and we’re not that late right now. It’s bound to be smooth sailing from now on!

Wow, now this is what I call driving! This road totally rocks! And the curves and the ups and downs... this is really exciting! I love it. And with this new skill I’ve discovered, everything’s more fun. Let’s see: this thing, I mean the motorcycle, has no clutch so if you press and hold the pedal, it actually doubles as a clutch or a neutral point and this means I can cut the engine and I can drive downhill without using gas. I only have to remember not to raise my foot from the pedal. And this thing flies 60 downhill! Should I wait for Mike or go these next 20 km on my own? This one’s a no-brainer: onwards!

This is what I call ingenuity: giving a new meaning to useless things, like, in this case, bombs. And these Lao people, who turned the bombs into boats... now that’s really something. Kind of sad, though but totally remarkable!

Aaaand here you have your sunset of the day! But it’s so cool to see it from this nice view point, meaning that all that driving uphill finally paid for something! And the whole valley looks cool, especially with this light. This is just about 10 km from the village. And, supposedly, the next 50 kilometres to Tham Kong Lo are really good. If only Mike would be willing to drive them today. I just have to wait for the perfect time to skilfully place the question (as if that’s going to do it) but at least I have to try... Okay, back in the saddle...

It appears that my knees almost stopped shaking so this is a good time to recap: I did have a whole side of a hill to overhaul that crawling bus and driving uphill behind him not only gave me another good reason for cancer from exhaust fumes but took forever. And then, on the down side, I bit the bullet and gave a try at passing him. True, the fact that I was experimenting with my no-engine method was not such a big help because it put me right in front of that SUV that was grumbling uphill exactly at the time that I got to the middle of the bus. Yes, the bus did hit the brakes, as did the SUV, but I had no power to arrow past the bus and with these brakes, there’s no way I could have slowed enough to get back behind the bus. So this is how I ended up on the grass on the other side of the road. And the grass was green, thank heavens! Well, at least all drivers smiled at me when I tried to gesture an apology (ha! The perks of being non-Lao). Note to self in CAPS LOCK: OVERTAKING REEKING BUSSES CANNOT BE DONE WITHOUT A WORKING ENGINE. Although I’m still pretty proud to use the Lao way.

Wow, the diversity: I’m really overwhelmed by the choices of food around here! What should I choose? Fried noodles with vegetables or fried rice with vegetables? Or I could go for the fried noodles... But there’s also that fried rice... With these many choices, we should have went on and driven the last 50 km but Mike was too exhausted. At least the room is nice and I didn’t hear any rats around the place as I had in other places (yeah, those ones playing or hunting or whatever above the room could have been awarded with the Most Original Place to Spot Rats award). And how can they imagine we’ll pay almost double for that room with a hot shower? News flash: this country doesn’t really need hot water save for a couple of months a year and, although right now you couldn’t say it’s actually hot in the mornings and evenings but this is totally bearable.

Well, all in all, this was a pretty good day. Except for the flat tire; and the aching butt; and the soul shaking overhaul of the crappy bus; and this sticky dirt that under no circumstances wants to get out from under my fingernails!