Northern Laos has been fantastic. The mountain scenery is spectacular. The people friendly and welcoming. The children alongside the road vociferous with their calls of "Sabaidee". I had spent longer here than anticipated though and decided to save a day and take a bus over the last few mountains that would take me to the southern plain.
Everything was arranged by Tom the hotel owner, who told me the bus left at 7am and that I should be in the reception ready to go at 6.30. A tuktuk would be ready to take the bike and myself to the bus station that was 4kms away.
We must have been about half way there when the driver started frantically waving and sounding his horn. Apparently my bus had just passed us going the other way at 6.35am ! Luckily he pulled over and after a quick exchange between the two drivers we loaded my bike onto the roof rack. I was the only one on the bus. Being somewhat skeptical about the number of passengers and his unscheduled time of departure I asked repeatedly Paksan ? Paksan ? The driver kept nodding in agreement then pulled up at the market. The morning markets are alway busy and this one was no exception. And standing in front of the entrance were a group of people loaded down with everything from bags of rice to live chickens in baskets. As well as pretty much everything else in between.
Being the first one aboard I got the best seat, and waited patiently until everyone else was aboard. The bus was full to bursting. Then we waited for the driver to come back. An waited some more. We were there for over an hour and left at 8am.  All part of the Asian experience I told myself.
Tom had told me the bus journey would be 8 hours. After hearing all the tales of bus journeys taking up to twice as long as promised I had stocked up on provisions for the journey and settled in for the duration. Lunch was a quick stop on the road at a noodle shop and then off we went again. We seemed to be making good time and I was beginning to think that 8 hours would be quite accurate . Then we took a short cut that would promise to be quite eventful.
This shortcut started with an 18% climb up a narrow road. After cresting the rise we found a string of vehicles parked up with everyone wandering around or taking shelter from the sun under the trees. I joined the curious crowd and walked to the front of the queue, experience having told me to take my camera. As you can see from the pictures a flat bed truck had somehow slewed across the road and lost its load - a caterpillar digger ! No-one was going anywhere until one 4X4 driver decided to flatten some bamboo and drive around the truck, quickly followed by a few others. Our driver, obviously thinking about his timetable (if so he is probably the only driver in Asia that does)
OK. Off we set once more. The chatter in the bus was starting to die down again when we came across another hold up. This time it was a 4X4 and a truck that came into contact with eachother. Once again I joined the throng on the side of the road, and wondered how the two vehicles could possibly have hit eachother. There were gaps on both side of the vehicles through which another 4X4 decided to pass the accident. With that much room to spare it should have been easy to avoid eachother. Once we had passed it was all plain sailing into Paksan. The bus driver and conductress then tried the time honoured shake-down for an after journey payment for the bike. The conductress held my bike and showed me a note, whereupon I told her it would take more than that to buy my bike. In the end she gave up when a translator appeared and told her what I was saying. It was worth a try on her part I suppose. Just another part of the Asian experience. I later spotted a small note referring to this short cut on the map of Laos. It read 'seek advice before using this section of road'. If only I had known.
I was just trying to decide whether to stay in town that evening or ride southwards when I got flagged down by a couple of cyclists heading the other way. Mandy and Jacques are two well traveled South Africans more recently based in London who were on their first cycle tour. (Their travels can be seen here www.seeyouwhenwegetthere.com). We had a chat and a laugh before deciding to find somewhere to sleep and then going for a meal. They told me about their travels and we swapped a few details of our experiences along the road before agreeing to meet up in the morning for our goodbyes. I had spent a lot of time wondering how to reduce the amount of luggage I would need and everyone is amazed by how little I am carrying. We took a few pictures of the three of us in the morning and Mandy then took one of my bike as a reminder of how little is needed on the road. A quick scan of the market for some breakfast and we went our separate ways. A pleasant encounter with two really nice people.
OK then. Highway 13. Straight south. And I do mean straight. Time to get my head down and grind out some kilometres. It's about 750 kms to the Cambodian border with not much to see on this road. The mountain range to my left looked magnificent but there are only about 6 roads into it for the full length to the border. After a 6.30 start I had made about 90 kilometres by lunch time when I stopped and began talking with a tuktuk driver who convinced me to take a look at the Konglor cave. It's labelled as one of Laos' amazing spectacles. However it's a one road in and out journey of 89 kilometres each way and a hard climb in each direction. Why not I thought. It was then that I discovered the enhanced colour button on my camera. The scenery up and over the mountain was spectacular with Karst pinnacles and lush jungle. The journey took me until 6pm for a total of 179 kilometres. And after the heat and the distance I am quite happy to admit that I was hanging. The cave was enormous. Luckily I teamed up with a German/Austrian couple and the three of us took the first canoe of the day. We had only gone about 5 minutes into the journey when we pulled onto a beach inside the cave and clambered ashore. We assumed that this was one of the places where the water was too shallow for a laden boat but it was instead a section of stalagmites and stalactites. Amazing shapes and configurations that unfortunately my camera was not able to do justice to.
The cave, or to be more exact the tunnel, is about 7.5 kms long and up to 100 metres wide and high. Quite spectacular. I decided that as this was an unexpected and previously unscheduled side trip I was allowed to take a bus back to the main road where I had met the tuktuk driver. I would still have to ride the 50 kilometres to where the buses were though. Two stops for ice-cream and I made it in time to catch a minibus with air-con. Result. Five young Brits all on their way back to ThaKhek from the cave. No sooner had we said our hello's and we pulled up at the bottom of the climb behind a line of buses, trucks and cars. Time to take a walk with the camera again. Every vehicle driver was out scavenging for the biggest rocks they could carry to place under the rear wheels and stop their vehicle sliding downhill. Some drivers must have thought there was still room to get through and decided to drivge up on the other side of the road. When that queue was complete they even parked in between the two rows. If the hold-up ahead ever got cleared I wasn't sure there would be room for anyone to move again.
As I rounded a corner I saw an artic jack-knifed across the road with one of its drive wheels over the ditch. I was trying to figure out what happened and assumed that it had lost traction and had started to slide. With one drive wheel over a ditch it would be difficult to get any traction again. I then walked passed the truck and saw the reason for its lack of progress. Another artic had had a mechanical and the driver was in the process of removing a part of the drive shaft ! Most people were taking shade under the trees with a few even cooking dinner on fires they built on the road with sticks from the surrounding bushes. Obviously we were settling in for the long haul. Yes, you've guessed it - all part of the Asian experience.
After a brief discussion with the others in the minibus we decided that the driver would be better off turning around and going the long way back to Thakhek but as it was a dirt road and would take so long and drink the fuel he preferred to wait and see what happened with the trucks. As I had only traveled about 3 kilometres with him the driver agreed to cancel my fare and we took the bike off the roof and I started pedaling. A number of people were cheering and giving me waves and it felt like riding the Tour de France as I climbed the hill and wound my way through the crowd that was turning to see what was happening. Once through the jam it was another long hot ride. The jam eventually cleared and the minibus passed me again about half way back to the main road. I eventually got there at about 5.30 and quickly tucked into a large omelette before settling into the middle of a Dutch contingent playing cards. They were all riding scooters around 'The Loop', a tour of some of the sights and places along the back roads (such as Konglor cave) including the dirt road that the minibus driver had refused to take. I would meet them all again along the road south to Thakhek the next morning.
But for those that remember the Tales of the Riverbank - "that's another story".
 
Two hard days riding from Luang Prabang over mountainous jungle roads has brought me to Phonsovan in northern Laos. I had seen some photographs from the blog of a New Zealand couple that came through here and decided to take a look for myself. In fact, the area around here reminds me very much of NZ. The mountain road dropped fast into a valley that broadened out and quickly became a ribbon of tarmac through pleasant meadows and small lakes. I wan't sure up until this point whether I would make it to Phonsovan before dark but as the road continued to undulate instead of climbing again I decided to push on and just about made it before it got completely dark. It was a last minute dash into town with a Dutch couple on bikes that I had met twice previously that day. I met them when I stopped for breakfast at 9 am, then again about two hours later when they stopped for a second breakfast. I left them there and was surprised to pull up alongside them at the lights in town. They had decided to get the bus for the last 75 kilometres. I'm not sure how far they actually rode but it couldn't have been more than 25 kms. 

The main attraction here is the plain of jars although our tour guide for the day made great pains to point out how good the trecking and rafting was too. No doubt he guides these also.
Laos has the dubious honour of being the country that has been most heavily bombed while not being at war.
The US dropped bombs all along the eastern border of Laos in an attempt to destroy the supply line of the north Vietnamese army, who used the Ho Chi Minh trail that ran through dense jungle crossing the border between the two countries a number of times. It has been called the 'silent war', or 'secret war', as no-one seemed to mention it at the time (the part in Laos and Cambodia that is). I heard that there was a bomb dropped on Laos every 8 minutes of the war, which lasted for twenty years. Today there are huge parts or Laos that are not safe to venture into due to unexploded bombs. Work is ongoing to rid the menace of small cluster bombs that litter the ground all around the town. Just across the road from where I am writing this blog there is a UXO (unexploded ordinance) survivor information centre, where details are kept of all injuries suffered by those unfortunate enough to come into contact with the bombs. Last year alone there were about 30 reported injuries including loss of limbs and eyes, as well as fatalities, and most of them to children who were just playing in the fields their parents are farming. And this is 38 years after the war ended !

The plain of jars area was also a casualty of the bombing with up to 60 percent of the jars reportedly damaged. There are many jars left, although very little is known about them.
Theories about the origin and purpose of the jars ranges from giants from outer space (local tribal legend) to burial pots (Unesco), although no bones or human remains have ever been found in any of the jars. There are 85 jar sites dotted around the area with anywhere between 3 and 330 jars at each. The stone was quarried about ten to fifteen miles away and the jars were carried to there destination by elephants about 2500 years ago. It would seem that the plain of jars and Salisbury plain have something in common.
For more information regarding the plain of jars you can copy this link into your browserhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plain_of_Jars
 
From Huay Xai, the border town entering Laos, it is a two day slow boat ride to Luang Prabang, the largest city in northern Laos. I had intended to make the trip the first morning after arrival here. That means that I would have got here on Monday last week. Instead it took me until Sunday afternoon before I finally put my feet ashore at the landing stage.
A ride to Luang Namtha, another to Udomxay and then the bad mountain jungle road over to Pak Mong followed by a ride in the back of a tuk-tuk van with a couple of Dutch travellers to Nong Kiau and a slow boat from there to Luang Prabang. Chance meetings make a huge impact here. It's the people you meet along the way that make the difference.
First there was Paulo the Brazilian cyclist that I headed to Luang Namtha with. Then there were Maaika and Roger that persuaded me that a trip to Nong kiau in the back of a tuk-tuk would be worth making, although it was already a possibility in my book. Now there is Emma, Sylvia and Graham that I met on the boat to Luang Prabang. The four of us have spent three days here in LP riding scooters, visiting waterfalls, walking in the jungle, checking out lots of food and also trying to avoid the hoardes of tourists wandering the streets of this Unesco World heritage site.
It's been a blast but time is moving on and so are we. Graham is heading back to Thailand to hook up with his girlfriend and travel overland to the UK. Emma has two weeks left to travel down through Laos before flying home and Sylvia is waiting for friends to arrive here before continuing her own adventure. I shall be leaving in the morning after spending four nights here. Laos is the kind of place where everything takes longer than you expect, where relaxation is taken to extremes. The sights have been as good as the company though so there are no complaints here.
The waterfalls at Kouang Si were amazing. A long drop followed by countless small pools and terraces of cascading water. The guide books called it "impossibly beautiful and photogenic" and I have to agree. The limestone gives the water a unique colour. We spent some of the day soaking in the water pools, had free wheeling competions down the hill on scooters to see who could go furthest, Sat on the river bank and watched the sun set over the mountains and generally had a good time enjoying the unexpected circumstances that brought us together for a fleeting moment of time. Everyone has their own journey to complete though, so today sees us sorting our gear out and packing up for our respective next legs.
It's a three day ride for me to Phonsovan and the plain of jars, Laos' very own Stonehenge type of mystical landscape, where hundreds of stone jars are littered across the area. No-one knows exactly who built them, placed them there, or even what they are for but the atmosphere and countryside are supposed to be great so that is my next destination before heading south towards the 4000 islands area prior to Cambodia, a couple of weeks away.
 
I wrote this blog a couple of weeks ago but it appears I forgot to upload it. As I am having a prob

Going back in time . . . .  by 30 minutes.
Prior to entering Myanmar I decided to take a look around the morning market in Mae Sai. The morning markets are the most fascinating. The town is coming to life and buying supplies for the day. Almost everything under the sun can be found under the market roof. In the search for breakfast I sat down at a stall and chose a stew that seemed to be popular with the locals. Chicken, Pork, Quail eggs, Bamboo shoots and Fish entrails, as well as the main ingredient in Vics vaporub, which I can't remember the name of. I could smell and taste it as soon as I bit into it. Delicious. Then it was off for a beard trim before heading for the border.
When I got to the immigration office I noticed two clocks on the wall, showing the time in Myanmar and Thailand. The clock for Myanmar was behind by 30 minutes. First thoughts regarding the international time zones would have you believe that there are 24 individual zones. There are actually 39 or 40 different time zones depending upon your reference guide, with changes occurring periodically such as when one Pacific island decided it wanted to move from one side of the international date line to the other therefore moving an hour backwards meaning that it went back a day. This was solely to benefit from it being the same day as it's main trading partner, Australia.
Why Myanmar chose to set their clocks in between their neighbours I don't know. It's not as bizzare as China though. It was Canadian Sir Sandford Fleming who proposed a worldwide system of time zones in 1879. Each time zone would cover 15 degrees of longitude. China covers what should be at least 5 time zones. But by government decree all Chinese clocks are set at Beijing time meaning that those in the west are technically at midday when the sun tells them it's only 7am. India is similar in having more than 15 degrees of longitude but opting for one unified time zone. Others such as Myanmar offset set their clocks from  their neighbours by 15, 30 or 45 minutes. That's how we have so many.
There are two options to pay for the Myanmar visa, $10 US or 500 Thai baht. Paying in dollars would cost about £6.40, paying in baht would cost about £10.90. Unfortunately the dollar doesn't appear to be as popular as it once was. I offered up my ten dollar note but was told that I had to pay in baht. A form was filled out, my photo taken for my entry permit and my passport retained. The entry permit allows you to stay for 14 days but only allows you to travel a maximum of 15 kms from the border crossing. It would have been possible to stay longer and travel more extensively but I don't have time for that so a day trip would have to suffice. Besides, I only came here in order to get a 15 day extension to my Thai visa.
There was definitely a different feel to Myanmar. The number of scooters in Thailand is amazing but in Myanmar they are even more common. And despite driving on the right hand side of the road just about all of the cars on the road are right hand drive. The only noticeable exceptions are the really old trucks that are trundling back and forth. I decided to ride as far as possible just to take a look at the countryside around Tachileik, the crossing point from Thailand. Once I reached the military check-point I was told quite bluntly by the guards to go back to town. So, off I went. Well . . . they had guns and I only have a very small knife.
The rest of the day was spent wandering around the outdoor market. Ralph Lauren and Paul Smith polo shirts were on offer for just 2 pounds. Raybans, Oakleys, D & G bags etc all from China were everywhere.
It was a pleasant few hours and the people were just as friendly as in Thailand. It's only very recently that Myanmar has relaxed its border policy, so white faces are not common enough to be ignored. I had been warned that my passport may be held to ransom for a 'present' by the border guards. Luckily this was not the case. I swapped my entry permit for my passport and met up with Martin and Goi for dinner in Mae Sai.
Luckily they were able to put my bike in the back of the pickup, saving me a ride in descending darkness, and we headed back to their place for another overnight stay. We even managed to stop into a bike shop on the way where we fitted a new bottom bracket to try and get rid of the awful noise that was coming from that area every time I turned a pedal. Unfortunately the bottom bracket that came out was in perfect working order. This can only leave the pedals as the culprits again. Back to Martins and a pedal strip found the problem. The grease that I put in just a couple of weeks ago had disappeared. Some high speed, high temperature grease was added, the locknuts adjusted and the pedals were spinning sweetly again.
You may remember that I had to buy a replacement pair of pedals a few weeks ago. I have now been able to regrease and adjust the original pair as well as the new ones. This means that I am now riding with a spare pair of pedals and a spare bottom bracket. Together with the spare spokes, brake pads and cables I am carrying I should be okay for mechanical issues. Lets just hope that everything holds up and that my maintenance issues are over for at least a few more miles.
 
I had intended to ride into town on Sunday afternoon and then head for the landing stage to take the slow boat to Luang Prabang, a 'must do' according to many people. I wasn't sure about spending two days on a boat watching jungle sliding past but as it was only about 6 hours each day I decided to immerse myself in the 'Asian Experience' a little more. Plans changed though when I reached town and ran into Paulo, a Brazilian cyclist that I had met a few days earlier. We had a chat and agreed to ride together to Luang Namtha instead. This was a different route altogether for me as it was heading north east instead of south east, but everyone kept talking about how beautiful the jungle was so I decided to take a look.
I must admit though that jungle is jungle. It all looks the same to me when you are cycling through it. This was the first time that I had cycled with anyone else on this trip apart from day trips with my hosts Robert and Kung from Chiang Mai and with Martin from Pa Sang.
I had kept trying to stay off the beaten track but here in Laos there is very little else that is navigable. There is only one road from Huay Xai, the border town, to Luang Namtha. 180 kms over mountains and through jungle with over 2000 metres climbing and in 35 degrees of heat. We got as far as Vieng Phoukha, the only town with accommodation between the two points and found a nice collection of bamboo huts. It was the second guest house we found. The first was 100 metres up a hill, which I refused to do considering the bamboo huts were next to the road we were on. It turned out to be a good decision as they were, according to some others that joined us later, the cheapest and also the best places in town. A peaceful rest day followed, but only one. I was itching to get going again but Paulo decided to stay one more day. His plan is to chill out for a while in north Laos before he heads for the Chinese border. He already has his visa and is just using up his visa time in Laos. I, on the other hand, have about 1500 kms of Loas to ride until I come to the southern border with Cambodia.
Luang Nanmtha is nothing to blog home about. One main street, a few back streets and an airport that doesn't look as if it gets much use. As I took a walk around town earlier I came across a group of guys playing Petanque (or boules), one thing left by the French when they left. As I watched them playing and listened to them whooping and hollering I realised why they were having so much fun. The women were continually plying them with small glasses of iced BeerLao. I had heard that this is a favourite with many travelers so when they pushed one into my hand I thought I had better give it a try. I can understand why westerners like it as it tastes just like beer from home. Not being a drinker myself I was done after about 6 glasses (they are small ones) and wobbled off to find a restaurant that was open. I just hope I don't wobble too much on the bike tomorrow.

 
After 5 weeks cycling around Thailand I eventually got to Laos.
It had been an enjoyble stay with Martin and Goi at Pa Sang, but time was marching on and I had to get back on the road. Martin and I spent the morning cycling to visit a teacher friend of his before continuing on to the Golden Triangle, the meeting point of three countries, Thailand, Myanmar and Laos. From there it was a short ride along the bank of the Mekhong to Chiang Maes for my last overnight stay in Thailand. It's a very laid back town too. Everyone eating along the promenade by the river until late in the evening with an expectant air about the place with Chinese new year fast approaching.

The next was a first and last day. Not only was it my last day in Thailand but it was the day I met my first solo touing cyclist. Hayley Buffman from the U.S. We had a chat for about 10 minutes discussing the relative merits of Thailand and Laos (she had just crossed from Laos that morning) before swapping email addresses and goodbyes. Hayley gave me her photographic website address so hopefully there will be some good photos to see at some point in the future. Until then you will have to put up with mine.
Crossing the river Mekhong from Chaing Khong to Huay Xai I couldn't stop grinning. Looking around at the country I had just left then at the country approaching on the far bank I was getting excited about my second Asian country, third if you count a day out in Myanmar. Straight away there was a different feel. Immigration was a matter of a simple form and a smile, although I did have to pay an overtime charge as it was Saturday. Almost all visitors to Laos have to pay for an entry visa ranging from $20 to $35. UK passport holders pay $35, but as it was a weekend the 'overtime' charge raised this to a staggering . . . .  $36. Whether this is an official overtime rate or a simple way of taking an extra dollar off each visitor is not clear, but what the hell, they smiled as they took the money and welcomed me to their country. Where to now.
I had only been denied once in Thailand when I insisted the bike joins me in my hotel room, so I was a little surprised after hearing how laid back the Laotian people were when the first guest house I went to said no to the bike. Talking to a German expat resident of Thailand a few minutes later led me to a home-stay about 17km outside of town that promised food, shelter and a trek into the hills to stay at a hill-tribe village.
Somsi and his wife were my hosts. Instantly on arrival I was offered food. I had eaten prior to setting off from town as I had not wanted to turn up enannounced and expecting food. My room was basic, a mattress on the floor and an outside bathroom, but this is the norm away from the larger towns. Many of the houses in the village still have hard dirt floors. The houses themselves are kept as clean as possible, but when you cook indoors on an open fire it's not always possible to keep things spotless. Somsi teaches at the local school next door to his houseand supplements his income by leading treks to a local hill-tribe village. As there was no-one else going the next day he offered to take me on my own and so after dinner we got our hiking shoes on (cycling shoes for me, flip flops for him) and off we set. It was a steady walk uphill until we reached the village at about 5pm. Here we cooked some food and then met the village chief.
The village chief welcomed me to his home and showed me a solid wood platform with a few 'scatter' cushions, upon which I sat but was then told that it would also be my bed for the night. I hadn't expected to be staying the night and I must admit that the thought of sleeping on a solid wooden bed didn't fill me with happy thoughts. If I had realised we were staying I could have taken my airbed as well as a couple of other luxuries, but it was too late now and so when it came time to settle down for the night I had to make the best of it with the cushions. Surprisingly I didn't sleep as badly as I thought I would. An early start the next morning saw us walking again by 6.15 and by 9 oclock we were back home for a large breakfast.

It had been an interesting visit to a traditional hill tribe village that was not without some modern conveniences. Electricity and running water are available to all but traditional crafts are still in evidence for now. I had heard it being lamented that modern building methods and materials were spoiling these villages but the march of progress goes on. Our ancestors had previously lived in wooden houses with thatched roofs and dirt floors. Should we deny others the luxuries that we take for granted ? Is it a loss of a traditional way of living or a movement away from poverty, disease and high infant mortality ?
Everyone aspires to greater wealth and the trappings it brings. Just laying some of my possessions on the floor next to the mattress that was my bed for the first night in Laos included Ray-bans sunglasses, Smartphone, Ipod and digital camera. For those living in huts it would probably seem impossible to acquire these items. And yet this was just a part of my travelling kit.
 
I was intending to write a post about my time in Chiang Rai but decided instead to write about Wat Rong Khun, aka The White Wat or White Temple. I was advised to make a trip there by my warmshowers.org hosts Robert and Kung. I must admit that by the time I had got to Chiang Rai I had seen so many temples that the thought of making a special journey just to see one more felt like overkill. 
I arrived in Chiang Rai in an anxious state. My ipod had got rained on and was completely dead. No sign of life whatsoever. The thought of spending another four months without music or audiobooks to keep me company was depressing. It was my own fault though. When I was walking around the market on my day out in Myanmar I wrapped my phone and camera in a plastic bag but for some reason I left my ipod sitting on the top tube of the bike inside a mesh bag. No protection from the rain at all. I can't think why I didn't protect it, so I only have myself to blame. I was told of a guy with a tech stall in Central Plaza, a shopping mall in Chaing Rai, that could fix it. It was a long and complicated series of requests and pleads to get him to even try. The new ipods are almost impossible to open and close without damaging beyond repair. He also told me that even if the battery survived and could be made to work again the hard drive would probably be useless. I explained to him that it didn't work now, so nothing he did could make it worse. Eventually he agreed to give it a go. 24 hours later I returned to find the ipod working, but with doubts about the battery being able to hold a charge. He was unable to get a battery for it as it was an "old model". I can't understand why as I only bought it a couple of months ago. Still, technology moves at an amazing rate and I had something to listen to if only for short periods between charging. I had been considering my options and was thinking of buying a new one on ebay and having my father sync it with my pc at home and fedexing it to me, which I may still have to do if the battery fails completely. Time will tell.
But in the meantime I was so pleased to have it working again that I decided to make the 15km journey and set off to see the white wat.
AND I AM SO GLAD THAT I DID
The Wat is the work of the artist Chalermchai Kositpipat.
I suggest you visit this website for even better photos and a little information about the temple and the artist or try a google search to find out more.
http://www.canvas-of-light.com/2010/12/the-white-temple-thailand/

Stunning as the photographs are they really don't convey the amazing work that is going on here. The temple was started in 1997 and was funded by the artist himself without asking for contributions from the government or anyone else. There are nine buildings planned for the three acre site and work is scheduled to finish in about 2070.

It was pure chance that I happened to telephone Martin on completion of my visit to the grounds of the temple when he told me to visit the Hall of Inspiration, a collection of the artists other work. This collection is tucked away at the end of the coffee and souvenir shops that prevents most people from even finding it. I hadn't seen a signpost to alert visitors to its presence so was thankful for making the call. The exhibits include paintings in various media as well as sculptures, porcelain broaches and metalwork. Unfortunately photographs were not allowed inside this hall but you can take a look at some of the artists other work by visiting this website.

https://www.google.com/search?q=Chalermchai+Kositpipat.&hl=de&client=firefox-a&hs=5pG&tbo=u&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&tbm=isch&source=univ&sa=X&ei=jsARUcLsG8LPrQed3oGYCQ&ved=0CDkQsAQ&biw=1920&bih=946

I have copied a few here to give you an example of the kind of work he does. I strongly recommend taking a look at the full page views. His use of colour and imagery is amazing.
 
Well, it's my first time in Asia but that's just the start of it. I've also had my first close encounter with a cut throat razor. I was going to say a close shave but the beard has stayed. I had a beard trim and prune from a little old man with an old fashioned barbers chair.
A few minutes gesturing and checking he understood what I wanted and off he went. A full thirty minutes later, and after lots of pampering and final adjustments and I was done. 45 pence well spent I thought as I walked two doors down to get some passport photos taken for my visas into Laos and Cambodia.

Two minutes in front of the camera and a few more spent artfully manipulating the pictures with photoshop to take away the panda eyes caused by my sunglasses and then adding a suit and tie to make me look respectable and I think I should have no problems at the border crossings. Another 1.80 well spent. I could have treated myself to my first ever pigs head from a mobile butcher but decided against that one.
The Thai people are so friendly and willing to help that I am often led to a hotel by someone on a scooter in the small towns where the signs are not in English. I have already received a couple of lifts into town and back again when walking from my hotel on the couple of occasions that the hotel is not in the town itself. When they see a foreigner walking along a deserted road everyone seems to stop to see what the problem is. I'm just not sure what I would do when I get stopped and there are already three or four on the scooter though. Would it be rude to turn them down ? The most I have seen on one scooter so far is five, so perhaps I will take them up on the offer.

One meal that I had on the street was preceded by a guy calling "manoo manoo riveroo". It was only after he made a kicking motion that I realised he was saying Man U, Liverpool. They are mad for the English premier league over here and it earned me a special meal just for being able to understand him. The bowl arrived with about 15 chickens feet in it. Not legs. Feet. They are not for eating but just to add flavour. And I have to say, they sure did the job. I don't think I have ever seen that before.

One problem i have had is ordering food. It's easy enough to say "I'm hungry" in Thai. This will get you the equivalent of the dish of the day, but ordering specific dishes is near on impossible unless the menu is in English too. One day I was served shrimps with rice. I don't eat shrimps. I'm not sure when I made that decision but it's something I have never eaten as far as I can remember. Being hungry though I decided to give it a try. No problem. One more 'first' to add to the list.

My fist Asian border crossing and re-crossing has gone without a hitch.

I experienced my first Asian hail storm last night. Everyone is talking about the strange weather we are having. It's unusual to see any rain at this time of year, and for many it was the first time they saw hail stones too. Not sure how long this will last but I hope that it won't continue. One good thing about a rain storm here though is that it comes with a warning. Each storm has been preceded by lots of thunder and about a minute of light rain before the deluge. It's over quickly too allowing people to get on with what they were doing.
Well it had to happen sooner or later. Last night I was refused permission to take my bike into my room at a hotel. Every hotel that I have stayed at so far has allowed me to keep it in the room. Often the receptionists have looked given me quizical looks as if to say "of course you can take the bike into the room, where else would you keep it". So, I turned down the room and went next door. No problem this time.
 
On my way to the border at Mae Sai I spent a night in a town called Pa Sang, where I met Martin and Goi. Martin, a Swiss ex-pat and his wife Goi run a homestay in the town ( www.goi-homestay.co.nr ) I had seen a notice for a hotel down a back street and was investigating when I noticed a large Swiss flag hanging from a cross beam in front of the house. Martin was hula hooping in the yard and we struck up a conversation. I told him I was looking for somewhere to sleep so he invited me in and offered me a room for the night. If the offer of spending an evening chatting and laughing with Martin and Goi wasn't enough the addition of home baked bread with butter and strawberry jam sealed it for me. I haven't had bread since I stayed with Robert and Kung two weeks ago. Martin cycles too and we spent a very pleasant evening talking over places we had both been. He suggested that I ride up to Doi Tung and visit the garden of Mae Fa Luang on my way to the border. It's steeper than the Mae Hong Son roads he told me, "but for you, no problem". I'm not sure what he based that upon but the gardens sounded great, so I set off in the morning to see for myself.
I set off at 8.15 and warmed up my legs over the first 15 km before I began the climb that would lead to a descent, then another climb, another descent, and finally the monster steep climb that Martin told me about. To be honest all three climbs were steeper than those on the Mae Hong Son loop. I was working so hard on the climbs that even my sweat was sweating. The descent after the visit to the garden and royal palace was just as steep which meant that my forearms were hurting on the descent just as much as my legs were on the climb. The gardens at Doi Tung were the idea of the late Princess mother (mother of the present king) Somdej Phra Srinagarindra, as an alternative to the opium trade that flourished along the border with Myanmar (the former Burma). The palace was built as a summer residence but the Princess mother wanted to improve the lives of the local people and initiated a project to reforest the mountain and to reeducate the local tribes to stop them slashing and burning the remaining forest. Today the area is as much of a jungle as other areas and the locals are employed growing plants or catering to the tourist trade.
The garden is not large but manages to pack in a huge amount onto the ten acres of gently sloping ground. I was very pleased to have made the trip as the garden is beautiful. The combined ticket allowed entrance to the palace too. Not as grand as it sounds the palace is a purpose built teak house large enough for a royal retinue without being grandiose or ostentatious. Everything from the floor, windows, furniture roof and floor are made of teak. No photos are allowed of the interior which is why I am not able to put them here although no doubt they are available on the internet somewhere. For the equivalent of about two pounds 50 pence it's good value if you can get there, although it's off the beaten track and quite a climb. I don't see a royal palace and gardens in the UK ever being that cheap.
A steep downhill blast into Mae Sai and an overnight stay in the border town before crossing to Myanmar in the morning completed the ride. There were a few police check points along the way. I stopped just the once to take a photo before being waved through each one. The town is a bustling melting pot of tribes and nationalities. The Chinese presence is evident all over town, as the Chinese border is just 200 kms away. It's going to be my first border crossing in Asia and allow me an extra 15 days in Thailand when I re-enter.
It should be an interesting day out.
 
Leaving Pai early to avoid the heat as much as possible I made my way up the mountain. It was a long first and second gear grind with a little bit of third and forth occasionally. This was the first time I used my ipod in the morning, usually preferring to get a couple of hours in before using outside assistance. I needed something that would last at least a couple of hours so I chose a selection of classic tracks that I had put together some time back. In certain circumstances timing is everything. It seemed so today.

The moon was still shining high as I left the town and started climbing. As I looked up and saw the full moon I heard The Waterboys and The whole of the moon. A bit of a coincidence but nothing more. Its a long way to the top I thought as Ike and Tina Turners rendition of River deep mountain high made me smile. A drop down the hillside again and rounding a bend I saw three bridges ahead of me crossing three separate streams. It can't be just coincidence I thought as Jimmy Cliff started singing Many river to cross, but we'll see. Bridges usually tell you you are in a valley and another climb is going to come soon. Just around the corner it started in time with Peter Gabriel singing Solsbury hill. Once I reached the top I had about 5 - 6 kilometres of flattish road before the descent. It was here that I started spinning just as Brian Eno and John Cale sang Spinning away. This was getting weird. Now up until this time the clouds had been constant, the first time this has happened so far on the trip. It was midday and the long descent towards the Chiang Mai plain started. The clouds then parted and The Beatles struck up Here comes the sun. Things were looking up until about an hour later when it became overcast again with thickening dark cloud. I should have known what was going to happen as Amii Stewart began to sing Knock on wood. It's not the title that had me worried, it was the lyrics - "Thunder, and Lightening". Sure enough the clouds parted and I was soaked within a couple of minutes.
When it rains here, it doesn't mess about. I pulled into the first hotel I saw and without looking at the room I took it. Big mistake. This is the first time I have been anywhere that does not have wifi. This includes cafes, restaurants, hotels, milk shake bars, tourist informations centres and tourist attractions, all free. Its not too much of a problem being unconnected for one evening though. At least there is a TV with at least one channel in English. The bathroom was a sorry affair, and the bed is the worst I have come across in my life, Springs covered in the thinnest material known to hotel owners. Good job I have my airbed. And not even the usual complimentary bottles of water ! Hot food was available just 10 metres away, which was going to be the first thing I did after a good long hot shower.
Then the lights went out.

The storm that had now been hammering down for about thirty minutes took its' toll on a tree next to the road and as it came down it brought the power lines with it. Adapt and overcome I thought. Put on my headtorch and have a shower. Wait a minute though, the shower is powered by electricity. Cold wash it is then. Not that big a deal as it's still warm enough to wear just shorts and T-shirt. With that done it was out for some food. Unusually for this country the street food stall was cooking by electricity instead of gas. I managed to get some still warm spicy pork and noodle soup. It was so hot to me that it was still burning my lips half an hour later. Back to the room and an early night with the ipod as the electricity had not yet been connected again. It was at this point that I should have checked the switch for the light. I woke up at some point and just as I opened my eyes the electricity was connected sparking the flourescent tube into life. That was a stark awakening I can tell you.

A new day dawns though and off I set once more with a light cloud covering and a hint of sun. I'm on the road again. The morning sun warmed me quickly and good time was being made. Unfortunately the clouds started gathering again in the afternoon. By 4 oclock they could hold out no more and I experienced a second day of rain. This time though I had taken refuge in an internet cafe. The first week or two I had been using them to avoid the sun, now it was to avoid the rain. Once the rain stopped it was a quick 10 km blast into Fang and this time a great hotel with great facilities all for the same price as the evening before. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. So far on this trip I have been winning. Let's hope it continues.