All those little one-offs that don't really warrant a blog post of their own, but which, when combined, convey the serendipity of travel by bike.
Overall, Thailand's been pretty awesome. It's clean, the roads are always in good condition, there is 3G almost everywhere (except as you get close to the Laos border, which is pretty remote), and you get the sense that everyone is pretty hopeful about their future and concerned about their communities. Drivers are polite and give cyclists a wide berth, and I feel like I could leave my bike unattended for long periods of time without worrying about theft (I don't do that of course).
I've been on several bike trips by myself now, which is one thing, but it's been harder than I thought to adjust to traveling with 3 other people, eating together, sleeping in the same room or in adjacent tents (we do NOT smell good, ever), and accommodating everyone's little personality eccentricities. I'm just starting to get into the groove of things, so hopefully that'll mean I'll have more energy to take more photos, write more blog posts, and pick up the ukulele again.
I'm also trying to figure out potential lifestyle changes. Should I give up coffee? Beer? Those two items alone use up almost the same amount of money as the rest of my food budget. On the other hand, if I don't have coffee...then what do I have???
Photos:
Laos!
Mingyu and his broken wheel start the long journey to Phayao for repair. If he doesn't fix his wheel now, there will probably be nowhere to fix it until Vietnam.
OMG I can't believe how pretty this is, and how sweaty I am.
The mountain-top gazebo is a cyclist's best friend.
We have to stop and hang out for a while to wait out the rain.
As we head further and further up into the mountains, the valleys become more dramatic, and rice padis give way to hillside corn fields.
We stopped at a waterfall for a break, and, uhhh....look what we found...
I think someone's a little infatuated with Mike.
Then there was this lady and her little helper husking corn.
We stopped at a hot spring to wash our feet, and barely beat the morning rush of huge tour buses, which spewed forth their passengers much like the geyser next to them spewing forth hot water.
Mingyu misses his mommy. So say we all.
