Kiewkacham-Loungprabang

Total Distance:81.28km
Total Time:5h08m31s
Average Speed:15.8km/h
Maximum Speed:56.0km/h
Total Distance So Far:7305.61km

I awoke in the morning smelling sort of like a horses ass, having been so afraid to touch anything in the guesthouse I was staying at that I neglected to take a shower. It had it's upside though. Smelling the ripeness of your own stench all day certainly is motivation to get to a shower as quickly as humanly possible. The greasiness of my skin also provided me with a layer of protection against the sun.
Today was a hot one. A really, really hot one. An "oh my God, I'm going to die from exposure to the sun on some mountain in the middle of Laos" hot one. The only saving grace was the terrain today. Yes, after the cruel and unusual uphill punishment of yesterday, Laos redeemed itself by giving me a couple of really nice downhill slopes today. The was still a fair amount of uphill too, but going down lasted a lot longer than going up. It was great. I don't think I could have handled another day of never ending climbing.
I'm back in Loungprabang. I've spent so much time here it feels almost like a second home. Things are certainly different from the last time I was here. My previous visit was during Pii Mai. One could not step foot outside their guesthouse without being soaked with water. Within seconds you would have a Beer Lao in hand (this is the beer brewed in Laos, which is mighty tasty stuff) and would have relieved about a dozen shots of Lao Lao (this is Lao moonshine, which is not very tasty stuff) Now the streets are quite and relaxed. There is a much more mellow vibe. After the chaos that was Vang Vieng, I must say I'm enjoying this change of atmosphere.