Vang Vieng-20km North of Kasi

Total Distance:79.64km
Total Time:5h37m02s
Average Speed:14.1km/h
Maximum Speed:55.0km
Total Distance So Far:7148.18km

After a couple of days spent hanging around Vang Vieng I decided it was time to leave. The surrounding area was absolutely stunning, however the social aspect of Vang Vieng was not exactly my speed. The streets are crowded with half naked drunken tourists. They're loud and rude. It's people like this that give western travellers a bad name. To each their own, I suppose.
I headed of in the morning. The first hour of the ride was still relatively flat. Then I was back in the mountains. I had almost forgotten just how difficult those hills could be. Overall it was a good ride, even though my leg muscles had one hell of a burn to them afterwards. The weather could have been better. It rained almost the whole day. In a way I prefer the rain to the near unbearable heat, so it wasn't so bad. The scenery, as usual, was beautiful. I can't believe my time in Laos is almost over. I'm really going to miss it.
I had heard from a couple of different cyclists about a guesthouse just north of Kasi. As it turns out the positioning of this stop couldn't be more perfect. Kasi is only about 59km from Loungprabang, which means stopping there would have left me making little progress for the day. This guesthouse, about 20km further down the highway, not only made the day a worthwhile one, but also eased the pain of the day that followed.
The guesthouse was actually one of the nicer ones I've had the pleasure of stopping at. It sits on top of a hill, with a nice view of the mountains. Across a little bamboo bridge is a small hot spring. It's a little more of a "warm spring" than a hot spring, but a nice treat after a days cycling none the less.
At this point I had still not quite made up my mind as to whether I was going to Phonsavan or back to Loungprabang. I figured I would sleep on it and let the wind take me where it would the next day.