Even though it was me who slept for only a few hours I still had to wake up the boys who were still sleeping 10 minutes after we were supposed to meet for breakfast at 9. The girls were already up, even though still late. Then I had a full body massage, which I could not resist for only USD2.50. Could you? All this and then talking to yet another Israeli guy (this one cycling South East Asia which he decided to do while already on his 3 month trip in Nepal, bought the bike and now he is almost at the end of his journey) caused that I didn’t manage to leave earlier than 1:30PM. My destination was the Plain of Jars. It was supposed to be only about 180km so not a big deal. Or was I mistaken???…

Oh yes, I was mistaken! On the map it looks like 180 kilometers but I was now riding in the mountains where the roads can’t go as straight as usual. After I turned right from the highway 13 towards the plain the going got really slow as there was one sharp curve after another and I was now also going up and down between the elevations of 1200 and 1500m above sea level. There is one about 50km long stretch where instead of the 50 kilometers as the crow flies you actually clock over twice as much thanks to the numerous twists and turns. The surroundings here are absolutely amazing. This is how I imagined the area surrounding Chiang Mai in Thailand while there are just hills as opposed to the mountains that are here and also the average elevation there is more then 1000 meters lower then here.

The only thing I’m getting worried about is my front tyre that already needs changing. If I get into China by some miracle I don’t know if I’ll be able to get it there and I have almost no chance finding it here in Laos either.

I reached Phonsavanh just after sunset. This is a city that serves as a starting point for trips to the different plain of jars in the area. I had a choice of three two-dollar guesthouses. I chose the one with the most atmosphere – Vinh Thong here N19.44975 E103.22091. (The bank is here for those interested: N19.44553 E103.21220.

(286km)