On the road

I am trying to update this blog from my iPhone again as there are no
Internet cafes where I am (Pak Beng) but there is Wi Fi if you check
into the most expensive hotel in town (a whopping $70 including all
meals?!?).
Below is my trusty steed of 3 days. Much smaller than Guenther my BMW,
but the locals think it is big and to be honest, there is little need
for anything else. Actually despite the saddle being aweful and giving
me a butt rash (soothed by a $5 massage), it is much easy to handle in
all the loose gravel and sand on the mountain roads.
The ride itself started pretty dull from Vientiene for the first
couple of days, with the exception of some intermittent run through
mountains, but today has been spectacular, leaving Sainyabuli and
heading high into the hills, coming across tribes who appear to have
never met a 'ranga, spectacular scenery and then down into Hongsa
where I found a man going to work on an elephant. After Muang Ngoen
there was some pretty amazing roadworks underway which I think is
being undertaken by the Japanese. It made me realise a few things
about how much we can take good roads for granted and what it means to
the people here, but I will write more when I can use something easier
than an iPhone.