Day 20 - The Taste of Dust - Trial by fire: new bike, first tour, first time in Asia

November 14, 2024

Day 20 - The Taste of Dust

The warm sun felt good on my back as we rode west out of Phonsavan this morning. It occurred to me that the sun might not feel so great later in the day.

Waiting for mom to get the morning shopping.

We frequently see abandoned gravel and sand quarries along the road.

Pine trees over an abandoned gravel pit, with cell towers. So much like the southern US.

And gravel pits here are also used for building sites. Just don't try to grow anything.

Likewise, Buddhist temples are usually on the edge of every town. This one had an old building as well as a more typical modern one.

A Buddhist temple with old and new buildings, and of course, cell towers.

Some strange American-like motifs on these truck decorations.

The pleasant shop owner where I had cool drinks. She has seven children.

There are many large, fine homes even in rural areas. I didn't expect this.

Some are just well supplied with Beerlao.

Tiny grasshopper with very long antennae.

We stopped at a restaurant for a late lunch and, as always, they were happy to cook to order. There are frequently pets hanging around, but we were particularly taken by this dog.

Continuing on our way,

We're sure that there's fine logic happening but the only road building equipment we saw was tearing up a respectable piece of tarmac!

And as our guide from yesterday, Liang, assured us, there's a guesthouse next to the bridge. They had a restaurant across the road. Not long after our immersion in dust we were sitting back enjoying a cup of green tea.

Today's ride: 78 km (48 miles)
Total: 947 km (588 miles)

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