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As
we left the Nam Tha valley we found that the rains had cleared away at
least part of the smoke, and left the rice fields as green as any we
had seen in all of Asia. We were shooting for Oudomxai where we felt
relatively sure we could find lodging. It wasn't all that far, but what
info we had led us to believe it would be slow traveling. We were
beginning to see a pattern in places where the roads were bad. When you
asked a local how the roads are, if he said "...it's a good road", it
usually meant there were no parts missing. If he said "...it's OK", it
meant you and your vehicle would probably survive it.
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The
first thirty kilometers from Luang Namtha were passable road, but it
quickly turned into badly potholed blacktop. At about the half way
point we came upon this local roadside market near a local bus stop the
women above are selling bamboo shoots.
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If
you needed more variety there were also lotus root that could be
flavored with a tasty rodent (left), or you could choose from a basket
of live frogs.
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Some
villagers busied themselves with needlework, while others were content
to gawk at the weird tourists. It was obvious that this village had
been the subject of a recent outreach, as many of the children, like
this young man, proudly clutched health leaflets as if they were
treasure.
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Oudomxai has a
tiny tourism office with an eager young staff with modest english
skills who diligently try to promote their nascent tourism industry.
But it remains that the majority of foreigners here are Chinese like
these road workers seen here admiring our bikes. There are an even
larger number of Chinese who work on plantations. Some of the hotels in
fact are inexpensive Chinese operations that cater strictly to Chinese
men. We spent one night in Oudomxai and, with assurances that the road
improved, in the morning we continued to Luang Prabang.
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As we
climbed once again out of Oudomxai we saw another classic display
of the spirit of community. Watch them WORK.
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The past few
days rains had left the higher passes shrouded under a dense layer of
fog. On the badly potholed section between Oudomxai and Luang Prabang
it proved to be a potent mix. Moments after I took this picture we
entered a patch of this fog. I underestimated just how wet it had made
the road. At that early our there had been little traffic, and I had
been, for the most part, able to dodge the bigger potholes. Suddenly I
came upon a deep hole that was hard to see just as a small scooter was
approaching from the other way. With no room to go around the hole, I
hit the brakes and lost it on the slick pavement. I went down about
eight feet before the hole and slid all the way over it with the bike
on top of me. I took the brunt of the fall on the same hip I had fallen
on at the beginning of our trip in the Himalayas. The bike was rideable
and I was able to continue, but it left us holed up in Luang Prabang
for over a week, and questioning much of our intended route.
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