Having turned on to the connecting road we encountered the most grand of road widening schemes.

Wider than a soccer field and very flat.

Mr Ku hires out motorbikes and has a mudmap of "the loop".

With a copy of the mud map and a few kind words we were on our way.

Across a small sandy river.

He was getting on a bit and shouted at us in French.

We suspect he was drunk. Finally worked out that he thought we should give him a beer.

While writing this Ali has just reported on our supplies. You will be pleased to know that we have 5 of the toilet rolls we brought from Brisbane, and another 10 purchased in Malaysia. Too early to worry yet.

We got confused and missed Tham Pha Fa cave with a couple of hundred old bronze Buddhas. Since photography isn't allowed there we will never know what we missed.

Xien Lia-b cave is a couple of hundred meters behind that building.

We found some butterflies (which probably weren't lost).

We came third.

In retrospect this was the attraction, along with riverside picnic spots.

Next time we'll get the research right.

But never boring.

The tar seal stopped, just outside town.

Nakai seems to be a dormitory town for the hydro electric scheme.

Restaurant owner wanted to know if we were working for "ABC" (can't quite remember). A good meal.

As far as food goes we've noticed that its become progressively less spicy and hot as we've moved away from Thailand.

We are now reaching for the chilli sauce to put on the fried rice or noodles.

One of many different designs we've seen. This is quite elaborate, and re-usable.

This is dead bamboo. The current and high water marks can be seen.

This bit is the beginning of a hill to a pass.

Average speed over the 70 km was less than 15 km/hr.

Motorbikes moved a little faster.

Bone jarring and back breaking come to mind.

The bridge was a shiny new concrete affair. Incongruous given the state of the road.

But just to catch us out the bridge was cambered differently to the road so there was a largish step up onto it.

We've generally been treating transitions from road to bridge and back with respect. This one demanded more than the usual.

It had once been sealed, but lost its seal.

The limestone has been tilted to different angles around here.

The valley is quite spectacular (to us).

Too tired after a hard drive. We had a meal and saved the cave for the next day.

The red campervan belongs to an English / Ecuador couple with young daughter who have driven from England.

This area has a relaxed appeal.