Welcome to the hills

Vang Vieng to a Hot Springs Resort - 80km
 From Vang Vieng it started out with fairly flat, but the highway was a bit of a mess. Various sections of the road were not paved at all which meant you couldn't gain much speed. After lunch we started a slow and steady climb to our overnight destination. To make up for the climbing we spent the night on top of a mountain in small cabins beside a natural hot spring with a great view. It was absolute bliss, especially considering most of our guesthouses don't include hot running water. During the evening the hot springs turned into a popular stop with truckers, and seemed to double as the community bathing area. Since our guesthouse didn't include a shower at all we had a cold bath by splashing water on ourselves from the spout and then headed to the springs. We also met a German couple who were spending the month cycling Laos.  

Hot Springs to Kiukacham - 76km
Hills, hills and more hills! I swear my next cycling tour will be in southern Saskatchewan, or maybe Holland.
Today included several climbs including one gradual and painful 20km ascent. Kiukacham turned out to be a foggy little town on top of yet another mountain. When I checked the weather forecast for cycling Laos I neglected to find out whether there is much variation between larger cities and more remote villages in the hills. There is. In the cities below we could easily survive in pants and t-shirt. In the mountains I was freezing! After yet another cold shower I put on shorts, pants, a tank top, a long sleeved top and the only sweater I had (a lucky last minute packing decision). At our guesthouse we met up with the German couple from the hotsprings and another couple from Slovenia who happened to be cycling in the opposite direction. The two couples were more experienced at touring and were decked out with great gear and warm clothing. Needless to say, I was jealous.  

Kiukacham to Luang Prabang - 80km
We've finally arrived in our final cycling destination of the week! I'm not sure if I'm more excited about the prospect of getting some laundry done or having access to bakeries. Both are fantastic! Most of today's right was a descent which meant we arrived in Luang Prabang early in the afternoon with minimal effort. We found a guesthouse on the main road alongside the night market.

We ended up spending three days in Luang Prabang relaxing, enjoying a couple of massages, grabbing a new tire for Dana's bike (her previous tire had warped), and trying not to shop. Luang Prabang has a fantastic night market and if I weren't constricted with panniers I could have easily done all of my Christmas shopping here. However, the idea of literally pulling around gifts for two weeks was less than appealing, and my space is limited. Unfortunately with the location of our guesthouse we had to walk through the market to get anywhere. A lesson in self control. We spent one of our three days cycling 30km out to a well known waterfall in a National Park. It gave us a chance to get in some physical activity and make sure Dana's new wheel actually worked.