After the bike tour we were ready for a slower pace.  We flew to Vientiane and back into the land of temples. We settled in to Luang Prabang as our base for activities and good food.  Today we went to a rice farming experience. and yesterday we did a day ride across the Mekong.  We were invited to refreshments at a village party, but couldn't figure out what the occasion was. Evenings start with a sunset drink above the river... followed by dinner. Sausage was very tasty, didn't try the frog.  So far Cambodia is winning on taste with Laos and Vietnam trailing.  The main street is heavy-duty tourism by day and night. Tomorrow we take a van and boat to Nong Khiaw for a few days of hiking and smaller Lao village exploration before heading south to an el...

More bananas to dodge as we rode through the Delta. Jackfruit  Lotus  Pomelo (like grapefruit) on the way to market.  One of a few ferries. Our group and guide Toan enjoying a sugarcane juice with kumquat.  We stopped every 15-25km for a beverage and snack or lunch.  We're down a rider after a solo crash and sore shoulder. Dragonfruit ready for the market.  Lots of fruit grown! Last 20km into Ho Chi Minh City were by van - riding would not have been enjoyable. HCMC is busy, loud and economically active so if it weren't for the many reminders it would be easy to forget that this is a one-party state. Our tour company was Social Cycles and I definitely recommend them.  They organized 4 visits with local NGOs, including Mekong Plus (which makes bamboo bikes and helmets!), for us to learn about efforts to improve the lives of Cambodians and Vietnames...

Entering one of 5 remaining Communist countries did not go smoothly.  Our new guide, Toan, slipped the border police $30 to get us through after 2 hours and it's gone better since. We rode 108km to Can Tho along the network of waterways criss-crossing this region at 3' above sea level.   I had to duck under a bunch of bananas at one point! Uncle Ho greeted us... and we now walk around with millions in our pockets. [Insert obligatory food pix here] Today we had a morning tour of rice noodle "factory"/souvenir shop, floating produce market (for real), And cacao farm specializing in tourist visits. Our initial impressions of Vietnam are that it's much more prosperous than Cambodia.  The towns/cities are more vibrant, there's much better infrastructure and much less trash, an...

Thank you to Buntry, Hoem and Ra for a great time crossing Cambodia!  A few more Cambodia notes before we cross the border. * It was difficult to find slippers in 10.5/44 so I'm a little squished in $5 "Crocs". * Noel found her best ever massages in Kampot.  An hour costs $8-25. * These concrete buildings are all over and are massive birdhouses.  They have annoying 24/7 loudspeakers broadcasting calls to attract swiftlets to build nests, which are harvested for birdsnest soup and sold for $1000+ per pound. * My quest to try durian is over!  Very interesting taste/texture combination and I didn't find the odor as off-putting as most people (including Noel and unfortunately Hoem, who put up with it in the van for an hour) do. * Cambodia is still recovering from the horrific Khmer Rouge rule 50 years ago.  Our guides talked about family members lost and survivors tell their stories at the memorial sites. * The food continued to b...