Back to Thailand.

 

Today  we left Vientiane Laos and made the trip back over the friendship bridge and into Nong Khai Thailand.  As we rode out of town we came to yet another monument that required the first photo of the day. The real reason we stopped was because could hear the children singing at school.  So we decided that a photo had to be taken. 

 The photo above is at the Vang Vieng bus terminal 2 days ago.  That's Len on the right and the other chap is another cyclist who was riding in Laos.  It was with their help that got our bikes safely back to Vientiane in one piece.

 If we were in Australia and took photos of children singing at school we'd be arrested. Thank god for civil libertarians.  These children were having the time of their lives singing and doing an exercise regime that wasn't going to cause anyone to break out in sweat.  But we had to continue on, as border controls were still about 20kms away. 

 As we entered Nong Khai we came across a great motorcycle shop.  Now this is exactly what I need for my next holiday.  Plenty of room to put my bike, luggage, paying passengers and the cook.  Now that would be a great holiday.  Who wants to come along on the next adventure?

 When we reached the Grand Paradise Hotel our accommodation for the night and were allowed to book in at 10.30am.  This gives us a full day to use the hotel and more importantly, the swimming pool.

I went for a walk of the town in the afternoon and stopped in at a local restaurant for some lunch.  Had a great meal of noodles and chicken sitting amongst the locals.  After lunch they invited me into the kitchen to take some photos of the cooks at work.  Everyone loves to have their photo taken in this place.

 One of the cooks hard at work.

This guy was another one of the cooks who called to me as I was leaving, demanding that I take his photo.  When I saw what he had in his hand, no problem, click away.  It's amazing some of the beautiful people you meet on tour.

I arrived back at the hotel around to cool down with a nice swim.  I still had work to do on my bike before tomorrow, so sitting around had to wait till later.

For dinner tonight we had to go to the 9th Floor of our hotel, and the view out across the city of Nong Khai was just amazing.  We were the only ones in the restaurant.  Tomorrow morning I'll have to go back upstairs and get some photos for you.

Tomorrow we headed to the town of Udon Thani some 55kms away.  We won't be leaving till late tomorrow because Len wants to listen to his favorite team play in the NCAA basketball tournament. The match starts at 8.30am and should last for about 2 hours.  You know what that means.  The little Aussie is sleeping in.

Until tomorrow, safe riding.