Because of the distance and roads we rented a van to take us to our next stop.
It was comfortable and air conditioned but I missed the more immediate and direct interaction of motorbike travel. Also, on the bikes your center of gravity is straight down because they lean on the corners. In contrast, the van took the corners flat so we tended to slide back and forth on the seats and before long I got carsick. They put me in the front seat so that helped and the driver slowed a little but the roads were the usual twisty, up and down mountain roads so it was a long ride.
We stopped for lunch near the top of a mountain at a special rest stop for vehicles. This is the view from the back window opening. Of course, cellphone photographs don't do justice to scenery shots but this was spectacular.
From about here on into Luang Prabang we saw Plumeria trees planted along the roadside. Many were newly planted or only a few years old.
We also spotted some teak plantings and and as we got closer to the city saw large groves of teak covering the hillsides.
For the past couple days we've also seen fence rows or even larger groves of gum trees (eucalyptus). Imported from Australia, they are an important addition to the firewood supply because they grow quickly and resprout from the cut stumps.
After our seven and one-half hour van ride we arrived, looked for a hotel and settled in.
It was comfortable and air conditioned but I missed the more immediate and direct interaction of motorbike travel. Also, on the bikes your center of gravity is straight down because they lean on the corners. In contrast, the van took the corners flat so we tended to slide back and forth on the seats and before long I got carsick. They put me in the front seat so that helped and the driver slowed a little but the roads were the usual twisty, up and down mountain roads so it was a long ride.
We stopped for lunch near the top of a mountain at a special rest stop for vehicles. This is the view from the back window opening. Of course, cellphone photographs don't do justice to scenery shots but this was spectacular.
From about here on into Luang Prabang we saw Plumeria trees planted along the roadside. Many were newly planted or only a few years old.
We also spotted some teak plantings and and as we got closer to the city saw large groves of teak covering the hillsides.
For the past couple days we've also seen fence rows or even larger groves of gum trees (eucalyptus). Imported from Australia, they are an important addition to the firewood supply because they grow quickly and resprout from the cut stumps.
After our seven and one-half hour van ride we arrived, looked for a hotel and settled in.
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