Day 16 (cont)

Of and running a little after nine this morning in fair weather. The roads weren't as bad as yesterday but there were still lots of muddy stretches. Thank God it's not raining for the roads would be treacherous in that case.

We stopped for a few minutes to tour another bamboo factory. This one made blanks for incense sticks and toothpicks. Pieces of bamboo in the machine at one end, sized pieces out the other.


The results were sorted for quality with the good long ones going for incense sticks (after the base was painted red and the business end covered with the incense punk.)and the irregular ones going for toothpicks.


A little further up the road we came upon a mom and pop bamboo prep operation. He sawing the tubes and she splitting them.





We got to the border just after it closed for lunch. It was a two hour closure so we cooled our heels and ate lunch. The restaurant had beautiful solid wood tables and benches. The table tops were at least five inches thick.

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Day 16 Quan Son to Laos

Got into town at 1830 last night so I forgot to check on the town name. For those of you tracking our progress here we are about 50 kilometers from the Laos border.

The plan for today is to make our way to the border and see if our Easy Riders can take us into Laos or if we will have to go on by ourselves.

One correction that I should make. I was talking with Glenn, who was there and he said my temperature was 40.3 not 41.3 as I previously reported. That was still 104.5 in Fahrenheit so worth being concerned about. Seem to have fully recovered except for sore muscles from the shakes.

It seems everywhere we go we see bonsai, some very nice and some just average but old and well taken care of. These are photos of some that are in our hotel's courtyard.

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Day 15 (cont)

Leaving the chopstick blank factory, we moved up the road a little bit until we came to some muddy and difficult road.we had to walk while our drivers negotiated the difficult stretches.


In places the mud was ankle deep. And this was the good road. I'd hate to see bad one.



We had hoped to get closer to the border before stopping for the night but with such dismal road conditions we decided to stop while still 50 km from the border.


Tomorrow morning we will go to the border and see if we can negotiate our way into Laos.

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Day 15 (cont

We stopped at one of the many bamboo chopstick blank factories. The bamboo stalks are cut to length, discarding the joints which go to homeowners for fuel.


The sized tubes are then split in half and the halves go to the people running the blank machines. Those machines run at two are three strokes per second. The blanks fly out into a bin and the waste goes flying off onto the pile which will be loaded onto a truck and taken to a local paper mill.


Packing the blanks tightly linto a bundle.


An overview showing the waste and some bundled blanks.


Everyone was working hard and skillfully despite the lack of safety equipment. They must be pretty successful because I didn't see anyone missing fingers.

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Day 15 (cont)

At a Hmong village we watched a grandmother demonstrate thread making skills. After drying the bark is stripped from
These twigs.


The dried bark is separated into thin strips, the ends tied together with a special knot and then wrapped around the hand until enough has accumulated to spindle. After twisting it is woven into a fabric, washed and spread out to dry and bleach. Later the women will work the needle point.


One of the younger girls modeled the final product.


Further up the road we passed some paddy fields in transition from the first rice crop to the second of the year.


Taking a rest under a live orchid.

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Day 15 (Moc Chau to ???)

On the road a little after nine this morning. We were supposed to get to the border in 40km but it turned out that crossing was restricted to non westerners plus the road was bad. A helpful school teacher called the border and found out about that and also found a crossing further south that was open so we're heading for that one.

I'm feeling much better today thanks to the ministrations of my son and the other members of our party and the friendly and efficient hospital staff.

The reason for the question marks is that because of the confusion with the border we don't know where we stop tonight.

Up the road a way we stopped at a tea plantation where women were picking the new leaves.


Saw a boy riding a buffalo.


Then stopped at a modern tea processing plant.



Kids watching raptly as Justin pumps up a soccer ball for them.

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Day 14 (cont)

Well, as Robert Burns said, "The best laid plans. . ."

We arrived at our hotel early today and it was a good thing since I barely got to our room when I was hit with the running flux and projectile vomiting. I was shivering so turned off the fan and ac and covered up with all the blankets in the room.

Before long I was hit with the uncontrollable shakes. Glenn had gone out so I texted him to come back to the room.

Long story short, after consultation between our group, our guides and the hotel people, off to the local hospital I was transported.

By the way, that was an interesting conversation. We don't speak Vietnamese, the hotel and hospital staff don't speak English and our guides speak Vietnamese but don't have any specialized English medical or health vocabulary. In fact I would say they have rudimentary English but it works.

We muddled through thanks to everyone's ernest efforts and concern for the sick westerner.

My fever was 41.3°(C) at the highest point and blood pressure was quite high.

The doctors examined, nurses helped, our guides translated and recommended folk cures so quickly I was given something to lower the fever, something else to lower the BP and another to stop the shakes. They finished off with saline to replace lost liquids.


This friendly guy was a patient. He thought I was cold so he went somewhere and came back with a comforter. He was in the hospital because he lost power to his house, had climbed up the nearby pole to splice the line and got zapped. The shock threw him into the river, his neighbors pulled him out, gave CPR and brought him to the hospital for treatment.


When I was able to sit up the patients and visitors gathered to stare at the westerner with the hairy arms. Many of them wanted to rub the "fur" on my arms.



The treatments seemed to do the job and I was discharged a little after 2100 feeling much better. Five and one half hours well spent. I tried to pay but Wing took care of it. Since there was no receipt I don't even know how much it cost. I do know that the same treatment in a Seattle hospital would run at least a thousand dollars.

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Day 14 (cont)

Rain lasted for the first couple hours then it died up. We're not out of the woods yet though since there are heavy clouds everywhere.

Dressed up in Rain gear.


Up the road we stopped at a roadside stand where a couple women were selling sticky rice mixed with some herbs, filled with ground beans and steamed in some special leaves. It's a specialty of the area and was good.


Glenn enjoying the local specialty.


And Justin.


After the rain stopped we visited another Tai house. We didn't go up because this family takes off their shoes before entering. Our boots were muddy so we stayed outside rather than take them off.

The lady of the house brought down some needle point and Russ modeled it. Looks good doesn't he?

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Day 14 Son La to Moc Chau

This morning we have a slow steady rain interspersed with periods of heavy rain. Rain gear weather for sure. Wing says there is a typhoon in the Philippines headed our way maybe. Meanwhile there is rain here and to our north. We're heading sith so maybe we'll ride into sunshine.

Rain had delayed our departure til 0900 so thought I'd post a few odds and ends.

Here's a shot of of hotel bathroom. It's pretty typical of the others where we've stayed although this one has a basin for washing clothes.




Sidewalks here are for storing extra things, parking motorbikes and even cars. Beware the occasional unmarked hole, some much larger than this.


Glenn got his breakfast this morning at this ban my stand.

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Fourth of July Dinner

We got into Son La earlier than our usual day's end. Turned out to be a good thing since we hadn't been in the hotel long till the heavens opened and we experienced a genuine tropical thunderstorm. Wing said he saw on TV that there was a washout on the road into town. We were on that road not long before.

When we went out for dinner we saw a BBQ man roasting ducks so we decided to have rotisserie duck for dinner. He left his grill running and brought the ducks to a nearby restaurant where they were cut up and served still steaming.


Maybe Costco could take a lesson?


Here we are toasting America's birthday. We also toasted friendship, Vietnam, The Easy Riders, and I forget what else. We drank rice wine that had been steeped with young apricots. It tasted a lot like the Japanese wine called umeshu but not as sweet. Oh yes, we also had some beer to replace the liquid lost during the drive.


Altogether a memorable Fourth of July dinner.

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Day 13 (cont)

Rambling on down the road we came upon another Tai home. Several women with their children had gathered to talk and share work while the men were in the fields.


The husband was working on a plank that he was using to make a door. His homemade bow saw was sharp and he was making good progress.


He showed us his most recent project, a vanity shelf. The joints were tight and well joined. Every bit as good as I could make in my modem work shop back home.


Next stop a small coffee field with corn and the occasional banana interspersed with the coffee plants. No inch of ground wasted seems to be the motto.


Nearby we found a hair buyer. Wing says a good head of hair brings in big bucks. He also says some of the Tai hair buns aren't real since some women have sold their hair and wear a false bun.

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Day 13 (cont)

Next stop was another roadside break area where they were selling cutting boards. Out back they had a production area for making new ones. The workers were planing down the blanks.


Another guy was forming and cutting the lifting rings to be put into the new blocks.


Forming the loop.


Cutting off the new part. Note the proper use of the foot as a holding device.


Selling hand made furniture from old roots out front.

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