I have found a form of exercise that will definitely appeal to you - bus travel! Yesterday our trip from Luang PraBang to Phonsavan was eight hours long and was on winding, mountainous roads. All that time for me was spent squeezed into the back row of a rickety bus.
Diane was very disappointed that the bus wasn't white like the one in photo on the website where she booked the tickets. Ours was yellow mostly. It had patches of rust on the outside and the dilapidated red pvc chairs had a fine dusting of red dust much the same as the fine dusting of red dust we also had by the end of the trip. Diane sat with her knees close to her nose as her leg room below the seat was taken up by the wheel hub. I at least could dig my knees into the seat in front.
There were things going for the bus. It wasn't all bad. On the roof, along with our bags was a motorbike. The white minibuses didn't have such extras. We were clearly lucky. To top that, our driver had a go-getter attitude so we went at speed all the way!
The road, as I have already said, was windy and steep. To add to the excitment, the road was strategically pot-holed to add to the excitment. At one point there was a landslide - perhaps created by the mechanical digger, or the mechanical digger was clearing it up, so we all came to a halt - even the white aircon minibuses had to do the same but when it came to leaving the scene ours was the first. It positioned itself ahead of the queue and revved the engine. I can even believe it was edging the digger out of the way as we pushed forward.
On the bus there was a mixture of locals and travellers. A young, local mother with two small children dealt with their sickness and threw things out of the window as we sped along. Jeremy gave her a packet of wet wipes - these too went with the wind to add to the incidental rubbish on the roadside.
The road was hardly wide enough for two cars yet the number of construction vehicles we passed by breathing in and clinging onto the outer verge was impressive. The people of this region clearly like living on the edge - both literally and metaphorically. Bamboo shacks lined the outside verge on the road in many places en route; their long stilts precariously balancing these homes. Most of these flimsy homes look as if a high wind would send them down to the deep inpenetrable valleys below. To live with such vistas must make up for the dangers. The views all the way were impressive. Thick vegetation covered the landscape right to the top of the mountain tops.
So while sitting watching the world go by, I did 23000 steps and climbed 657 floors. I think that should go in the record books!
Now I am at the hotel which is typical basic Asian style. Please note the hospitality pack. The room is far too cold for my thin blood and I spent the entire night trying to stay warm. I am at the point in my trip where I could be dressing up to climb into bed. I can understand why you liked scrambling under the rugs at home. At the moment I would like to join you just to thaw.
Be good, miss you still...
Love and hugs
XXX
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