14th October 2010 As impossible as it might seem we had even more fun adventures with Mr Bunleod on our second full day with him. In the morning Mr B jumped on one of his scooters again and Aaron and I on the other. We drove out of the village and back to the main road where we took a left and headed slowly, but steadily up to the north entrance of the Phu Wau Wildlife Sanctuary. We had to take the long route by road since tracks through the park are not easily negotiated. We did however take a shortcut through the NW section on a relatively easy dirt track. I only had to hop off the bike at the end of the track where an expanse of sandstone formed a bridge. We hiked a short way into the jungle before through the trees we saw a huge expanse of gray rock with a waterfall tumbling down it. We had reached Cha Nan Waterfall. We waded through part of the river at the bottom of the waterfall, then gazed up at the impressive sight. Water streamed over the rounded surface, hit a pool w...

13 October 2010 “The brakes are no good on that bike, we won't go fast,” Mr B. assured me as we pulled away from the little shop and petrol drum that serves as the village filling station. A few minutes before we had arranged to leave the house to do some elephant trekking Mr B. had confirmed that I knew how to drive a motor bike. I said I did and was glad that I'd taken the opportunity to do some scootering in Nong Khai. Spending the last several months in India, Sri Lanka, and Thailand had also reinforced driving on the left side of the road. Rest stop at a rubber tree plantation With Jean behind me, we made our way down the rutted village road to the smooth tarmac of Highway 212. We cruised along between 30 and 40 Km/hr (20-25 mph). The shoulder was wide and the traffic (which was mostly just other motorcycles) was light. With no wind screen we caught a fair number of bugs. I got stung in the neck by something en route. The stinger was so deeply embedded that I did...