15km from Attapeu January 4
I definitely have some sort of ear-nose-throat-sinus infection. And I’m feeling it. I’ve got bright green snot, though I can’t find any more traces of blood. Seriously considering starting the Cipro I’ve got. Really wishing I’d brought all the various medications I left behind in my first aid kit in Bangkok.
This afternoon the nice pavement turned to some of the worst, rockiest, killiest dirt road I’ve seen yet. Thankfully, I had zero pannier rubbing problems, which is very exciting, and the dirt only lasted about 10km or so. I’ve never been happier to see pavement.
The villages today seem the poorest I’ve seen. The women walk around topless for the most part, wearing only bras. I wonder if they use to go around barbreasted, or if there was previously another solution. Either way, it’s a little strange. [I don’t mean to imply poverty and toplessness hav ea connection - just seperate two things I noticed]
Simple kids toys I’ve seen on this trip:
- Wheels on a lnog stick which you drive around making motorcycle noises, sometimes with various things or young siblings hanging from the stick (Laos - varios places)
- Plastic bags on a long string tied to a pole which you wave in the wind (Laos - outside Savanakhet)
- Tops, which have a string tied to a short stick which you have to throw with a ahwipping motion to make spin (Laos - Udomxai)
- Tiny wooden boats on a string tied to a stick, which you drag through the water (Borneo - Kota Kinabalu)
- String of rubber bands, which you tie between two objects, and use like a skipping rope - (Laos - various places)
I talked to someone recently who saw some bicycles of a sort (you couldn’t pedal them, only coast) made out of bamboo, somewhere in a remote village in Cambodia. What cool simple childrens toys have you seen on your travels (or even at home)?