Nov 2nd bicycle tour of Luang Namtha valley to the South West

We were up early and had breakfast at the Manychan restaurant rather than at our hotel as the wireless Internet works better there. We rented mountain bikes, with helmets for ourselves and our guide Hak and carried along water and some nuts for a snack. The initial ride out of town, past the airport, was on a road under construction and more traffic than I like but we made it in one piece to the more scenic side roads in about 30 minutes. We rode past rice fields with the morning mist still hanging in the area, passing through several Thai Dam villages where the women were busy at their looms. We would stop and chat with them, and give them some of our fresh chillies, and take photos. We continued on a ruddy clay dirt road to an Akha village. Most of the villagers were working out in the field but we were mobbed by small children hawking all kinds of bead bracelets and necklaces. We walked up to the highest point of the village to look at the Akha swing, used in annual courting rituals by teenagers looking for a mate,and behind it was the spirit gate protecting the village from the evil spirits in the jungle beyond. The Akha swings stump documented that the village had been in that location for 22 years as each year the teenage boys must build a new "swing". We also passed the village's small "happy house", where teenagers that are potential mates are allowed to use to try out potential partners before they commit to marriage.

Leaving the Akha village, we rode on passing other Thai Dam and Lanten villages, stopping to chat with the ladies spinning or weaving, and Leslie purchased three silk and cotton directly from the ladies who made them, getting her picture with them each time, and leaving them with small bags full of fresh chilli peppers that we had bought in the market.

We returned to our guest house, had a late lunch, early tea, and tried to catch up on our blog. For dinner, we had our last Indian meal prior to going to the remote town of Muang Sing, just 20 or so miles from the Chinese border. So we settled down to bed early.