Day 88

Pha Kao Hike

We decided on an early rise to beat the heat of the day for our bike hike we had planned. We went for some breakfast, joining with Elisa and Robert before their day trip to Muang Ngoy. With a full stomach, we made our way to the start of the hike to the viewpoint and paid entry. We had to cross a very rickety bamboo bridge before starting on the incline. The actual distance wasn't very far but there was enough elevation to get us sweating. Luckily, unlike the other viewpoint I did yesterday, this one had very good steps cut into the dirt so I wasn't as concerned with slipping over.

There was a smaller viewpoint about 1/4 of the way up again which was nice to stop for a little break and let my sun hoodie air out a little but as it was starting to get pretty sweaty. The rest of the hike was really nice, walking in and out of the jungle with beautiful old trees, big luscious green leaves, and some stunning views of the cliffs to our side. Luckily, it was mostly covered in shade aswell so wasn't as hot as it could be, but we were definitely happy that we left early in the morning. Towards the top, where it got steeper over rocks, there were little wooden ladders in place which were quite fun to go up.

When we reached the top, we scrambled over some rocks and found what seemed to ge the in-situ camping stuff all packed up ready for the tours that they did to the. We got to the little platform that had evidently once been a whole structure with a roof but hadn't survived as all the metal sheets lied strewn about. The view was pretty nice but more than anything, I wanted a bit of shade to relax in for a while. I immediately got to work, grabbing the sheets and trying to balance them on the beams to try and give us a small covered area. With a bit of teamwork and tip toes, we were protected.

After the scrambling, my shoes that I had proudly repaired a couple weeks ago I'm Vietnan had decided they had enough and started to fall apart again. Luckily, I had a suspicion this might happen and brought my glue with my to do an emergency repair. To celebrate the finish of the hike and the repair of my shoes, we busted out some snacks. I had decided that I had indulged in too many sweet treats in Vietnam (mostly Oreos I can't lie) and wanted to force myself to try more local and less sugary snacks. I had some seaweed crisps from the day before left over, as well as some small packets of peanuts, and some dried fruit chips. Those paired with Michelle's coconut flavoured sesame seeds, we were eating like royalty.

We met a couple that stayed for a while and as we were chatting, the metal sheets I had precariously placed right above my head decided that with a bit of wind they didn't want to stay and fell down right next to me, almost either knocking me out or cutting me up. Luckily, I wasn't hit but my stupidity still continues to surprise me - even after 20 years. After having enough of the karaoke we could hear from all the way down in the town, we made our way down which was considerably easier than the way up.

Fancying a smoothie, we went to the same place as dinner yesterday and I grabbed a coconut smoothie, then we grabbed some lunch there too. After lunch we ended up chilling for a bit and I had a shoeer before meeting up with Elisa and Robert again in the evening for some dinner. I ended up choosing the Laos Steak which looked amazing on Google but ended up being some really thin pork steaks and nothing else with it so I was a little disappointed. After dinner, we headed to a restaurant / bar / café thing that was still open and had a drink (I had a lovely watermelon cider called Somersby) before I had to figure out how to open a gate to get back in my homestay so I could go to bed.Okumaya devam et