Another mega brekky spread followed by a walk to the songbird practice session in Tai Dan Park. Keeping songbirds is popular here and owners bring them to this park so they can learn new songs from other birds. I thought I would have seen a lot of canaries but not so, mostly mynas or silver-eyes. They could certainly sing. The owners just sat around, drinking coffee and maybe talking birds. Not a bad way to start the day. It was then on to the Thich Quang Duc Mem...

Post Cycle Tour Day 2. What a great room, bed, pillows, shower, etc, etc, but it is the famous Rex Hotel, Saigon so it should be. Lovely old-world charm and luxury coupled with service beyond belief and you have a perfect hotel. Breakfast was an amazing array of food and drink, and after missing dinner last night it was most welcome following our sleep in till 7am. The Rex was a popular meeting place for jounos and all sorts of people during the Vietnam War. It w...

Post-cycle Tour Day 2. Slept well despite the solid bed and pillow, must be getting used to the Lao design. Fried eggs, fruit, baguette and Lao coffee (very black & strong) for brekky. The dogs on the chairs and around our legs while eating was a bit disconcerting, when you consider what they might be carrying. However they were real friendly and just about the healthiest looking dogs we'd seen on this trip. At 9am we walked into the city and visited the Pala...

Post-Cycle Tour Day 1. Leisurely brekky followed by a pack up and move all our stuff into Michael & Kate's room. Seven of us moved to another motel just around the corner as The Dream was booked out post-tour, but we could not do that till after lunch. In the meantime Michael then took Bob, Kerry, Kerrie, Kate, Phil and I on a walking tour (from his Lonely Planet book) of the city. Wow, what a gem of a place. The lay-back, (hippie-like) quirky decor of some o...

Cycle Tour Day 12 (last day), 65km. Luang Prabang is a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its old French architecture and numerous Buddhist Temples. A choice of Asian & English brekky on the deck overlooking the pool and gardens kicked off a great day. Leisurely start at 9am to ride away through the city to the Kuangsi Waterfalls & National Park. Real interesting ride past some very grand houses and the into the hilly rural areas. Why are waterfalls on...