We arrived back into Pakse with time to spare, and so all went for a much needed warm shower and it was pure heaven! Then, second on the priorities list was a MASSIVE meal, and we got one. There was an Indian restaurant a stone's throw away, and at Mikey's excellent suggestion we had a much deserved feast!

Just as we were finishing up, Philippe and Chinous walked past, so after they had a bite to eat as well, we headed to that traditional Laos past time....bowling!

We were all fairly pitiful bowlers, I think the lanes must be wonky in Laos. Mikey won, with Laura second, Leigh and Sean joint third then Philippe and Chinous bringing up the rear (they have only been bowling once before) and the highest score was an impressive 96. Excellent bowling, maybe it was because of the Beerlao?

A few Beerlao and travelling stories later and we all rolled into (separate) beds for the night, in preparation for the longest ride yet, the 160km round trip to Champasak.

Again, the Lonely Planet Laos guide seems to have hyped up and over exaggerated what really exists there, i.e. not a lot. Not quite on the scale of Angkor Wat as advertised, Wat Champasak is an interesting set of ruins set into the hillside. A steep climb on a hot day, and some 'cosmic vagina-womb' ruins (no we didn't actually find these - again some over exaggeration on the part of the LP?) and an interesting shrine set into some caves at the back. It was a nice day out but not something I would maybe recommend.

The journey there and back was definitely worth the entire day out however. For the most part we were cruising down deserted highways, through mountains, rice fields, small villages and roadside houses. All the houses are built on stilts because of the yearly flooding from the Mekong. We saw people on their tractor-engine-pulled-diy-carts, people working in the fields. children cycling from school, and then the road just ended. We pulled over; 'The road stops here' said Sean. 'Don't be ridiculous' I said 'The road can't just stop.' But it did. Or almost. The tarmac ended and the road pitched down out of sight into a sandpit, and then up and over several more sand dunes until it disappeared out of sight. All three bikes stopped and we evaluated: well that's the way and we have to take that road. And we were off. A little bit terrifying but Sean loved the challenge.

A bit of off roading was good fun. The technique was tricky but I mastered it like a pro. The dust from the road was pretty unbearable though so I had to wear my bandana like the locals. We made it there in one piece, and getting back was a great ride, this time knowing what to expect and we cruised back through the sandpits and onto the gleaming tarmac in time to watch the sun set over the mountains.

It was another night at the Indian (oh we're all addicts now) and a few hands of Deal (we were trying to get Mikey and Leigh as hooked as us) and that was our final night and the end of our journey together as the Scots were headed north the next day, and we were going south again. (But we have agreed to meet again in the UK as Sean has never been to Scotland and we're going to show them the beauties of London.)