Motorcycle merries

Day 8: 29 Dicembre Venerdi
Having completed the small town on foot, we decided to venture out on rented bicycles (10,000kip/ US$1) to the organic farm 30mins away (3km). In the blazing heat, we whizzed past the new market and villagers' homes against the amazing backdrop of the everpresent mountains. The farm's fresh goat cheese was my constant motivation as I pedalled furiously on the gentle but punishing slopes but alas it wasn't available!

So we snacked happily on the addictive paper-crisp mulberry leaves tempura with a honey dip; the leaves were so thin I could see thro' their vascular mesophyll cells against the sunlight. Perched on the banks of the Nam Song river amidst the jagged limestone mountains surrounding the Song River valley, the farm is founded in 1996 to provide a sustainable living for the villagers and finance other community projects.

The main crop of mulberry trees feeds the silk worms and is also a highly-lauded source for mulberry products such as tea, wine, shakes. We sipped gingerly on the plummy mulberry wine, troppo forte and thick with alcohol, as the rushing cold stream welcomed the gang of eager tubing tourists. Looking at the carefree scrubby angmoh volunteers, I longed for my rustic WWOOFing days with Katie and Ben. Sigh, non vedo l'ora di ritornare a lavorare alle fattorie. www.laofarm.org

Since it was only noon, we pedalled back to swap our wheels for a motorbike at only 30,000kip/ US$3 to explore the nearby caves across the Nam Song river. The auntie didn't even ask for any licence or give us any helmets. A convinced me that he was a good rider and proved me right when he carefully guided the bike over the bridge like a trapeze on tight rope. The weather was extremely dry and warm in the day; luckily I bought a ridiculous wide-brimmed hat and wore sunglasses to protect my eyes from the dust.

Everytime a heavy vehicle passed us on the dirt road, the local kids and us held our breath and squinted our eyes, engulfed in a bellow of dust. The roadside bushes and leaves were a shade of earthy red mud; so were our feet. For the first time, A was in full control - even without shoes on - as we ventured deeper into the tranquil lush mountains on an extremely bumpy pebbled inroad. There were many caves hidden among the limestone mountains so we randomly made a pitstop at the Keo Kham cave (5km away) fringed with a granite quarry.

At the opening manned by a local family who was collecting entrance fee (10,000kip), a white couple said there was a Buddha statue inside the cave but warned we'd need a torch. Curious, we followed a Thai couple from Bangkok who had hired a local boy to show them the way. We felt silly tail-gating them so I told them we'd pay him too.

As we descended the bamboo ladder deep into the cave's mouth, the darkness enveloped us at the first turn which led to an opening where the boy's torchlight rested on the smiling face of a handpainted stone Buddha statue. I thought that was it. Then five of us proceeded into a narrowing pitch-black pathway. Only the guide and the Thai fellow tourist had headlights so you can imagine us feeling our way in the dark, running our hands along the cool dusty jagged walls.

My heart started pumping at an unusual rate as my claustrophobia crept in, thinking 'what the f%ck have I gotten myself into?'. When we found ourselves crawling on all fours and then finally flat on our stomach dragging our body weight forward inch by inch, I bit my lips stifling a scream. Sandwiched between flabs of stones wasn't my idea of fun, nonetheless it was unexpected adventure. Cool it girl, I prayed silently. You can do this, banish your fear. Focus. Think happy thoughts.

Finally we slithered outta that crack into a standing space. What felt like an eternity was probably 15mins. We were all perspiring, slightly bewildered and coated with brown dust but cheered and laughed gratefully for a group shot. The poor guy earns 10,000 kip for each person and does this 4 to 5 times a day - but hey it's a decent living.

We hopped onto our bike and hit the dirt road again towards the 2nd bridge and Ka river, stopping at a hut for tea waving at kids playing butt-naked in the stream. On the way back, we rode into a vast, dry lemongrass field for a final glimpse of the looming mountains and glorious sunset. I jumped off the bike to shoo and shoot a herd of brown cows as well as a magnificent grey buffalo luxuriating in the Nam Song river.

Only the pictures could do the scenery justice. Famished, we slurped up the pad lao, fish-tofu soup and harvest curry at the organic farm cafe for the last time. P@rca mia, they ran out of the goat's cheese again! I guess I just have to come back again :)