Caps

A Brexit vote is a countrywide upright finger to London. Everyone in London is convinced it won't happen. They may well be in a panic in a few weeks.

Even though I will vote out I don't think it will happen. I think the people don't have the b@lls to vote to leave because they are scared of a bit of uncertainty before we find our feet again. They would rather stay puppets (or is that muppets) to an increasingly growing, power grabing EU

Great stuff Caps.

Following every update. Thanks.

Thanks Scott

Will continue on Tuesday as at village now and no internet except phone

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk whilst drinking a cold beer

Because I care more about the UK community as a whole and not just about myself, I have voted accordingly.

Don't Thai me, chiang mai. If you're not resident in the UK then you are unable to vote. Notwithstanding, you haven't answered the question.

I reckon your BS me and I'm quite sure that I'm correct in my understanding. You're an observer on this one, my friend.

I think you will find that if you have been out of the UK for less than 15 years you can vote

there is hope at last! I mean there would have to be something seriously wrong with anyone with an ounce of common sense ( and provided they don't have their own agenda )who still thinks it's better to stay in after that listening to all the facts in Brexit the Movie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTMxfAkxfQ0

General De Gaulle of France was absolutely right to try and block the entry of the UK to the EU. One must remember that the UK had tried to establish a different "common market" with countries that are now part of the EU. Only after theyt had realized that this was an utter failure, did there successfully try to join the EU. Since then, all the EU had has been a succession of requests for exceptions. It is high time for the UK people to decide if they wish to be part of Europe, with all the benefits involved, or out of it . Let us see then where the London Financial centre is, where the British Exports go to, where the so called "British Democracy" (where a PM with a minority popular vote can rule the country) i) and where Britain will stand on security.

The youtube film is an anti EU propaganda clip, full of lies, half lies and misconstrued facts. For example: The European Parliament has the right, indeed the duty, to agree or disagree laws SUGGESTED by the commission. Yes, the EU can be made more democratic, if some countries, like the UK, would stop blocking progress. Europe, including the UK can only have a bright future in our globalized world as a US of Europe, with each country keeping its culture and traditions. EU will exist and progress without the UK, although it will be a pity if the UK leaves. I very much doubt that the UK will prosper without the EU. Remember one fact: The EU, or most states of the EU will not, repeat NOT, be prepared to enter agreements with the UK which will hold benefits only for the UK. I really hope that the British people will have enough sense to realize the actual real facts.

LOL

" Yes, the EU can be made more democratic " well I wouldn't be holding my breath for that one

the only ones with a bright future will be the politicians and bureaucrats that will go on collecting their obscene salaries year after year as the rest of the real world economy sinks further and further into depression

I very much doubt the UK will prosper within the EU because I doubt whether the EU itself will prosper.look at Greece.

What's it got to offer for God's sake?

The EU has been prosperous for the last 10 years , or so compared to the down turn in the global economy. Without the EU, a number of countries, mostly ex Eastern Block ones, would not have a prospering economy like today. As far as the UK goes, where do the UK exports mostly go to? As far as the London Financial Centre is concerned, just imagine how much it will shrink without the EU. I do know that most of the readers will disagree, but I, and I am an economist, believe that the UK would be better off if it not only stays in the EU but joins the EURO, in spite of the Greek disaster, which albeit, has not been dealt with properly.

I really do believe it will be a disaster for the UK to leave the EU. Apart from the financial and social drawbacks, the nearly certain result will be the succession of Scotland, which is very keen on staying in the EU. Even Wales may follow thereafter. What a disaster that would be!

How as the EU been prosperous when it has one of the lowest economic growths on the planet?

The American people have an opinion we are like brothers, I doubt they know how much the British are being stiched up,

The politicans and bankers who are mouthing off for remain have vested interests, so should be ignored

We are only brothers when it suits them

Where do you get that from? They plan to defer a rate rise as a contingency plan, not that they support brexit. Nearly all the Fed governors as well as Obama have voiced in favour of remain, not something the Brexiteers want to hear.

Poster Neversure was talking to us, not to the American public!

I agree however there is a potential global impact as a result of Brexit which makes his view that we should leave even more peculiar.

Invariably a rise in US interest rates does not bode well for the pound, combined with a brexit vote the effect would be very significant and potential turmoil in the markets.

Why do we want to hear Obama or Fed Governors bumping their lips? Whether Exit or Remain is ain't got nowt to do with them

Exactly the point. The implications are global so it has everything to do with them.

This is one of the fundamental problems, the leave campaign cannot see beyond the UK borders.

Sorry Sandy I can agree about implications but it still has nowt to do with them....the only reason they want us in the EU is so they can use us, maybe if they stopped meddling in other countries business then the world might not have been in the mess it is in now

IMG_1571 by Wayne 66, on Flickr
My host

IMG_1577 by Wayne 66, on Flickr
The dreaded wine Urns

IMG_1582 by Wayne 66, on Flickr
Sat round the Urns

IMG_1564 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1576 by Wayne 66, on Flickr
The Urns and dancing

My host then took me back to his home where I had more food, fish cooked on an open fire and sticky rice, only hands were used for eating, I was sat with his wife, brothers, and grandmother.
Once we had eaten he took me back to my hut as I didn’t have a clue where I was as it was pitch black by this time. Once at the hut he went back home and I grabbed my torch and went back to the party which was dwindling down, my female friend had gone, more rice wine was in order before I stumbled back to the hut where I went straight to sleep, alcohol induced haha.
What I thought was going to be long and boring day turn into an exceptional day/evening and I was made very welcome by all at the party. Well worth the time and very glad I decided to go.

IMG_1557 by Wayne 66, on Flickr
One of the solitary cups being filled and passed round

IMG_1560 by Wayne 66, on Flickr
The woman in the pink jacket took a bit of a shine to me and kept asking me to dance (middle of pic)

IMG_1565 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

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IMG_1568 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

My host hung about whilst I unloaded the bike and got changed. Then it was back to the shack where we sat and drank cold beer Lao whilst his wife cooked some fried eggs with bits of chilli in them, we also had rice, the rice was just presented in a bamboo bowl and you just grabbed a hand full, literally. The egg was eaten with chopsticks.

Whilst we were eating a couple of the villagers came up to see who the foreigner was, one of them was a teacher (28yrs old) who spoke good English so we had quite a good natter, at about 1400hrs I said I was going for a walk and I was also going to secretly check on the bike and all my stuff because nothing was locked up, there were no locks on the doors at all, Ummmm, I was a bit dubious about leaving all the electronics laying about, but I had no choice unless I sat with it all the time. As I got up to leave thinking that this is going to be a long day as I didn't even have any comms, my host said that he was going to a farty, I later found out it was his pronunciation of party, as the villagers were celebrating something, he did tell me what but, after a few Lao whiskeys it was all a blur…….
So off we went further in to the village but closer to where I was staying, thankfully… When we got there it was packed out in the little area they were using, and I was shown to a wooden bench next to a table and sat down with all the other men. They made me feel right at home and involved me in all the days activities. The women served the men the beer and whiskey whilst the men ate, most of the food was in bowls but some of it was just on big leaves directly on the table, sticky rice, some kind of noodle thing, then a mix of pork and chicken soups with veg and other pork and chicken dishes, we all had a spoon each and the rest was just use you hands. I was quite taken aback by the way the women tended all the men, sorting the food, pouring the drinks etc. When the drink was being passed round you didn’t get your own cup, the cup started at the end of the line, the woman poured the drink, beer and or whiskey and you drank it, tipping the dregs on the floor and giving the cup back to the woman who then went to the next man. Once all the men had had their food they left the table and all the women and kids sat down to eat. By this stage I was in a group of about 10 Lao men of which a couple spoke reasonable English. I bought 5 bottles of beer Lao for the group which was well appreciated. Whilst we were eating men were singing and there was another guy on a key board. to be honest they sound really good, this continued all they way through the day/evening.
When the women had eaten all the tables and benches were moved off the the side to make a dance floor…Ummm…when in Rome! I was sat drinking and smoking with the men and a village woman, probably in her early 20’s took a bit of a shine to me and kept asking me to dance, and feed me alcohol, all the men and women who were there were dancing and singing and having a really good time. Then they brought out some big clay urns filled with what looked like wheat chaff and other stuff, I later found out it was rice particals, with long bamboo straws sticking in them, and the villagers took it in turns to sit and fill up the urns with water, and keep them topped up. The stuff was like a wine and the straw was passed round the group sat round the urns. Whilst it was kept filled with water, it was quite potent stuff. More sing and dancing until it started to get dark, which was around 1830hrs.

IMG_1549 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1550 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

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Food, spoons and more importantly the Lao Whiskey

IMG_1552 by Wayne 66, on Flickr
The guy in the blue denim jacket spoke ok English and the guy in the red sleeved shirt on the right was Ban Chom Ong's answer to Elvis when he got going

I eventually got there for about 1130hrs, I was about 55 to 60 km the long way round, but I was not in any rush. Ban Chom Ong coords N20.70597 E101.78142.

Once I got there I stopped at a small shack in the middle of the village and started to ask about the homestay whist drinking a bottle of cold pop (soda).

IMG_1542 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1543 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

The girl at the shack had a book with English phrases but nothing on the homestay, then all of a sudden she ran off, must have been the aftershave I was wearing, she disappeared into the village and came back with a young man, who I later found out was 19m and married to the girl who ran the shack. He ended up hosting me and spoke reasonable English. Sorted, time to go to my hut for the night. When I got to it it was a hut on stilts and inside were some thin mattresses and some quilts in a bag. Very Very basic and I was thinking what had I let myself in for…..

IMG_1545 by Wayne 66, on Flickr
My dwelling for the night

IMG_1544 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

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IMG_1524 by Wayne 66, on Flickr
The first river crossing off the day, watch this guy nearly loose it at it was quite deep in the middle

IMG_1525 by Wayne 66, on Flickr
This second river I had just crossed and stopped to watch the trucks go through, it was very slippery

IMG_1526 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1529 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1531 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

I was travelling to Ban Chom Ong which is a homestay village. The route was very misty and I didn’t know what to expect and I didn’t even know where it was. I was following a map which was give to me by the tourist information people, and I decided to go the long way round which was through about 8 to 10 villages till I got to Ban Chom Ong. After getting a bit lost on the way as there were loads of tracks and in some places I was not even on a track according to the OSM mapping on my GPS, but its all part of the fun, so as and when I came across a different village I was asking the name of the village and then the way to Chom Ong.

IMG_1516 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1517 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

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IMG_1519 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

Day 27 Oudomxay to Ban Chom Ong

Day 27 Oudomxay to Ban Chom Ong by Wayne 66, on Flickr

Day 26 Oudomxay

Stayed in Oudoxmay for the day and just relaxed, had two massages as the first one didn’t seem like it had done the trick. Had the same girl twice and she was very good. I felt so much better after the second one. The remainder of the day was spent drinking Beer Lao and eating food.
I also took the bike for a good wash, the second of the tour.

IMG_1495 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

Took a walk into the town, the main road I am on is the town centre, visited the Phouthad Temple on top of a hill, not may good views of the town but the temple was ok

IMG_1509 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1506 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

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IMG_1499 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

The road stayed pretty much very bumpy and dusty till I started to drop down the other side of the mountain towards Oudomxay then I was blessed with damp mud, it make the road like an ice skating ring and I could feel my wheels wanting to tuck from underneath me all the time I was on it. Thankfully made it down in one piece

Finally the last 10 to 12 k’s was good tarmac again all the was in to town

IMG_1489 by Wayne 66, on Flickr
Lunch stop

After stopping for food and a luke warm Lao dark I had a ride through town and settled on the Dokbouadeng Guesthouse, wifi, best I have had in about 6 days, 30 photos uploads to Flickr in half hour, thats a record since I have been in Laos, hot water is very good, very hot with a decent pressure, bike parked out the front, only downside is it could do with a good lick of paint, but everything else is probably best, coords N20.68781 E101.98650

IMG_1493 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1490 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1491 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

Between 50 and 60 kms there is a large rest stop area with a restaurant and a small shop, also toilets. I stopped there and had a coffee in a tin and got talking to some Westeners who were milling about in the bus stop, it turns out that the bus they were on (which I passed about a 100 meters down the road) had broken down and they had been stuck there for 5 hours. They were not happy, but I was, the sun was out and had my trusty steed.

IMG_1475 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1479 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1480 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1481 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1483 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1484 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1487 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

I then got to Pakmong, as I left there I went on to a really wide great piece of road, it was great for about 6k’s then I turned bad, through lots of roads works, chewing on loads of dust when trying to get past the lorries and buses which were on the route. Really narrow points where they are trying to build the road and a lot of heavy machinery, saying that I was surprised on how much was still done by hand.

IMG_1468 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1469 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

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IMG_1472 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

I set off at about 0825hrs after I had topped up my fuel. The 1C/13N started off really nice with a lot of flowing bends with decent tarmac.

IMG_1464 by Wayne 66, on Flickr

IMG_1462 by Wayne 66, on Flickr
So calm and peaceful
Then!

Day 25 Nong Khiaw to Oudomxay

Nong Khiaw to Oudomxay,

Day 25 Nong Khiaw to Oudomxay by Wayne 66, on Flickr

Long Tien ( lima site 22) was the most secret place on earth during the Vietnam war.

ur lucky to have been thru there. For years (Only recently have u been able to access there) it was closed,

I tired to get thru in 2013 but was turned back

Yes I was lucky, but to be honest I didn't have a clue where I was, but it was great days ride

I beg to differ, how can a foreign citizen, an American no less, possibly be a Brexiteer, more like an unconnected uninformed observer, a wannabe Brexiteer perhaps.

This American was talking to the American public, not the British public. The outcome has global implications but according to the Brexit camp it is none of their business.

"The Fed may need to defer a rate hike until after its June meeting, Kaplan suggested at an event at Boston College, because Britain's vote on whether to leave the European Union, taking place a week after the Fed meets, has the potential to spark a currency selloff and other unanticipated consequences."

http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fed-kaplan-rates-idUSKCN0YO2BH

Poster Neversure was talking to us, not to the American public!

I agree however there is a potential global impact as a result of Brexit which makes his view that we should leave even more peculiar.

Where do you get that from? They plan to defer a rate rise as a contingency plan, not that they support brexit. Nearly all the Fed governors as well as Obama have voiced in favour of remain, not something the Brexiteers want to hear.

Invariably a rise in US interest rates does not bode well for the pound, combined with a brexit vote the effect would be very significant and potential turmoil in the markets.

Why do we want to hear Obama or Fed Governors bumping their lips? Whether Exit or Remain is ain't got nowt to do with them

I have my fingers crossed that Erdogan throws his teddy out of the pram and says he doesn't want to be a part of Europe

Yeah, I have watch all seasons of Peaky Blinders and the 3rd season isn't up to much

Just streamed the Cleverman, Season 1 Ep 1, don't really know what I think of it, will watch a couple more to decide