Very sad news indeed! RIP.

We are actually in that part of the world now. We finished successfully our Luang Prabang to Vientiane bike tour (in Laos) yesterday. I guess the following goes with the territory (riding in developing nations), but one relevant concern is that there seems to be a large percentage of unlicensed drivers on the road driving all kinds of motorized vehicles. We were surprised to see even a very young teenage kid driving a light truck with very little sense of what he was doing (scary moment!) It's easy to get a false sense of comfort since the bicycle is still the main means of transportation for lots of people here. You'd think drivers are watching out for cyclists but that's not necessarily true due to the lack of driver's awareness. We chose to tour only in Laos as it's supposed to be safer than Thailand due to less vehicles on the roads. I'm recovering today in our hotel today from swollen tonsils and heat rash from all the dust, smog and sun exposure on the road. We understand now why so many people use face masks here. Don't get me wrong though. Laos is a BEAUTIFUL country with amazing landscapes, hospitable people and delicious food. If we were to come back, however, we would do things quite differently as far as our route.