Socialising until the small hours meant a late start on 14th July. After having breakfast at the “Hard Seat Café” again, Sasha and I went for a wander along the Li River.
We didn’t get too far along and as soon as we reasonably could we turned round headed back to the Hard Seat Café for lunch.
It sounded like the establishment had only recently started up. The Chinese owner spoke some English and knew enough to make the “Hard Rock” joke in naming the restaurant, but needed help with writing the sign board. We duly obliged.
After lunch I decided to climb the hill on the west side of the village since the café owner had told me there was a path up to the radio antennas.
The from the top the view appeared to be vertically down on the roofs of the town.
After taking a number of photos I headed down and went back to the hotel for a much needed shower, and rehydration. The climate here is marginally less hot than it was in Indochina, but only barely, and any kind of exertion resulted in getting soaked with sweat.
I later headed out through the rain to Lisa’s Café to meet Sasha for dinner – Lisa’s stuffed peppers were delicious and resulted in a stuffed Malcolm… Beers at Paris Café followed, in the company of a Swedish couple also doing a round-the-world trip. I managed to leave my one-and-only waterproof jacket there, and ran back from the hotel in a panic to fetch it, just before going to bed.