Updates from the Road: Sunburns, Waterfalls and "Dirtbikes"

I'm sitting at the Terrace Rouge, not our guest house but a french-owned boutique hotel across the lake, enjoying a coffee and nursing yesterday's sunburn. (Who said the jungle was all scary adventures?) It has a relaxing garden atmosphere with fruit trees and tropical flowers and few tourists.

As a little contrast, our journey from Kratie to Ratanakiri wasn't the most pleasant. The bus we originally were going to take broke down so we ended up on a bus with minimal A/C and people sitting in the aisle. However, we made it to our destination just in time for a fabulous thunderstorm complete with torrential downpours and long, bright lightening.

Yesterday, we rented a motobike from the guesthouse - $5 for the day - and explored all the areas waterfalls. It would have been more appropriate to rent a dirtbike, if that were an option, because due to the rains, the roads are a mucky red clay. I'm not a skilled enough driver to handle the challenge of slick clay and potholes, so Dustin navigated us. It was tough, but we made it alive. Along the way, everyone in the villages waved hello to us. They are friendly here.

Today, we're riding elephants (for real this time) and maybe checking out some minority villages and swimming in Crater Lake (a lake made in a retired volcano). This time, I'll lather on the sunblock. My shoulders = much pain.