Day 5 Phou Khoun to Luang Prabang

Yesterday we had a 5:30 am start and started to make our way to Luang Prabang...For the past three days we have been going up hills and our biggest challenge was a climb from Kasi to Phou Khoun which was a 30 km ascend....Whooo! We have been meeting many cyclist coming from the opposite direction...because it is well documented from Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang it is mostly hills...haha! We met one Russian cyclist who said "Today...many problems for you..." Thanks bud for the advice....but we can say now we conquered those hills and we really got a great sense of the environment around us...
昨天我们早上5:30就向出发向琅勃拉邦挺进。过去的这3天里我们几乎一直在爬坡，其中最具挑战的一段是从Kasi到Phou Khoun的一段路，几乎30公里都是上坡啊，喔！我们遇到了许多骑行者从我们对面过来，因为官方文献明确记录着，从Vang Vieng到琅勃拉邦之间几乎都是大山，哈哈！我们还遇见一个来自俄罗斯的骑行者，他说“你们今天的麻烦可大了”，谢谢兄弟的大实话，但是我们现在要说我们征服那些高山了，并且对周围环境有了更加直观的认识。

My friends at south meridian elementary we have been coming across many animals along our travels....For example, we often see cows, mountain goats and pigs when we are cycling....yesterday we even came across an elephant...but I will keep my eyes open for tigers amd kuala bears...I look forward to meeting all of you in person this February and thank you for your generous donation...you are putting smiles on the faces of many out here...
我south meridian elementary的朋友们，我们沿途遇见了许多动物，比如，我们常常遇见牛群、山羊和猪。昨天我们甚至遇见了大象，但是我一直警惕着老虎和kuala熊，我期待在2月份遇见你们，感谢你们的慷慨援助，你们给这里的许多人们带来了笑容。

The children we are meeting in the mountain villages are often doing chores...Carrying pales of water with a stick on their shoulders going up the hillsides, carrying bags of wood on their backs and cooking or washing...We often see kids riding one speed bikes up hills to commute to school....We have been handing out many Takraw balls in these parts. The villages are positioned along the hillside and soccer fields and space are hard to come by....The people have a very tough lifestyle...but find creative ways throughout their environment to survive...The weather in the mountains is cold and we see people showering along the hillside with no hot water...I admire their toughness and the simplistic way they live their lives....
我们在山里遇见的孩子们基本会做家务，他们会用扁担挑水，洗洗涮涮并且做饭。我们经常会看见孩子们骑着单速自行车上学。我们也在这里送出了许多Takraw球。这里的村庄沿山坡而建，基本没办法玩足球，这里的人们的生活条件很艰难，但是他们顽强的生存着。山里天气比较冷，我们看见人们就在山坡旁边洗澡，可没有热水哦。我羡慕他们的这种简单的生活方式。

For the past three days we were mostly ascending, but yesterday we descended for 45 km into the beautiful town of Luang Prabang....we were rewarded by the biking gods...We took a day off today and got organized with equipment for our push towards the north...We will be leaving tomorrow morning and we are thinking of our friends and family during the holiday season...We love you and you are out here with us...
过去3天我们基本在爬坡，但是昨天我们走了45公里的下坡路，之后来到了美丽的琅勃拉邦。这算是自行车之神对我们的奖赏吧。我们今天休息了一天，整理一下装备，为接下来继续向北方的行程做准备。马上就圣诞节了，我们会想念我们的朋友和家人们，我们爱你们，在这里你们与我们同在。

Paul