Path of the Fire: "Happy" Days - the SE Asia journey continues

:) Hello there, friends of Path of the Fire...hope life is treating you well. Still here in SE Asia, but it's been a while since we've updated and we wanted to let you all know what's been happening with life on the road...so lets give it a spin. Since the last communique, we have done so much and traveled a long way and still feeling happy to see new places, do exciting adventures and meet new friends. Our last post we were still in Laos and working our way South, biking through small villages along the Mekong river and taking respite under canopies of trees during the hot, sunny afternoons. We chilled out in a place called Vang Vieng where we did a 3 day rock climbing course, scaling up some craggy limestone cliffs to look out over meandering rivers and green forested hills..pretty sweet. We also did some kayaking and a lot of swimming to cool down on those warm days. Before leaving that town we took a hot air balloon ride to watch the Sun rise, wake up and pop its big beautiful head over the mountains, this was Awesome!! Vang Vieng is a place I'd visit again, but you have to be very cautious as this place can suck you in and keep you marinating in all the glutinous activities that you can imagine... eating great food in an open air cafe, overlooking the river and watching the mountains as you drink fruit shakes and eat "happy" meals, in an Arabian style setting, i.e laying on cushions....which makes it super comfy. Eat a huge meal, watch a movie at the restaurant on a big screen and let your belly decompress as you zone out for a couple of hours... Some people get "trapped" here for weeks :) After we left Vang Vieng we kept cycling down towards the border...passed Vientiane...the capital of Laos and headed back into the countryside where we visited huge caves, swam in cool rivers and did some camping in beautiful areas. One cave was so huge that a river passes almost 7kms through a mountain, so incredible. You walk to the entrance of the cave where a small dugout motor boat takes you speeding through the darkness of an enormous cave all the while feeling the wind blowing around your body and using your light to see fascinating rock formations. What great memories of this place!! We continued South following the Mekong river until we reached a place called 4000 islands. 4000 islands in the middle of a river???...Is this true you ask, incredibly enough it is. At some points the Mekong is 10kms in diameter and in the dry season many islands pop up above the water...Some of the islands are much larger though and there are villages and more cool chill out areas. We stayed in a place called Don Det/Don Khon were we took a small fishing boat to see the rare Irrawaddy river dolphin. These things are usually found all along the Mekong but in one place there is a really deep spot in the Mekong and the dolphins usually come here to play...and playing they were as they crested from the deep waters, blowing bubbles and having water fights :) In some of the areas we visited the stories of some of the communities has a really positive note; what once was an area of heavy logging, over fishing and pollution had been transformed into eco friendly communities of preservation and concern for the environment/blended with income from travelers who come to see natural beauty and support these eco practices. After this last place we crossed into Cambodia and took some back roads to a Volcanic lake...this road was over 150kms of sandy path, which was called a road but now we know...isn't really a road but a path. Needless to say it took us 3 days, crossed over 3 rivers, small villages - where villagers stared at us in disbelief...that we were actually taking this path. By the 3rd day when we made it back to a road and larger town we were covered with dirt and quite exhausted but still alive and very proud of ourselves. We were just a short distance from our 1st long stay destination, in Ban Lung and we were trying to make it before dark but the road was so dusty and our bike lights were fading, so we found a cool little platform structure made from sticks and camped out there. The next morning, my birthday we awoke to an amazing sight, stretched out before us were the lush rolling hills of Cambodia, with misty low hanging clouds, the Sun slowly rising and the sounds of very musical birds singing beautiful songs around us...what a great Birthday gift!! In Ban Lung we explored places by motorbike...cool lakes, inspiring waterfalls and even dug for crystals in the hills...this area was rich in Rubies, Zircon, Amethyst and Diamonds...we actually found a couple of cool Zircon pieces after digging for a few hours. We left Ban Lung by bus and made our way to the capital Phnom Penh were we explored and ....shopped, yes Shopped like crazy. My sister would be so proud of me...one day I think we shopped, browsed and bargained for almost 8 straight hours...everything from Tee shirts to Cambodia Rolex's...whew!!! Well we've finally brought you to were we are and just about to leave...the Cambodian coast. We made our way to the water and the to the islands off shore and then underwater to continue our adventures. Both Kaleb and I got Scuba certified... Kaleb with the Junior Open H2O course...which allows him to dive down to 35 feet and I continued my Scuba experience and am now additional trained as an Advanced Open Water which allows me to dive down to 100 feet. We dove around Koh Rong island...at least 8 dives each in this area (including 2 night dives for myself...scary :) and then did a live-aboard trip out to some more remote islands where we did 3 more dives...The entire diving experience was unbelievable, the water was so clear and full of amazing sea creatures and plants/coral and the instructors...shout out to Erick, Tom and Jack, were very cool!
We'll that was a better recall than I expected as there have been a lot of "happy" food and vibes around here..but we made it through. Hope you all are ready for our transition into Spring and your lives are blossoming in all the beauty that fills you and surrounds you... intertwining us all together; creating a masterpiece of peace and love...and all that mushy stuff. So, in ceremony of birth, life, creation and fornication...please get naked dance around and shake it like your dancing to "I'm sexy and you know it"!!! "Happy" thoughts to you friends....Your Krazy Kool Cyclers, Will and Kaleb