bentonchengdu: Day 36 Sat 3110 - Tay Trang Camping to Camping after Muang Mai ( Laos )

Today dist : 51.1 km Total : 2054.1 km
Today Temp : 24-36 C Sunny with afternoon rain
Ride time: 5 hr 06 min
Ave speed : 10.0 kmh Max : 46.5
Ave climb: 5 % Max: 12 %
Trip alti : 1095 m Max: 1119 m
Today Spend: 90 k Kips Total: 2710 Rmb+1948k VND + 90k Kips

Crossing over to Laos today.Thought Tay Trang is the very last Vietnamese town but there is no town but only a Vietnamese International border gate building where i had my passport exit stamped without any problem,the custom officers and a few truck drivers were very friendly and fascinated with my recumbent. The Laos Immigration was some 2-3km further where i had to pay 30k kips for entrance,20k Kips for Tourism Fund and another 5k for Ebola body temperature check, I don't have Kips with me and i do not want to pay in USD either,so they accepted Vietnamese dong and i asked for receipt in which they agreed. I think I had been short changed as i really don't know the exchange rate either from USD or dongs. I can only accept what they offer. What choice did i have? I am in the very remote part of nowhere,No Internet,no wifi,no information.After the Laos Immigration clearance with a 30 days stamp,The terrain is mostly downhill with some rolling ups and downs. Muang Mai is just slightly bigger than a village where i had my lunch for 30k Kips and i saw an ATM machine, so i cashed out 1 million Kips and from the Maybank massage that is equivalent to Rm544, so now i know 1Rm = 1.8k Kips. So my lunch cost me Rm 16.6, and a bottle of Pepsi 5k Kip is Rm 2.8.I saw 2 Guesthouses in town were asking 70-80k Kips but no wifi,so i proceeded but the next town of Muang Khua is 38km too far for me to reach with this snail pace of hilly terrain. I stopped at a local roadside village of just a few wooden houses to camp near a round cement pool of water guess this must be the only source of water for their daily chaos,off course also for me to bathe and cook,the village Laos people are very friendly to invite me to stay with them,but i had to turn them down cos' i am quite comfortable with my already set up tent.From Hello in Vietnam,now i have to greet the Laos with Sabaidee.