No Need For Calorie Counting Here

I speak for myself when I say this, because I don’t think Stew has the same experience, but I don’t have any problems getting enough calories on this trip. ⁣

Well that was the case until we reached Laos.⁣

The hills in Laos have been tougher than any other country. I’ve pushed my bike more here than anywhere else. I find myself getting really hungry, really quickly. Sometimes I can go from a little hungry to feeling sick with hunger pretty quick.⁣

There have been times where I’ve had to stop part way up a hill and snack because I’ve been feeling so weak! Thank goodness I have the food pannier haha⁣

When you’re in the mountains in Laos you can go a few days without seeing fruit and vegetables which I find very odd! This hasn’t happened before. We question what the village people eat because fruit and veg is not abundant. The only thing you can find to eat are instant noodles, crisps and pork scratchings.⁣

We met a cyclist travelling without a stove – he found it impossible to eat a nutritious meal in the smaller villages since he could only buy snacks that weren’t particularly calorie dense. We opted for instant noodles a lot of the time and carried onion, garlic and peanuts at all times and occasionally we found a cabbage. ⁣

Thankfully Laos, in my opinion, is the most beautiful country so far. Even though I’m physically tired I don’t feel mentally tired at all. The climbing is tough, but I could never get bored of the layered-mountains views.⁣

@ Vieng Xai