err… if you'd read between the lines then you'd have realised that groups larger than four wouldn't be welcome in oudom xai, plus you need to pay attention to what people are doing on their bikes and i can't watch more than three people at one time.
the situation in laos is totally different, you moron. one small enterprise like ours changes the life of a whole community. putting a couple of thousand dollars into the local economy, teaching them basic english, buying their food and services, perhaps training local guides so we can expand, etc., means their kids get a chance to study at a better school, they can afford basic healthcare, they have the possibility to interact with a new world.
there are limits on what we can do there. i would take groups of 20 if i could. but the limits are imposed by others. we do what we can with what we've been given.
have you been to northern laos? there is nothing there but weirdness. that's what makes it special. you could lose a hundred mtbers dressed in bright pink in one square kilometer of jungle, and there are thousands of square kilometers up there. to say nothing of the mountains, the river valleys, the sheer other-worldliness of the place.
there's a difference between putting together a project based on some form of sustainable development for a decent community and twatting around on your silly mtb adventures in pitlochry. and if you can't see that, you're dumber than even i imagined.
