A mother and her three daughters walk along a quiet road in the Salavan Province of Laos. I passed them on this, my first day of riding a moped over the Bolevan Plateau in southern Laos on a route known as the Southern Swing.

I began the ride in the town of Paksee and slowly rode some 85km (52.8 miles) along the Salavan Road to the small village of Kieng Than Lei near the Tat Lo waterfalls. That’s where I am tonight, settled in a comfortable large guest house beside a rice paddie for the princely sum of 30,000 Kip, that’s just £2.33 (US $3.66). It even has hot water in the en-suite bathroom!