Lovin' Lao Part 2

The last time I reported from the front lines of SE Asia I was leaving for Vietiane, Laos. The bus ride was the best I had had and still have had. I had the most leg room ever. It was awesome. I got to Vietiane about noon and it was so hot. It was the hottest weather I had experienced thus far. It had to be at least 94 degrees. I knew that I just needed to leave. I didn't really want to go to Vietiane but everything goes through there. So I got a tuk-tuk and said a needed a bus to Savannakhet. There were two bus stations in town depending if you were going north or south. He said the bus station was 18 KM away. I said fine take me their. On the way I asked if he knew when the bus left. He thought 8 PM. I knew right then that there would be no way I could stay in the bus station for 7 hours. So I said just take me to a guest house. I wanted to go there because I knew I could get a bus ticket and they would let me keep my bad there while I explored the city. I was right. I walked around the city for a few hours. I saw some temples and a tower called That Dam.

"Known as the ‘Black Stupa', many locals believe this mythological structure was once inhabited by a seven-headed dragon (now dormant) that stood to protect the city from the threat of the Siamese. Another tale that does the rounds says that the gold that once graced the surface was taken when the Siamese army ransacked Vientiane back in 1828."

I was so hot and tired. I went back to the guesthouse around 4 and just hung out there the rest of the day. It took so much energy not to fall asleep because I knew that I would sleep on the bus. I left Vietanne around 8 and got to Savannakhet at 4 AM. There was an Aussie couple, a Canadian guy, and a Hungarian girl all on the same bus. None of us had reservations anywhere so we got a tuk-tuk to take us around trying to find guesthouses that were either open or would wake up when they banged on the gate. It only took three tries. Thankfully they had room for all of us. The next day the girl and I tried to find a place for breakfast. This proved to be difficult because it was the first true day of Tet, the Chinese New Year, and Savannakhet has a large portion of Chinese and Vietnamese people. After some time we found a French cafe open. It was funny because it was only filled with Westerners and when we left more were coming in. When we finished eating we rented bikes from a local guesthouse. She went to a temple outside of town that was 13 KM. I wasn't about to ride that far on a shitty bike and in 90 degree temps. I rode around town and looked at a few temples and went to the Dinosaur Museum. It was lame. I should have just gotten a bus to the next big town, Pakse.

The next morning we did just that, all five of us. We got a local bus. It was a spectacle to see the bus continue to pick up locals even though it was full. It resorted to them sitting on benches and some even standing up. They didn't seem to be bothered by it though. The bus to Pakse took eight hours. We found a guesthouse and all stayed there but Laura. She went on to Champask because she had to be back to Hanoi to work on Monday. Pakse was a nice town. That night we went out to eat at a very good Indian place. After that we wanted to hit up a bar. We asked the guesthouse reception for a suggestion. We got in a tuk-tuk and he took us there. It was an all Loa beer garden. We got lots of looks since they don't normally have Westerners come in. It was too late for a tuk-tuk so we had to walk back after we were finished. It was about a 8 KM walk. We found it quicker than I expected. Only the way we were asked by a group of young adults drinking outside a house to come over for some drinks. We obliged. Two of the guys were very gay. One of the guys was hitting on one of my friends. The other one was talking to me and kept having me say things to his friend. Each one got a laugh so I assume they were sexual in nature. After a bit we decided to continue on to the guesthouse because we were all going on a tour of the Bolaven Plateau. Id say this was a highlight of the trip. We saw three waterfalls. Each one was different in its own way. The first one was Tad Fane. There was a trail down to see a little bit closer than the view point. When I think of waterfalls this is what I normally picture. Next we went to the Tad Yuang waterfall. This was numero uno for waterfalls that I have seen. The highlight was jumping into the pool at the bottom and swimming. The water was very cold. It was almost SE Alaskan cold. The combination of the temperature and the water crashing on me took my breathe away. It was well worth it. It was one of the coolest things I have ever done. Here is a video of it.





Next we went to a local village. I like going to see the villages but its always weird because its almost like a human zoo. I can only stand a few minutes before wanting to leave and I never take pictures. Finally we went to the last waterfall, Tad Lo. This one was different but equally as good. We had lunch at the base in plain view of it. After lunch we swam across and were able to walk around on the ledges. The current was really fast so you had to be quick on swimming over. That night we just hung out and had dinner because the bus to the 4000 Islands left at 7 AM.


The 4000 Islands are islands, some big and some little, located at the southern end of Laos within the Mekong River. There a some big ones inhabited while most are just specks of land. We stayed at the biggest and most modern island, Don Khong. After we arrived and found a place we got bikes to ride around the island. We had intentions of finding this cave but we never found it and just kept on riding. We got to the tip of the island and decided turn around. I think we biked for 15 KM. The town was nice though. There were only a couple of cars and not many scooters. There had to be less than 30 tourists there. It was really peaceful. After the bike ride it was really hard not to want to jump into the adjacent Mekong. The following day Brett and I decided to leave for Kratie, Cambodia. Stuart and Michelle decided to go to another island, Don Det. We arrived at the border in 45 minutes. There were a number of people who were told that there was an ATM at the border. I'm sorry but relying on ATMs while traveling is a cardinal sin in my book. Not having money for your VISA at the border is like not having your passport. I loaned a bunch of money to an Irish couple since they were going to Kratie as well. So Ive been in Cambodia now for 6 days. It seems like ages ago since I was in Laos. I miss it. The people always say "Sa Baa Dee", which is hello in Lao. Below are pictures from the last part of Lao. Cheers.



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