Don Det, '4000 Islands', Southern Laos

Don Det sunset from accommodation restaurant :


I'm writing this offline during my less than 24 hours on Don Det island, around 20km from the Cambodian border, but I was swimming in the river next to Cambodia this afternoon (the Mekong River is the border here). I came down from Pakse this morning, pottered around for a couple of hours deciding my next move then rented a pushbike for a few hours. I cycled through the locals harvesting rice, a wee village, saw the Tat Somphamit (Li Phi Falls) waterfall - very impressive and a hardcore kayakers wet dream.



I then continued for a dip in the river by a beach where you can grab a boat and see some freshwater dolphins. Although that was originally one of my main reasons to come here, I don't have time to try and see them tomorrow. The whole trip only took about an hour each way.

It's soo chilled here. It took me a couple of hours to have a snack and leave my accommodation (helped by listening into and chatting to a guidebook author). I watched a cracking sunset over the islands from the restaurant about 10 feet from my bamboo shack (no fan! Could be an 'interesting' hot sleep!). It's still not peak season and everyone just does what I did,the odd river trip, or lounge on hammocks and not do very much. I've not seen as many stars in the sky since...well, I guess not that long ago during a powercut in Myanmar.

I was reworking my Cambodia plans when I arrived here and, despite being so close to the border, I have changed my plans to reluctantly skip Kratie (more potential dolphin spotting) and head back to Pakse (a couple of hours in the bus) then fly to Siem Riep for $86, probably missing out Kratie altogether. Not ideal, but with only around 12 days in Cambodia (yikes!) it saves me doing a long bus journey loop to see the other places I hope to - Siem Riep, Battambang, Phnom Penh (I may remember how to spell this once I'm there), then down to Soukhanville for the beach and hopefully a dive. I must confess that I'm finding it harder to get timing information for Cambodia from my alternative guidebook 'Adventure Cambodia'. I bought this due to the vast amount of motorbike touring information but doesn't look like that will be an option now.

Unfortunately to catch the organised buses I have to get the boat at 11.30am, so Pakse will seem like time just waiting for something to happen as there's not much to do there, but I've a 6.30am check in the following day.... I'm sure there must be local buses but I reckon the cartel of tour operators wouldn't give away this information so easily!

Don Det boat landing :

Baja Boy (or should that be Darren's Motorcycle Diaries)

If you can't be arsed reading this long post - jump to the bottom, it's quite funny (erm, I think)

Due to timing I wasn't 100% sure whether to stay in Pakse, or take a very easy option of jumping on a small bus at the station, going for breakfast and being taken down to Dong Det at 4000 Islands by 11am. I bumped into Adam who hung off the back of a sawngthaew with me from Muang Ngoi Neua to Luang Prabang last week and he was heading straight down with a mate. Amazingly, when I said I wasn't getting the bus, the saleperson told me I never needed a tuk-tuk into town as it was only a few minutes walk - excellent service.

I went to the Lankham Hotel in town to enquire about renting a Honda Baja 250cc for the day,and maybe trying to make it back for a lift to Don Det in the afternoon, and it seemed feasible...well that was until I said I'd hire the bike and the last sawngthaew then seemed to leave at 1pm rather than the earlier 4pm someone said. Anyway, I had a place to store my back, and had a Honda Baja for the day for $20 so off I went to explore the Bolavan Plateua, home of the wonderful Lao Coffee.

Me and my 250cc Honda Baja :


The road to Ban Beng (the easy start bit) :


I managed to make good time on the bike, alledgedly more horsepower than the previous one I hired in Chiang Rai, and a larger frame (although I reckoned this one needed servicing). I headed out on a route that would take me in a loop from Pakse to Tat Fan waterfall (one of the most impressive in Laos), through Paksong (the home of coffee), to Tha Taeng (or Thateng) to Bang Beng, to Tat Lo waterfall and back to Pakse. Then I hoped to go to Ban Saphai to see some weaving action. One thing that becomes apparent in Laos is the slight variations in place names when translated into English.

I made a great start and stopped off at Tat Fan. I started a hike down towards the bottom of the 120m waterfall on the opposite side of the gorge, but it quickly got way too frickin steep to do on my own (like near vertical where I was heading). I settled with the excellent viewpoint after having some laughs with the car park attendant who made an excellent 'vrroom vrroom' sound every time he looked at 'my' big bike (everything's 50 or 100cc around here). I was desperate to buy some coffee but knew it would end up getting carried around like the tea I still carry from a wee village in Northern Thailand, famous for it's tea. So famous in fact, I've forgotten its name.

Tat Fan waterfall :


I drove through Paksong, fighting the temptation to ride past a coffee plantation sign in the need for speed. At Tha Taeng the road started to get a tad more interesting as it turned into a dust track, riddled with the remains of water trails. Needless to say I loved it, bombing past the locals on the tut tut bikes. I also seemed to drive past every school at break time so got the waves I have grown to love.

I stopped in Ban Beng at a one table 'cafe', the only tourist in sight. Again the schools were coming out, and all the local girls burst into laughter and moved away on the sight of a white man. Until I took my camera out, then they posed and smiled, and laughed at the results. God I wish I spoke Laos. I had a great soup, despite no common words being spoken (except my fluent 'kaap chai' Laos, a traditional chicken dish, which wasn't what I got). That and a Pepsi for $1. Angelica - if you read this I was interacting a wee bit using your SE Asia Phrasebook - cheers!





I then stopped off at Tat Lo and dipped my feet in the water before heading back to Pakse...

HERE'S WHERE THE FUN BEGINS if you skipped the start.

About 20km from town the bike started jumping a bit and I just assumed it was gas, so tried to switch to the reserve, but still the same, but only occassionally - after my Thailand exploit I had a shitload of gas in it, and had only travelled 150km. Anyway, on I went passeing several gas stations. It spluttered. It died.

Shit, not again I thought. I shook the bike, still gas in the tank. How much do these things need to start anyway? I was on the flat. About turned, I pushed the bike, with a gas station only a few hundred metres back. Well, it was a storage unit. No pumps. A couple of hundred metres on from there, there was a station. That was only after the guy at the gate of the storage pointed me back the way I came, then the locals pointed me back the way I had originally been walking.#

Gas in. No start. I shuffled it around a bit, moved the reserve switch, still nothing. The folk sitting around let me use their mobile as my network wasn't working. After a few phone calls, they agreed to come out and see me as I was only 13km from town. Two guys came, nothing. We sat around and spoke about my trip, and I wrote down some English words I used to try and describe it. Again, I said yes, Scotland does speak English, drew the usual UK map, pointed to it in the Lonely Planet, showed him my postcard and said Scotland was next to England but way better (I always use this).

Anyway, the hotel manager came out and tinkered with the same bits the first guys did, made the bike backfire, and sent me on my way on a replacement bike. By this time it was 4pm, too late to do anything, and as I shot away I realised the odometer had been disconnected too,so I headed back to the hotel for some negotiation. Unfortunately the manager had been towed back by the time I quickly tried to gather my locked bag and laptop.

Negotiations started so I quickly teased my passport out of the receptionists hand before started to haggle.

"No, I'm not paying 20,000 kip ($20),it broke down at 1.30pm, there's a shitload (I translated that to Laos) of gas in it"
"But you havea replacement until 7pm"
"Yes but I can't drive it until 7pm, I don't know how much gas is in it, the front lights not working and the odomoter is disconnected"
"20,000 kip, you signed this about gas"
"Yes, but it broke down"

And on it went until they doscounted it by $2, then I laughed and emphasised the petrol. It went on for ages, eventually the manager agreed to call it quits at $10. I then went on about the $11 of gas I put in today, a third of which was probably still in the bike as it was put in after it broke down.

The phone at reception rang. Bingo - right on cue. I picked up my gear, after leaving 80,000Kip (8$) on the table, and was queried as I was about to walk away. I tried to play nice, but after she said "I no rent you bike again tomorrow or next time" I reckoned she had given up.

I walked away having paid just over 4 UKP for the bike, a little bit more on petrol, and decided I better look for another room in town before leaving first thing. I sorted out my bus, then found a room and crashed for a bit. Hot, sweating buckets, and dusty. Bingo. A good day. Like I said, it's not the journey, it's the destination ;-)

Tat Fan waterfall :

I take it all back - VIP buses are good

I caught the 'VIP' bus from Vientiene to Pakse in Southern Laos last night. It wasn'ta great start as I was waiting for around an hour and only got picked up about ten minutes before departure time, crammed into a truck version of a songthingymabob with our luggage. I had to laugh when we arrived at the bus station though as it was small time carnage everyone rushing to get on the bus. There were around 6 of them leaving, and some folk had booked tickets together, or separately assuming they would be on the same bus, and well...they weren't.

I was seriously impressed by the blinged up buses, I've never seen such a colourful parade of double decker buses before - some of them with custom paintjobs, large letters on the front like 'KING OF BUS', and I wouldn't like to be the driver of the bus that never had multicoloured lights on the front, and a flourescent lit engine bay.

I was very impressed with the buses though - very comfy indeed, a small meal served, water, a few sweets and even a face cleaning cloth. The seats reclined, there was a video (although we never got one), about the only thing I could gripe about is the overhead compartments aren't wide enough to fit much more than a tootbrush.

VIP buses. I take it all back (although it was full of bloody tourists....erm, like me)...the only thing that annoyed me was not getting a pic of the blingged up buses.

Pakse Plans

I took a while today (ok, 5 minutes) to think about what I'll do when I get to Pakse. Being in Vientiene confirms it's not cities that really 'pump my nads' to use my expression. If I arrive in time tomorrow I'm going to investigate hiring a motorbike and scooting around the vicinity, and maybe into the Bolaven Plateau for the day,then hope to get a share taxi later in the afternoon to Don Khong island so I can spend a night or two there before crossing into Cambodia.

The Bolaven Plateau is the home of Lao coffee, and it rocks!

Vientiene probably has more going for it that I give it credit for, but it's just a peaceful wee city, with a fair amount of expats meeting in cafes. And more wats and temples, but I'm more than 'watted out' after the last few weeks. If you're religious I'm sure they will mean more to you, but they are all similar after a while.

I went to the post office and airmailed a few early xmas gifts home (god that's so unlike me) while I had a decent opportunity. It's fricking expensive doing that here - $46 for a couple of kilos!!! So that's around 8 times what the things cost, but hey ho.

Anyway, stayed up late writing blog entries and organising my pictures quite a bit so better go and post them! I could do with a whole day doing that here, but I'll move on. It's the first chance I have had to look through them for ages. I also spent a bit of time looking through a couple of volunteering (i.e. cashinteering is a crap term I made up as you have to pay for it) possibilities in Nepal for next October - only for a short term, but yet something else to go through my mind once I raid a bank.

My next post will likely be from Cambodia as internet access more than triples out in the sticks in Laos. But can I keep myself away for that long.

Luang Prabang expansion and Vientiene thefts

If any of you read my posts and like the sound of Luang Prabang, get there quick. There is a plan afoot to expand the airport so it can take more and larger planes. Currently there are only around 70,000 passengers per year arrive by plane. There are also some problems about the ruling not allowign large coaches into the World Heritage centre of Luang Prabang.

The Vientiene Times also reported arrests after a spate of bag thefts by people on motorbikes, so watch out if you are walking around.

Vientiene

I reluctantly left (I say that for almost every place!) Vang Vieng yesterday, at least one climbing day short, never saw any caves, never hired any motorbikes, but I had to head south to get to Cambodia :-( I had breakfast at the organic cafe and was reminded of yet more volunteer opportunities I would have liked to have done, then went back to grab my rucksack instead of heading to the motorbike hire shop!?!

Again, I walked past the tuk tuks dropping off people for the tourist cattle 'VIP' bus, headed to the songtheaw (will have to check the spelling - basically a shared pickup taxi) beepnig it's horn...
"Vientiene?"
"Yes thanks"
Within seconds, a friendly groan from the driver after lifting my pack onto the roof (next to the obligatory motorbike..remember this is just an old toyota pickup, with seats in the back and a roof, with loads of folk piled in), and we were off, me on the back, feet hanging out from the seat - the best view in town, natural aircon, and I could get a tan, and help take the rice off the roof at the stops, and wave back to the locals when they see a white face in a pickup that has the most regular 'VIP' bus service in Laos.

I had a quick wander around Vientiene this afternoon, and decided I'd have a long lie tomorrow. If I was more alert I would have probably just went direct to Pakse tonight. The journey's not as bad as I thought - leave 8pm, in around 6am (ish!) so that's my plan...although as it's a biggie and much more of a biggie on local buses, I'll be trying the $15 VIP option, and will probably just buy it from an agent to get picked up.

Are tuk-tuk drivers the ultimate entrpeneur?

I think there is a training school for tuk-tuk drivers in Asia. I think it goes like this, probably in this order :
Can you load this thing up to the max?
Can you almost drive this thing?
- no? It's ok, they don't go that fast.
Can you barter hard when challenged?

After an induction period they get advanced training so they can offer inroads to other lines of business, all with no shop fronts required?
'You smoke?'
'You want lady?

I'm sure there must be a cut off though as the second and third options are quite common, they're not offered by them all, but usually when the tuk tuk ride is refused. Maybe they think it's not a tuk tuk ride you're after. Purely in the pursuit of market forces training, I was almost tempted to see the price of the third, then ask the lady calling me from the other side of the street in Vientiene directly. I'm curious to see what cut they get....


Oh I left all the oranges I acquired from the Orange truck in Vieng Xai in Vang Vieng, happy they didn't have to be carted round Laos any more without being eaten. I also left a bag of crisps that survived the circuit from Luang Prabang where I bought them, back to there and down to Vang Vieng. And I wonder why I carry so much...

Vang Vieng Day 2

Spent today tubing with a couple of girls I met climbing yesterday, and a girl who took my photo in Luang Prabang (small world, not an exciting explanation!). Reluctantly I plan on leaving tomorrow - I think that's Sunday, not because I'm ready for it, just that I need to time wise to get through southern Laos in a whistle stop fashion! Yesterday I went climbing which was fantastic - great to get out on rock again. Tomorrow I have to fight with my mind as I know two seperate people going on various routes, and I've got to know three of the instructors well, (having drinks and eating at their restaurants) so I'm desperate to hang around and climb with them tomorrow but my schedule dictates otherwise. I'm also a tad jealous of Jane's posting from the Red Cross in Luang Prabang as I want to be doing it too!

A big thanks to Amy, Zoe, Deb(s) and Joe for the last day or so of fun in Vang Vieng! In fact thanks to everyone I've met so far - Israeli, English, Irish, American, German, Argentinian, Spanish, Australian, Polish, New Zealand, French, and last but certainly not least Canadian (and the others I've missed)

I feel like a bit of a spoilt brat being out here and complaining about lack of time, but there's just loads of things I'll miss out on, and I've not been moving fast at all compared to some!

Advice for others travelling - save loads, buy a one way ticket, go on your own, and get people to fit into your plans ;->

Vang Vieng

Sunset at Vang Vieng :

I can't actually decide whether I like Vang Vieng or not....
On one hand it's in an amazing setting with limestone cliffs all around, but on the other hand it's in a shithole of a town, full of bars playing movies, Friends and the Simpsons! But to cater for the backpacker crowd there's also some quite naff bars on the riverside, but it's also pretty relaxing to sit by them and have a beer, one foot dangling in the river. Going price for a joint is 40,000Kip (don't worry mum) and there's a lot of that kicking around. If only Luang Prabang could have the activities like this and not be spoiled it'd be perfect.

But, I went climbing today. I'm don't think it was value for money at $21 but it got me on rock, and I had a good time, despite being defeated by an overhang move, but hey, I haven't climbed since May.

I've not had a chance to write posts about my recent circuit in North East Laos yet. I could easily spend a couple of months in Laos but I've got a real time dilemma about hitting Veitnam by the end of the month, with very limited time in Cambodia so I think I'll have to move south the day after tomorrow, and take a killer overnight 24 hour bus journey south from Vientiene to Pakse, and that sucks! Too little time!


Rope swings at a tubing stop (right next to a climbing area called Sleeping Cave :

A riverside bar at the end of tubing :

Kids at a village on between Luang Prabang and Vang Vieng :

Amy on a 6a? :

Me at the crux move on a 6b, before my not-used-to-climbing arms gave up :

Me just before the crux move :

Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng

Jeez, I managed to get out of Luang Prabang! It was hard, it has to be said, it was just such a relaxing chilled place. Even at the bus station I was feeling weird about leaving when I said goodbye to Jane in the tuk-tuk as her next stop was the Red Cross to find out about the volunteering I was keen to do. But hey, if it sounds good I can always go back. Time is passing too quickly to stay :-( I also tried to speak to the guy at the adventure tours place about potential opportunities last night, but fate decided it was his night off - the only time he hasn't been there in the dozens of times I've walked past... but this generally sums up my Luang Prabang experience...chilling out and leaving everything until it had to be done.

I found even more places in the last few days that I had meant to check out for days - a really cool place called le'Cinema that has private rooms, with hundreds of DVDs you can pick and watch, and l'etranger book shop which we chilled in for hours yesterday, not even watching the world go by...and eating a damn fine ceasar salad baguette. Even at the night market I found the most tasty, yet sickly sweet coffee I've had for ages, AND I got it to takeaway! The Lao Coffee rocks. Even better when it's served 'Sabah style' (a kickback to my Borneo days) with sweet condensed thick syrupy 'milk'. I also went for a bit of a shopathon at the night market which was great, but has left me carrying even more shit with me - so much so the guys from the bus thought I was moving house.

Today I made the 7.5 hour public bus journey from Luang Prabang down to Vang Vieng. Despite not having taken any of the 'VIP' tourist buses yet I'm convinced the local buses are the best way to travel...take a bit longer as you stop off at some village dropping rice and stuff off, but far less tourists, and you manage to get a better glance at the places you pass through, rather than being surround by 60 tourists gazing out the window at 70km/h. And you meet cooler people. Usually.

Vang Vieng is home of some of the biggest limestone karsts in SE Asia, and I've got a decent room for $3, with a communal balcony out the back overlooking the river. Hopefully I'll get some tubing down the river tomorrow, or a climb ($21!!) and get a better feel for the place. As usual my scenic expectations haven't quite been matched yet, but I'll give it time. I'm off out to post this blog entry, and avoid any happy pizzas, and see if this place is really as much of a backpackerville as it's made out to be.

Leaving Luang Prabang....erm, I think

Jane chilling in l'etranger bookshop while I work out my tie is disappearing :

Jane and I on Phu Si hill, just before sunset :

Well I've finally decided to leave Luang Prabang! It's not easy though. It's been great hooking up with Jane (ex-Raleigh) here but as usual, it's always too short. It's been like having a mate come over and visit. Regular readers (ha, who am I kidding) will know I was keen to try and find out about volunteering with the Red Cross here and Jane is going to do that tomorrow...arrrggg! So I think I'm going to have to hand over the keys to what feels like my new (temporary ) home town to her, and seeth with jealousy over her updates.
Yes I could stay around for another week but I also looked at a calendar today, and as

I thought every time when thinking about a year out - deadlines suck! Need to finish my mini tour to get back to Thailand in mid Dec, and Vietnam in 3 weeks so hardly any time at all! So, sadly it's time to start moving south to Vang Vieng, Vientiene, and hopefully down through souther Laos and '4000 Islands' to cross into Cambodia.....

Sob, sob.... mind you though - could change plans tonight!!

l'etranger bookshop restaurant - the ultimate chill :

Back in Luang Prabang

It's been a long time since I had close contact with a female, but today I got all hot and sweaty with a local. I gently caressed her bottom with my foot while her face were in my private parts, and every so often we would glance at each other to check we were both still ok, her hands moving around my legs at various intervals.

Unfortunately it was because I was one of the last ones on the pick up back to Luang Prabang, so here was around 20 folk piled on a share taxi (converted pick up) back to Luang Prabang. I was hanging off the back standing up with some other guys, there were plenty of locals crammed in the back, and this lass was dangling from the rear of the pick up. I was standing up there for almost 4 hours, but it was the best place to see what we were passing through. Once my nervousness got over the fact that the van started leaning as we went around corners, the odd skid from the driver etc, it was a pretty good journey considering.

I'm back in Luang Prabang after a quick circuit around Phonsavan (Plane of Jars), Sam Neu, Vieng Xia, Nong Khiaw and Mon Neu. It almost feels like coming home, but I think I'll be leaving on Wednesday morning after my passport comes back (hopefully) with Cambodian and Vietnam visas in it. Half the last few days (I think I left last Wednesday) have been spent on some form or transport or other. These included a pickup, full and empty buses, bikes, boats, and a fruit truck (we kinda missed the last share taxi back from the caves at Vieng Xai so had some negotiating to do. It was either pay the fruit truck guy and help ourselves to his oranges, whilst dangling off the back, or pay the guy who tried to rip us off - we had no choice and a great story).

Anyway, I'll write more soon, but that's all just now folks!

Muang Ngoi Neua to Luang Prabang

As you can imagine we were up for the first boat leaving at 9.30am, happy in the knowledge we'd catch a bus that connected with the boat in the morning - information gratefully received from the aussie couple involved in discussions the night before.

As we arrived around 10.30am we had a pretty mad dash to cross the bridge, rescue our luggage, settle our bill and dart back to grab a bus. As always seems to happen, when we were heading up the street from the boat a sawngthaew driver looked out at us and shouted 'Udomxai'?. This was Angelica's destination.

'Can you wait until I get my luggage?'
'15 minutes'.

Deal was done, other travellers promising to wait for Angelica, and the Aussies doing the same for me on the way back to Nong Khiaw.

When I got back I was shouted over to my pickup which was jam packed and fully loaded, and Angelica's was ready to go. I've never found out if she made it to Udomxai as her driver seemed to criss cross our path several times getting out of the two street town! I settled into my four hours of hanging off the back, as always the best way to see the place, and get a tan at the same time. This journey was a bit sketchy at first as you could see the tilt of the pickup as it rounded corners - you're sheilded from that inside. The Aussies sounded concerned for me every time we stopped but I was happy as Larry (who is Larry in that saying anyway) having a whale of a time. Gladly the driver seemed to calm down after a few small screeches going through a town, and I had an interesting chat about teaching in Korea with a Canadian.

After trying a few places I ended up back at my Pathoumphone, the same accommodation as my previous visit to Luang Prabang, and felt like I was coming home!

I knew Jane, one of the Project Managers from Raleigh may have been in town around now so I dashed to an internet cafe to send a quick email incase she picked it up that day. An hour later I had a reply, and we were sorted to meet at my 'just in case you are in town' destination at 7pm. I bumped into her on the way into town, sorted her out at the same accommodation as me, and we headed out so I could show her this place I raved about, the night markets, the Lao Lao bar, and of course, another trip to the Vietnam Bar after hours.

This time the Vietnam Bar wasn't as welcoming as they had just had a police visit. After a little pleasant negotiation I was allowed to carry on my celebrations with the 6 people effectively having an illegal lock-in. All of a sudden I seemed to get a bottle of Thai Whisky which was finished rather rapidly as my new found Dutch friends appeared to help themselves safe in the promise they'd buy the next one, and we had good chats with a few Irish lads. My first disagreement happened with the Dutch prick when he backtracked on his witnessed statment...so I bought another bottle!

A late night was had by all, but luckily this time a tuk tuk took us straigh back to the accommodation, bypassing the need to find a friendly local to give me a lift around town on his motorbike like the last Vietnam Bar outing......

Muang Ngoi Neua

Probably my favourite picture of the whole trip - a small girl on the boat to Muang Ngoi Neua, capturing our interaction perfectly :


Despite getting up early considering our travelling, we took a while to have breakfast and stuff so didn't get the boat until around 11am. Of course we chose to ignore the ticket seller that said there were no boats back after 2pm, I mean how do the locals get back?

We headed off on our own small trek as described in 'The Book', the Lonely Planet. We ended up walking past a small cave (didn't stop - all caved out), rice harvesters, and ended up at the Hoy Bor village - obviously quite well visited as there were signs up along the trail, erected by a couple of enterprising locals. As it was still officially low season we were pleased to walk past only two others on the way, and only cross around 7 tourists in the village. Of course we prompted to eat and drink at the restaurant with no-one else in it, and a selection of food to match. The owners were very interested though and surrounded us, asking us to fill out the guestbook with praise for their place, and to try and coax some visitors in. The balloon trick was used when the kids came up, and before we knew it, Angelica and I had infalted the remainder of the balloon pack, and the village kids were dancing around with multi-coloured balloons lighting up the village. Mothers even came carrying small children asking for balloons for them. I also left one of my scotlandswildplaces.com postcards behind and pointed where it was on a map.

We had a fantastic time there, staying long enough to know we had sacked off any chance we had to get us back to Nong Khiaw for the night to reacquaint us with our luggage left behind, and the guesthouse owners who maybe wouldn't even spot we weren't back, but it was well worth it.

We got back to town just before darkness, had a quick glimpse to see if there were any boats. We had been offered a charter back when we got off earlier, but it would be $20. We rapidly decided that paying $20 for a boat was way too muchover paying $2 for accommodation twice. We secured another $2 accommodation of similar standard, but this time with a hammock on the balcony overlooking the river, and right next to the boat landing. Another night was spent discussing world history and german policymaking with three other complete strangers.

There had been signs for a Muang Ngoi Neua version of a full moon party a local had arranged to 'help me with my school fees'. When we realised there was a $10 charge for the riverside bonfire and far more on offer ;-> we decided to stay and eat food, as did everyone else who had apparently signed up, as the organisers became our friends for a while. I had already made my mind up that despite paying two times for our accommodation, I had effectively saved $16 by not taking the boat back, and I was determined to drink as much of my saving as I could.

Of course this resulted in me convinced it was a great idea to don my iAudio MP3 player and my jacket and crashing out on the hammock, taking in the scenery with some 'me time'. That was until I woke up at 1am with a few mosquito bites on my foot and decided I really should go to my real bed.

We caused quite a commotion in the village with the balloons :






Me in a paddy field en route to the village :

The main street of Muang Ngoi Neua - only accessible by boat, so no vehicles :

The view from my hammock :

Sam Neua to Nong Khiaw journey pictures

I've muddled around a few pics, but here is the view from our accommodation in Nong Khiaw here :


Here is more commotion caused by balloons during a pit stop on the journey :


And there is a view as the bus rose out the valley from Sam Neua :

Sam Neua to Nong Khiaw

Market vendor in Sam Neua :

The kid I made cry when pointing a lens :



The group all caught buses early in the morning - all the other guys heading to Vietnam, and Angelica headed to Nong Khiaw with me on her way to cross up into China. We visited the market briefly to see all kinds of fruit and vegetable for sale, and rapidly departed after I went for a cracking shot of a tiny kid at a stall, which instantly sent her to bawling and tears as the lens pointed at her. I did ask someone first so didn't feel too bad, but luckily, Angelica's trick she practised well in Vietnam and Cambodia got me through it - blowing up a balloon for the child, already rescued by her mother. As soon as westerners approach some of these kids they give you looks, so it had to be left next to the stall, but it was smiles all around as her mother picked it up for her. I'm going to use that tool in the future! (I'm writing this in Vientiene a couple of weeks later and have already secured two bags of balloons!). We also saw our 'Orange truck guy' who gave us a lift last night selling his goods, minus the ones we ate on route and the ten or so I nobbled at the end.

The eleven hour bus journey was great lasting 8am to 7pm, a good few hours longer than expected. We passed through superb terrain, rishing up through the morning clouds, passing through amazing villages and waving to the locals. Luckily the bus was half empty so we had loads of space to wonder around, open windows, take pictures and the rest. We listened to tunes, read books, chatted, and laughed as the kids closer to Nong Khiaw started to scream louder as the bus passed through their village, it's pretty much a lifeline here. Again, we were the only tourists on the bus. I was given a South East Asia phrasebook (thanks Angelica - note to self - use it more!!).

The villages were real rural Laos. This was another journey I wished I was undertaking by motorbike. I would have stopped more, but travelled faster, probably balancing it out. Under or next to several houses in the villages, they were dying material and weaving, and going about their daily lives, drying chillies and other foods on the woven roofs.

We got to Nong Khiaw in the dark, and glad we did. It's weird how it's different strokes for different folks as I was told I could maybe miss this place out if heading to Vang Vieng. Angelica and I were a smiling walking across the bridge as the mountains around us were lit by the strong moonlight. We settled for the second accommodation we looked at (Pha Noi guest house (I think!) right next to the end of the bridge with the restaurant the first thing you see) and shared the $2 charge for our bamboo hut looking towards the river (albeit beside the main bridge over the river), and settled in for some well deserved food and beers. The accommodation was nothing more than a bamboo shack with fan and balcony, but nothing more or less than we required.

I had made it almost back to Luang Prabang in record time, only a few days elapsed since I left, and now only a few hours north of the place. I had been thinking about heading north with an Irish lass Claire, and a couple of Scottish blokes she was travelling with. I wandered if they had now passed through and went to Luang Nam Tha, or to the Gibbon Experience, but was glad I had opted for the trip I did, and glad I never went back to Luang Prabang. As happens in trips like this, who walked up the steps, but Claire. They had moved north and were taken in by the quietness of Nong Khiaw and had stayed a few days, opting for a day trek to village and a waterfall which she was buzzing about, and a cycle along the main road which ended up with them playing cards with local kids by the riverside. After a quick catch up Angelica and I headed to speak to the guide they used, at 9.45pm!

We spent 45 minutes with the poor guy discussing options for our next day, and haggling hard (they got their day for $15 but ours,a bit more complicated, with only two of us was going to be $25). We debated over a beer and decided we'd do it ourselves. When we went back, the price dropped to $15, but we stuck with it, returning again to say we wouldn't be there at 7am to tell him whether we'd go or not. It was a shame as the guy was super friendly. If you go there, head to the turn off for Sunset Guest House (on the East end of the bridge), and directly opposite there on the main road is a yellow sign for a tour guide - pop your head in.

Sam Neua and Vieng Xai Caves

Me arriving in a chilly Sam Neua after the overnight bus journey :


Unloading the bus at Sam Neua :



In our drowsy states, we caught a share taxi (Sawngthaew) to Vieng Xai. As you'll know I catch these everywhere. The world translates to 'two rows' describing the the rows of seats laid in the back of the pickups - typically old Toyotas with a metal cage on the back making the seats, roof, particularly the roofrack, used to transport all sorts around Laos, and a small standing area off the back.

We got there a bit late so had to arrange specific tour for us, and hire pushbikes to move around in a short space of time.

The main cave here is Tham Than Souphanouvong where the 'Red Prince' of the same name used to hide during the Indochina War. Army officers and others used to meet and stay here, sheltered from the bombing around the area. We got told a load of historical information from the guide, but I won't pretend to remember it all. Apparently there are around 102 caves in the area there's been a bit of confusion whether they were a military secret or tourist attraction until recently (i.e. within the last 15 years).

Although there is less history attached to this site, we all found it more interesting than the Plain of Jars. Whether it was worth two days on a bus is up to you, but most of this group were continuing to Vietnam, and the border is very close to here. Vieng Xai is a picturesque wee place though, surrounding by limestone cliffs with a small lake in the middle.

By this point in travelling, the journey becomes as much of the trip as the destination to be honest. Just to back this up we had another adventure! The tour guide assured us if we missed the last sawngthaew back to Vieng Xai we could share a lift back with him for the same cost as he was teaching English in Sam Neua. Unfortunately the class had been cancelled that night and there was a $15 taxi waiting for us. You pay around $20 for a half day trip so we were clearly being taken advantage of a bit, but hey we weren't going to let that stop us.

Angelica sprinted on the back of his moto to the bus lot, but we had missed it. We bodyswerved the taxi and walked up there, ready for some hard negotiations with locals. We asked around and people who said they'd take us, then decided not to after speaking to the original driver. Eventually we stopped an orange truck...now this wasn't an orange coloured truck, it was was a truckload of oranges. He agreed to take us for $6 as he was heading that way. The original driver intervened so we said we'd give him $10. The original driver was trying to intervene again so we told him to back off - "He get's money, we pay a fair rate and don't get ripped off, everyone's a winner".

By this time, half the people around the bus lot were watching. We knew we were sitting ducks as we had no transport. A local guy got off his moto and asked what was going in, found out the situation, spoke to them in Laos, and confirmed the price we were willing to pay the truck driver.

Thanks to that guy, we boarded the truck and said bye to the guy trying to take advantage of us. I thanked the local who seemed very keen to speak to tourists and ensure they enjoyed their visit to Laos, so I told him he was very kind and thanked asked him not to let the locals get more into the rip off mentality sometimes witness in other SE Asian countries.

(All aboard the orange truck :)


The truck driver was great. Both parties were happy with the resolution, and so much so he invited us to help ourselves to the oranges in the back - 4 of us inside after the oranges were pushed back, and myself and Owen perched on the back. We got some funny looks from the locals and plenty of waves and smiles.

The perfect way to travel.

A view from one of the caves :

Me on the crap bikes we had to hire (ok we could have paid more and got a mountain bike) :

One of the cave tunnels :

Plain of Jars

I spent today going on a tour that cost myself and another girl $18, and the two other girls in the van $6, and I didn't even see the town I wanted to see where they have houses built using old bombs etc. I wasn't willing to pay the extra $15 he wanted so am splitting town on the overnight bus tonight...heading to another 'beautiful scenic' area, but ready to be disappointed. I had it out with him about him ripping us off, but he had his money so I'll just go away and bitch about him. Anyway, short post as it feels like I need an elbow to push this keyboard down....oh yeh, and in my 'No Holds Barred' SE Asia guide...Phonsavan has nothing as a town.

Plain of Jars :


Lao Lao brewing from sticky rice....knock ya out! :

Phonsavan to Sam Neua

After one night in Phonsavan I was keen to do an overnight bus trip out of there rather than face another night there. Despite this, my sister had been on the phone after visiting Nong Khiaw and she never thought I'd see better scenery than there and Vang Vieng. Even an hour before I had to get to the bus station I was debating whether to use my prebooked ticket or not (again, a hefty cut taken from the Phoukham Guesthouse). I went for my original plan, then it was bolstered by bumping into a group from our Luang Prabang bus that were doing the same.

I met them (Francisco and Mauro from Argentina, Angelika from Germany, Owen from England, and Nick from Boston) again at the bus station, and got to know them pretty well while waiting for the bus. This bus was doing a complete trip from Vientiene to Sam Neua - a beast of a journey of around 20+ hours. Due to this, it didn't turn up at 7.30 as expected so we waited. And waited. And waited. Put on more warm clothes (well, the few I had not posted home). And waited. It was cold in Phonsavan at night, like Scottish cold. Eventually after a few sandwiches and coffees later, the bus turned up at 11pm, and we burst into lively (nervous) hysterics.

I had already got used to buses being pretty overloaded in Laos, and Asia in general, but this one turned up with the rear six rows full of boxes and luggage, full of people, including the several sitting in the typical kids-style mini plastic seats deployed in the aisle. And at least 5 motorbikes, plus all the other luggage strapped on the roof.

Where were we going to fit in?

Just as we were about to load our luggage, a second bus arrived which was one third empty. There was no choice as we scrambled onto the second bus, milliseconds after confirming it was bound for Sam Neua as well. That was only after I had taken a photograph and watched my open camera drop to the ground from my wrist. I had nothing else in my hands, no excuse. I was gutted. My second camera within two months, and it was only four weeks old. As happens in travelling, you realise there's nothing you can do about it, so you just have to carry on.

The 9 hour bus journey wasn't the comfiest in Laos, as the road was quite twisty and I couldn't really stretch my legs out. I was sitting next to a local who used my shoulder as an occasional headrest. The other five were sprawled out on the raised back seat, however it turned out they weren't as comfy as they looked either. My stuffed paclite jacket didn't prove to be an effective bum rest either.

We arrived at 8am in Sam Neua and it was even colder than Phonsavan. We were all pretty knackered but decided to get some food, and go straight to Vieng Xai rather than take a wee nap. It was refreshing to meet this bunch as there was no hassles - straight into a shared room to cut costs, and laughter all around. Despite them travelling together for a few days I wasn't left out of it at all, so cheers guys if any of you read this.

Phonsavan and the Plain of Jars

I spent today in a bus for 8 hours travelling from Luang Prabang to Phonsavan to see the Plain of Jars. I'm not too fussed about this really, but I am passing through so couldn't not go. I'm on my way to see some caves beside the Vietnam border where they hid during the American bombing campaign they are still picking up the pieces from. Around here there is still loads of unexploded ordnance being cleared, largely supported by MAG from the UK. I think I'm doing a whistle stop tour tomorrow, and head to a Mong village to see where they have made some houses from parts of ordnance.

I think I'm going to tortue myself and come back from the tour and straight onto a night bus to Nam Sua (maybe spelt incorrectly) to save me a day as I already feel badly short of time for stuff I want to do. I could easily kill a month in Laos!

Luang Prabang to the Plain of Jars, Phonsavan

I left Luang Prabang for Phonsavan a day after after my sister left Luang Prabang. After multiple options of where to head to I decided to stick to my original plans and got the 8hr daytime road trip to Phonsavan, arriving just in time for dinner. At lunch we stopped briefly in a transit town where I ended up chatting to Cecile from France, well, the French Reunion Island off Madagascar. She was to become my travelling partner and fellow conned merchant for the next day's trip to the Plain of Jars.

Phonsavan is a pretty, well it's fair to say, dead town. There's on strip with guesthouses and a few less than outstanding restaurants. And it's cold (at least it is in October, but not as cold as other places in Laos). We stayed in Phoukham Guesthouse which turned out to live up to it's phonetic English sound (alberit slightly manipulated) - "F*ck'em". We paid three times as much as the other two girls on our tour the next day, and he refused to take me to the town I really wanted to see (he wanted an extra $15 each for that, despite already paying $12 more than others). After some negogiating (pleading) I decided to bin visiting the town over giving him extra cash so left Phonsavan a tad disappointed as I never managed to see the town that has houses constructed of UXO (UnXploded Ordnance) stilts. About the most interesting thing about Phonsavan, but in a very sad way, is that it's the home of the UK based MAG group that tries to find UXO in the area, which was the most bombed in recent wars. Their office only pointed me to the website when I asked about volunteering and how you went about it. They must be well funded though as they had a load of flash 4x4's outside.

Oh yeh - the Plain of Jars...is it worth the trip? If I had known I probably wouldn't have done it, but I did as it was on my way to Sam Neua / Vieng Xai and it broke up my journey. Our tour guide didn't give us too much background, but that's partially as their origin isn't totally understood yet. I'm sure it's of interest to many, but it is just a field with ancient rock jars on it, which are pretty weird in their own right.

Blog updates

Spent quite a bit of today sitting with a coffee on the riverbank catching up with blog etc. I've put some more funny stories up re: Myanmar and some pics and stuff about Laos.

Still Laos, but where next here?

Before the blurb, here's some images of people in a local Mong village :







Yesterday I got up at 5.30am to see the monks walking down the main road, getting their alms (is that how you spell it?), then heading on the trek. In the evening I bought a duvet cover (yes, excatly, but hey it was fab, hand made, and $15, AND my sister was taking it wither her ;->). This is one of the things I find hard when moving around - it's the main time I buy anything at all for my flat, and I see loads of handicrafts I'd like back home, but this time I'm not heading back in a few days so I just can't do that.

Luang Prabang is also a handy place to get a visa for onward travel if you are in SE Asia, and hanging around for a few days. Visas for Myanmar, China, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand can be arranged, sometimes withing a day, but often going via Vientiene. By the sounds of it, Luang Prabang is a better place to hang around while someone stamps your visa. I arrived too late to put my passport in last night, and had several options for where I went next, so I decided to hang around another day... here were my otions :

- head to Nong Khiaw just north of here with my sister - a planned destination, but it's not the best route for me
- wait for a day and head to Phonsavan (Plain of Jars) with Luc I met in Myanmar, then head to Vieng Xai myself near the Vietnamese border, then back to Luang Prabang via NOng Khiaw
- wait for a day and head up to Luang Nam Tha with another Irish girl Claire, and two scottish blokes she's travelling with just now
- or hire a bike for a week and do the trip myself (tempting if I Knew nothing was going to go wrong!)
- bugger everything, stay here and speak to the Red Cross

I could quite easily find myself here in a few weeks deliberating, and still not quite being ready to pack my bags and move on. Despite this, I handed in my passport to get me visas, and bought my bus ticket to Phonsavan leaving tomorrow (1st Nov) - maybe on my own, or with Luc. The $175 US for a week's bike hire was fighting to stay in my wallet - far more expensive, but would mean I would have the joys of travelling on more roads the Lonely Planet said to be careful about, and be free to go at my own pace, without bumping around for days on public buses, and be constricted by their timings. I'll head back via Luang Prabang in a week or so to collect my passport.

Another big thing is nagging my head too. I headed to Luang Prabang in a hurry to see my sister, and overlooked a place called The Gibbon Experience, which I've heard great things about - three days dangling from suspended cables, staying in tree houses, while looking for wildlife. Unfortunately it's back by the Thai border, meaning two days there and two days back, on the frickin' boat again. I'mkeen to go!

All this is without even considering how long it will take to get down through souther Laos....I can feel a flight coming on and having to miss out this section!

As it turns out, my Myanmar companion Luc just strolled up to my while I sit on the riverbank typing this (no wifi tho!) and he is hanging around for an extra day to get his Vietnam visa...another lesson in waiting around to see what others are doing!!! It's Phonsovan on my own tomorrow.

Luang Prabang stuff

Monks on parade at 6am :


Mini Monks on parade at 6am :


Slippers on display in the night market :


On the boat to the Sae waterfall :


The view from my guesthouse over the Nam Khong river :



When I got to Luang Prabang I liked it immediately. The central part of it is compact - you can walk round it quickly in an hour. It lies at the junction of the Mekong and Nam Khan rivers, at the foothills of the surrounding mountains. There are paddy fields on the other side of the river, the streets are small, clean and surrounded by lovely temples (even if you are like me and don't go and visit them). If you want to do something a little more adventurous, there's a plethora of travel and tour companies tempting your wallet for anything from motorbike rentals, waterfall visits, day trips, to treks, rafting, mountain biking and climbing.

When I arrived I had a massage at the Red Cross and was already tempted by their notice asking for volunteers wishing to dedicate a few days over a 2 week period to help them out with English and a couple of local projects. Later the first night I was speaking to a Canadian who runs White Elephant Tours about climbing, and before I knew it he said to me to see what I thought of the place over the next few days, and if I liked it, he would speak to me about a potential role, as he was looking for someone to help him with his projects...Vang Vieng is meant to be the outdoors place here, so if I like it here this much....!

Previously I was looking for somewhere to stop off for a few weeks to chill out, and this could well be the place. There is enough to wander around in town, you can hire bikes, and there is loads to do around if you get bored, and the night market has some beatiful handicrafts (mainly silk) without the hard sell of places like Chaing Mai, and I'm sure most of this stuff is made by the people actually selling it. Unfortunately my calendar isn't quite as big as I would like as I have to try and do as much of Vietnam and Cambodia, as well as Laos, before mid December - I could easily kill that time just in Laos. The Red Cross thing is very tempting as it would let me have more interaction with the locals. I've spent days just wandering around, going to a couple of photo exhibitions that are on, and generally slowing down to the pace of the place.

Yesterday my sister, hubby and I took a small day trip through a couple of villages of the Mong Laos people. There are three main types of Laos people very basically divided into whether they live in high or middle mountain, or the cities. After my time in Sabah, it's this stuff I really enjoy - wandering around the basic villages, interacting with the people, seeing their way of life, and hoping to walk away with some half decent photographs. Our bus was mobbed as we passed a school, and the people in the other two villages were happy to share their time with us, surely helped by the fact our guide was of Mong origin as well. From these we did a pretty uninteresting trek to the Tat Juang Si waterfall for a swim. It's large muti tiered waterfall, 30km out of town, with a swimming area at the bottom. There's also enclosures with a tiger and bears that are being rehabilitated.

And on the lighter side :


In the wonderful Vietnam Bar :



Getting back from the Vietnam Bar in the tuk-tuk :