A local villager in Tad Lo making thatch
Shower time
Me on my moto
Sunset over Si Phan Don
The magic the is the Mekong river in Si Phan DonSo after a full day of travelling and spending 2 hours on the side of the road waiting for another bus because our bus blew its engine to get to Streng Treng (the closest town to the Laos border) I was in desperate need of a shower and some food before the early morning start to cross into Laos.
Boarder crossing was a very uneventful event apart from the waiting around for the Laos bus to pick us up. Arriving in Si Phan Don was a welcome treat to the hectic travel schedule of the last couple of days. I stayed on Don Det which only really exists for tourists and there are bungalows everywhere! I was nice to get up sit in my hammock, read my book, have a coffee then head to the waterfall and 'beach' before heading back to the hammock. It was a great introduction to Laos and although I didn't meet any Lao people, apart from the owner of the guesthouse I was in, it was great just to sit back and relax. But as I am sure all my friends and family know I am not very good at doing nothing so after two nights of completely unwinding I got back on the boat and bus and headed up to Pakse. The morning I was due to leave I started talking to a guy who had come down from Pakse and he recommended that I spend some time on the Bolaven plateau which is littered with waterfalls. So after a last minute change of bus ticket I found myself checked into a room with three guys that I had met at various locations in the last couple of weeks. Reuben, Vincent and I (American, Dutch and Kiwi) hired some motos and took off on the 'loop'. We stayed in Tadlo which is a very small town surrounded by waterfalls and stunning scenery. Reuben is from Aspen (Colorado) and so we both took up up the rivers, rock hopping and swimming in the rivers. It was great to hang with someone who grew up with the same sort of adventure seeking outdoors attitude.
Stopping in Paksong for some famous coffee was spectacular as there was a coffee roasting workshop going on when we were there so the smell of freshly roasted coffee was insatiable.
I don't seem to be able to upload photos at the moment - so you might just have to bear with me while I sort out whatever problem is going on.
Boarder crossing was a very uneventful event apart from the waiting around for the Laos bus to pick us up. Arriving in Si Phan Don was a welcome treat to the hectic travel schedule of the last couple of days. I stayed on Don Det which only really exists for tourists and there are bungalows everywhere! I was nice to get up sit in my hammock, read my book, have a coffee then head to the waterfall and 'beach' before heading back to the hammock. It was a great introduction to Laos and although I didn't meet any Lao people, apart from the owner of the guesthouse I was in, it was great just to sit back and relax. But as I am sure all my friends and family know I am not very good at doing nothing so after two nights of completely unwinding I got back on the boat and bus and headed up to Pakse. The morning I was due to leave I started talking to a guy who had come down from Pakse and he recommended that I spend some time on the Bolaven plateau which is littered with waterfalls. So after a last minute change of bus ticket I found myself checked into a room with three guys that I had met at various locations in the last couple of weeks. Reuben, Vincent and I (American, Dutch and Kiwi) hired some motos and took off on the 'loop'. We stayed in Tadlo which is a very small town surrounded by waterfalls and stunning scenery. Reuben is from Aspen (Colorado) and so we both took up up the rivers, rock hopping and swimming in the rivers. It was great to hang with someone who grew up with the same sort of adventure seeking outdoors attitude.
Stopping in Paksong for some famous coffee was spectacular as there was a coffee roasting workshop going on when we were there so the smell of freshly roasted coffee was insatiable.
I don't seem to be able to upload photos at the moment - so you might just have to bear with me while I sort out whatever problem is going on.
No comments:
Post a Comment