Vientiane, and onwards to the South of Laos

For a change (!) a long bumpy minibus ride but the first one with aircon.

The Jungle House

Vientiane is now the capital of Laos but there is not lot a lot to see and we had booked, through AirB&B, accommodation outside of the town with an expat, Mike Boddington (OBE we learnt) who we knew was involved with land mine/UXOs and prosthetic limb charities. Laos had had a greater tonnage of  bombs dropped on it, mainly covertly, by the US, than they dropped in the whole of WW2. Mike is married to a local, Soukiet, a medic who is high up in the anti trafficking movement. We had a very interesting dinner with them and enjoyed their home, their G & Ts and pool.

As a change of onward transportation we booked a flight with Laos airlines the next morning. A very scruffy terminal for a capital city airport but the flight was fine,  Savannakhet, allegedly the sleepiest city in the world, lived up to its reputation though it was after all a Sunday afternoon but it was like a ghost town and we struggled to find anywhere open but there again, cycling around was easy. The most memorable thing in Savannakhet was a live performance of 'the twilight bark', that is,the local dogs barking furiously at the farangs cycling past and setting off the pack in the next street,that we remembered from the Lady and the Tramp.

On to Pakse... By local bus, the most crowded vehicle we have ever been in though we noticed that despite the press and heat that there was no BO. A pleasant change from the underground! The Laos are a very clean people and you see them outside their houses or in the river, soaping themselves. We were watched with interest and offered snacks to share on this particular bus as we don't think many foreigners chose this route!

Snack sellers leap on the bus at every opportunity!

Passengers are also transported....just look at the rear axle.

Our next stop going South was Champasak, a little town running along the Mekong, still with some enviable colonial architecture tucked between the rustic abodes.

A poor substitute for the love of Nic's life...

Palace of Prince Boun Oum

We spent a few days cycling around and toured the Bolaven Plateau, one of the main coffee growing areas. Actually the coffee in Laos is excellent though they normally have it as almost sludge like with a bottom layer of condensed milk which may explain why on menus the choice is either black or brown coffee. The plateau is also home to a number of spectacular waterfalls.

Tad Fan, over 100m drop

Fishing also seems to be a predominantly female occupation....

But Wat Phou was probably the most impressive sight in the South of Laos. A series of ruined temples and shrines dating from the 6th to 12th C in a lush green valley dominated by a sheer 1500m mountain, Lingaparvata, it provided a great taster for Siem Reap to come.

Krishna tearing his uncle in half: just one of the superb carved lintels

And onwards again to the Four Thousand Islands (Si Phan Don) and Don Khong. A sampan with a definite list and a tuk tuk to another crowded bus ; this time we were on the little plastic stools in the aisle but not for too long. We then again stopped in the middle of nowhere, the two of us told to get off and again then in a tuk tuk heading off into the countryside trusting to the honesty of the locals. Apart from being a truly friendly bunch we have never felt in any way that anybody, anywhere in Laos has had any intention of taking advantage of us, let alone trying to rip us off in any way.

Everything gets reused!




Si Phan Don includes some "party " islands but we were in a very rural spot but with a breathtaking view over the Mekong (and the dullest food of the trip to date). We hired a little Yamaha and explored the whole island, no other farangs in sight. Each village has a petrol station similar to the one below so we were a little nervous about breaking down in the middle of nowhere! 




We also spent a great day on a boat trip to one of the other islands, Don Khon, followed by a long hot cycle ride on the old French railroad. Sadly ran out of time for a further boat trip to try and see the freshwater dolphins.