Where we went

Since we're leaving on Friday, I expect this is the final journey map. We never did the final leg up to Sam Neua through a combination of factors. The accident delayed things by 10 days taking us further into the wet season making it less likely that the road up to Sam Neua will be passable in a tuk tuk. And then Willy's daughter Farah announced they were going to be in India and we needed to choose between making that trip and seeing them. We had been up to Huaphan previously with my work.

Laos league table

Willy and I rated how much we liked the different things we did in Laos (my ratings first, 1 highest). Some of the thing didn't rate well because we found them difficult to get to, which might not be the case if you had guides or a gps.

Si Pan Don	1	1
Hin Nam No	2	10
Ban Na Hin/Kong Lor	3	6
Luang Prabang	4	2
Bolivan plateau	5	3
The loop	6	11
Vientiane	7	13
Ban na	8	14
Nam Kading	9	7
Dong Natad	10	15
Elephant festival	11	5
Xe Pian	12	8
Wat Phou	13	4
Sepon/Ban Dong – Ho Chi Minh trail	14	9
Don Phou Vieng	15	16
Phou Xiang Thong	16	17

Nam Kading

On the way back to Vientiane we took a 3 hour boat trip up the Nam Kading river into the protected area. Another nice waterfall to swim in, amazing water eroded rocks to clmber over and the butterflies liked Willy's wet shoes.





On the boat journey back we stopped in at WCS's research station which has been stuffed by the road to the power station being built right next to it.

Is it really necessary to cause such devastation when you build a road?

Tuk tuk recovery

After Pii Mai, with some trepidation, we got the bus/songtaew back to Ban Na Hin to recover the tuk tuk.

We found out where it was at the police station and went for a quick squiz - thank goodness, only superficial damage. We turned up first thing next morning. An officer had to go to work elsewhere but said to come back at 2pm when a senior officer would be there.

While he was away a scruffy person with no id or uniform and bare feet suggested we pay 725,000 kip to 'clear' the tuktuk, but he had no paperwork, just the keys. When we came back in the afternoon the officials and the paperwork were there and the price went down to 575,000 kip. We had the tuk tuk back by 4pm but it had a flat battery. We had it on charge all morning but it still wouldn't start. So I found someone with a car to jump start it but it still wouldn't start. Eventually the people outside helped us bump start it, which it did really easily, we went to a garage for a safety check and left by 5pm.

The way back over the mountains is one of the most stunning routes we've seen and so much more so by tuk tuk, though we did ride down it on bikes on the way in. It was good to be tukking again.

Pii Mai Vientiane

Pii Mai in Vientiane involves getting soaked every time you venture out. The usually reserved and polite Laos form water-armed gangs roving the streets on the backs of pick-ups searching for victims.

For us it was a return to relative civilisation of colonial-influenced cafes and restaurants—though Willy’s order never came.

On the 3rd day Phoxai (remember from Pakse?) and his fiancé Noi took us on a Buddha washing temple crawl. The Buddhas get taken out of the temples for washing once a year and everyone turns out to wash them in flower infused water, preferably that’s passed through a naga. It’s best to do an odd number of temples and as many as possible. They did 9—high achieving Buddhists that they are.

The next day was a baci ceremony for Pii Mai for the elder men of Phoxai’s village, the oldest of whom was 92, followed by raunchy dancing for the mums (no photos—too much water).

Bolaven Plateau

The Bolaven plateau is Laos’ coffee region, is an hour from Pakse and has four stunning waterfalls within a few kilometres.



We swam in three of the waterfalls and one was reached by ladders going down the cliff. The third one shown created it’s own ferocious local weather with strong wind and waves.












We hired a bike for the trip and stayed in a guest house run efficiently by this nine-year-old. They have a coffee nursery, plantation, processing and roasting business and export to Vietnam, Thailand and France. They also produce mushrooms and were sterilising the medium while we had breakfast.

We tried to do a loop to a fifth and most famous waterfall but if rained just before hitting this bit of dirt road where the wheels got encrusted with clay and the bike wanted to go sideways as much as forwards. I turned back.

We were recommended to pick up fruit on the way up at a ‘fruit village’. They had the most delicious jackfruit and soursop ever.

Wat Phou

On the way back from Xe phian to Pakse we got the ferry over to Champasak and visited the 1000-year-old Wat Phou, one of the world heritage listed Kmer Angkor temple complexes.

Xe Pian protected area

We went to Xe Phian on the way back from Si Phan Don because it is one of only 2 places I have found in Laos which is advertised for its bird watching. There are supposedly trained guides and you can trek with elephants through jungle.

Well, the community project didn't have any trained guides when we were there and the elephants wouldn't keep still for bird watching and a half day trek was only in the forest for half an hour, though that half hour was pretty amazing.

But the punting on the wetlands were stunning and the guides charming even though it was a 6km walk to get to them in the dry season. And the punt was barely big enough for my bum and the end was made of turf.



























The children at the homestay did a cute dance.

Si Phan Don

Si (four) Phan (thousand) Don (Islands) is, as Willy put it, almost idyllic. If you only had a week it would be worth coming to Laos and just coming here. We stayed on Don Kone which is joined to Don Det by an old French railway bridge straight out of Avignon. It’s car-free and you can cycle around exploring forests and waterfalls and swimming in the Mekong.

I met a gibbon who insisted on grooming the only bits of hair on my pathetically hairless body, He was rescued from people who were going to eat him.

You can also go and see the last 9 Irrawaddy dolphins—we saw 6 of them.

Just as we were about to go and see the dolphins we got a text message that Thio and Amanda had crashed the tuk tuk in Ban Na Hin and that Thio had gone to hospital with an injured leg.