Wat Phu. Pakse, Laos

Wat Phu (pronounced 'Wat Poo') is an ancient Cambodian or Khmer temple in the vicinity of Pakse, Laos, and with Earl and Joy and Sarah we rented a tuk-tuk to get us there. The ferry ride across the river was interesting... the car ferry was composed of three boat hulls stuck together with a platform stretched over them where the vehicles sit - double click for a pic of it - it was very bizarre!

Wat Phu itself was amazing and was to give us a taster as to what Angkor Wat - the famous temple in Cambodia - was going to be like. It was originally built in the 6th century and then further additions came in the 10th-11th. The different levels were built on the mountain terraces. The central stone walkway lead through stone debris and ruins up the hill. The wonderful fragrance from the flowers from the frangipani trees flanking the beautiful stone staircase accompanied us as we climbed up each wonky step. At the top there was a small temple that had a fantastic view overlooking the valley and the whole site. We found several huge rock carvings off to one side too, in which human sacrifices were performed. Urgh! The King had his own perch from where he would watch the whole proceedings! Charming!* Mush

Cute Local Girl from the Bolaven Plateau, Laos

Down South in Laos, we based ourselves in a town called Pakse. After surpisingly meeting up with Sarah again, we bargained with a tuk-tuk to take us out for the full day tour around the Bolaven Plateau. This area is reknowned in Laos for it's coffee plantations, introduced by the French -and they were all over. But, as we found out, it also has it's share of beautiful waterfalls.
Tad Fan was stunning, with 2 streams falling 120m inside a circular shaped chasm with steep cliffs. We could only view from above, as it would take more than a day to hike in to the base of the falls from an access point. So we settled for hiking down a small, dusty trail.
Tad Yuang was also picturesque, but this one we were able to get to the base, and swim in the pool. Earl and I swam against the current and managed to plant ourselves under the falls, but it was painful, and we didn't last there too long!!
We visited some local villages too. Of course, when a Western face arrives, the whole village comes to a stand still, and they all come out to stare. There are some fantastic faces, beautiful smiles, and as always, curious kids that love seeing their photo on a digital camera. The first village we visited is known for still having buffalo (water) sacrifices. I guess they have a festival every year and the ritual takes place then!! The second village was strange because the houses all had coffins built and stored underneath - just waiting for the family members to die!!! This village was where we encountered this stunner. Her and a few other kids were running around the town naked, playing. She was so cute that Sarah wanted to put her in her bag and take her home. Did I mention that we love the Laos people?? It's encounters like these that make traveling such a treat! *Stub

Reflections of Tham Xiengliab, Thakhek, Laos

After our brush with death on the bus, we did arrive in Thakhek a few hours later than scheduled but alive. We spent much time figuring out what to do here as there really isn't much of a tourist infrastructure. Our first day there, we took a smoky, crooked tuk tuk to the Giant Wall of Laos. Supposedly man-made, but to me it looked like a natural rock formation jutting out of the land about 30ft. They had built an interesting little church there though.
The next day was caves, caves and more caves. The same wonky tuk-tuk saw us coming and blew blue smoke all the way over to us. We arranged a $20 pay off for him to take all 4 of us out for the day. First stop was Tham Nong Pa Fa (Buddha Cave). This cave was only discovered in 2004 and was full of Buddha relics, including some solid gold statues. For some reason the Buddhist monks like to hide out in caves and worship Buddha. Our treat was taking a boat along the underground river beneath the cave. Some pretty cool cave scenes.
Next stop, Tham Pa Inh - if you haven't guessed it yet, Tham means cave in Laos. A big cavern with prayer flags across, but interesting as there was some water in the distance. After exploring, Earl and Martin stripped down to their underwear and went for a dip across the turquoise waters. Some great colours in the cave walls, and a natural bridge above with 2 huge skylights. We explored outside after, to find the holes to look in. A third cave awaited us, Tham Xiengliab. We got escorted by a bunch of local kids to the cave, where they all quickly hurried up one formation to pose for us, with their hand under their chin (which means 'handsome'). They enjoyed showing us around the huge caverns, and right out the other end. Some great reflections in the water. I kept thinking they wanted cash for the 'tour' but in the end, they did not seem to want anything. They even picked flowers for Michelle and Joy!
A dusty tuk tuk ride home along the red dirt road with limestone landscape, dropped us off at our hotel with a view over the Mekong for sunset - not too bad. And of course, a few games of Euchre (a Canadian card game favourite) with some BeerLao. *Stub

The Day We Lived - Local Buses in Laos

We thought we would tell you a little about the buses in Laos. We have had good experiences and we have had really bad experiences. This beauty was a 7 hour ride we took from Luang Prabang to Phonsavan. As always, the first stop about 1 minute in to the journey is at the gas station - why they don't fill up before, we will never know. We would stop in all the local villages and we seemed to be the highlight of their day as all would come out to stare. Here the guys are loading planks of wood on the roof and tossing up big bags of rice. We have also seen motorbikes on the roof and inside, huge sacks of some produce and even cement bags. We had front seats on this one, but there was a large padded table area, where the 3 worker boys would lay - it looked like a massage table. I was also a little leary when one passenger got on with his machine gun - especially when he kept staring at me out of the corner of his eye! Weird, but we found out later that he was an armed guard as there are sometimes problems with bandits along that route!
Our next bus journey was pretty much downhill all the way and I don't think the driver used his brakes as we would slide from side to side along the windy road. All this while the music blared with some twangy Asian songs all the way. Because of all the crazy corners, the locals were puking all the time into plastic bags - I use my headphones and Michelle her earplugs so we don't have to hear the wretching!
They stop constantly to let on the local vendors and BBQ chickens on sticks, semi developed egg on sticks, baguettes, corn on cob, sticky rice in bamboo, and jack fruit in chili sauce come poking in the windows to buy.
Now to our worst journey. This bus seemed good at first until another bus passed us. He started racing the other bus into town so that he could stop first and get the fares! Absolutely ridiculous as he swerved dangerously around vehicles, over bridges and almost hit a small boy on the side of the road. Our screams to slow down didn't do anything, so we just decided to get off!! A good move on our part, but I don't know why everyone else just laughed it off! I have never gotten off a bus halfway before, but I thought my life was worth more than the $2!!! *Stub

PatuXay Gate in Vientiane, Laos

Well, I can't really say that there is tons to do in Vientiane, but we managed to stay busy for couple of days while we waited for our Cambodian visa to process. One of our stops was at the 'Arc de Triomphe - esque' PatuXay. A decent viewpoint from the top, but not a lot to see.
We managed to fit in a herbal sauna and Laos massage at a temple in town, along with a visit to the spectacular gold stupa of Wat That Luang, which glowed fabulously at sunset.
Another day, and more wats. Vat Sisaket with it's more than 7000 Buddha images. Ho Prakeo, which was originally built by the royals to house the Emerald Buddha (which is now in the Palace in Bangkok), so it is now a small museum of Buddha relics. We tried to sneak in to the Presidential Palace for a photo, but the guard didn't like that too much.
We took a good motorbike ride to an island which was much more like the 'real' Laos, with locals in little huts. We stopped for beers on the river, before finding a beautiful sunset bar, where we watched all the kids wading across the Mekong to a sand island where they were playing football/soccer. We finished off hanging out with Chris, Claude and another friend James at the homestead. A good time in the capital. *Stub

Buddha Park, Vientiane, Laos

Vientiane is the capital of Laos and we stayed there with another friend we had met in China. Chris is English, but lives here in Laos, mainly because he loves the people so much. He has got the art of doing nothing down to perfection! We, however, had lots to see so we hired a bike and tootled around looking at the various sites. We hooked up with Earl and Joy too since they hadn't gone to Vietnam and were now doing the same route as us. One afternoon we spent at Buddha Park where tonnes of stone Buddha statues in various positions - lying down, sitting down, standing up, with lots of arms, heads, snakes etc etc. Bit scary really. There were also some vicious looking stone figures that looked ready to gobble you up. This was almost true... we climbed into the mouth of one into the dark depths of a big odd ball shaped thing. We climbed up roughly carved steps to the top for great views over the whole mish-mash of statues. We also cruised past the BeerLao factory, but unfortunately it was closed on Sunday's. * Mush

Two Hitch Hikers Near Vang Vieng, Laos

Following our relaxing kayak day, we rented cheesy one speed bikes again and set out in search of caves that litter the surroundings. Little did we know that if we stopped to take a photo, kids would run up and jump on our bikes. Here Michelle struggles along the bumpy road with these two cuties - it was hard work! Through farmers fields, rivers and over fences and we found the cave we were looking for. Beneath the cave was an underground river of crystal clear water. I donned my headlamp and swam into the pitch black cave with a Canadian couple for support. You could swim about 100m into the darkness, and when we turned out the lights it was really strange. To make things worse, the Canadian guy felt something swim between his legs, so that's all I needed to take off like a shot out of the cave. Really strange feeling but a cool experience. We rode back into town, watching the kids play in the ditches beside the road. For some reason, they decided to do construction in the town, but they are working on every single street - it looks like a war zone!!
Across some rickety bridge, found us on the island and a relaxing sit on bamboo platforms overlooking the river, and watching the sunset behind the hills again. Oh yeah......and BeerLao too!! *Stub

Kayaking in Vang Vieng, Laos

Another scenic, but speedy bus journey down the hillside landed us in Vang Vieng. This place is on the backpackers trail for being a place to relax and chill on the river. Tons of people float in tubes down the river, stopping at various bamboo contraptions to buy their BeerLao, and continue to float. Since the river was pretty low, we found out that this could take hours and hours in the hot sun. So, after meeting up with some friends yet again, we now had a good group to organize a trip.
Seven of us signed up for a kayaking/caving trip (as it would be faster than tubing). Michelle and Earl (the organizers) were a little drunk, so we were not sure what to expect for the next day. Our day started with a stop at a cave, where we strapped on a scary looking battery with headlamp, hopped on an innertube, and pulled ourselves into the cave. A pretty neat experience in the dark. We also "beached" at the far end, and explored the cave a little on foot.
Next, after minimal instruction, we were on the water in our kayaks passing locals fishing, farming and hanging around. The locals had some great set-ups for the tubers/kayakers to stop and party at. Huge bamboo chill out areas, with massive bamboo swings and ziplines. Julia, Earl and I took a turn at the Big Swing - probably about a 30 ft platform to start, which means almost 30 ft drop into the water at the other end! Some guys were doing flips off the far side. Many BeerLaos later, we manouevred some rapids, and arrived in Vang Vieng as the sun was setting over the beautiful limestone mountains surrounding us. A very cool day and all for only $8 each. Loving Laos!*Stub

Bomb Crater, Phonsavan, Laos

Today we learnt a lot about Laos. During the Vietnam War more bombs and mines were dropped by the Americans on Laos than that dropped on Germany in the whole of the Second World War. In what was known as the 'Secret War' because it was ordered against the Geneva Convention and un-beknownst to the US public, Laos became a major target. In addition, bombs that had been destined for Vietnam but were never dropped for whatever reason, were then dropped on Laos: US airplanes were not allowed to land back at base in neutral Thailand with armed 'ordnance' (as bombs are called) on board. In Laos two provinces were hard hit -and about 90% of the land there was covered by ordnance. About 60% of these are still unexploded bombs and mines. Deaths still occur and clearing the area is a long process. MAG - Mines Advisory Group is an English group that send out experts into the field - the mine field, literally!, to detect and defuse bombs and mines. They also recruit and encourage the Lao people to learn how to detect and defuse bombs too. Out and about, we saw lots of bomb craters, and we had to be very careful where we walked, following the guide or coloured markers on the ground. We saw live, unexploded bombs lying around too - which is kind of scary. To clear these takes money and time and as a result cluster bombs are just left out in the open. They have a huge program in schools to teach kids not to touch or play with 'bombies' at the locals call them but still... Later that day, we visited some Hmong Tribal villages, and they have some creative uses for the many bomb casings found in the countryside. Building supports, herb gardens, fences, fire pits to name a few. Lunch at a beautiful waterfall, before sneaking to the local poppy field where they harvest the milk to make opium. They actually put a slice in the seed pod in which the milk flows out, then re-slice again beside it making a nice pattern on the pod. I had no idea, but now know what to be cautious of! * Mush

Stubby in a Jar, Plain of Jars, Laos

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Next, it was off to what is known as the 'Plain of Jars' - huge bizarre jars that were unearthed by the French 80-odd years ago. Although our six hour bus journey was hot and sticky, it was through very picturesque countryside, and was very interesting as we stopped every so often to pick up villagers with huge bags of rice, or to ship huge long planks of timber that were loaded on the roof! We, of course, as foreignors, created a big stir at the villages that we stopped at as everyone would come out to look at us! The following day we actually visited the Jars. We visited 3 sites of Jars, one of the sites actually had about 300 Jars on it and the others had plenty too. No one really knows that much about them - what they were for or how old they are, but they think they were used for burial purposes - burying people's remains either inside the jars or beneath them. Experts speculate that they originate from an ancient nomadic people - these large jars have been found in Indonesia and Malaysia too. To get to one of the sites we had to walk about 30 minutes through farmers' rice paddies on teeny, raised paths that separated them. It was fun. As you can see from the photos it was quite a wet day, and our shoes became absolutely caked in bright red, clay-like mud! That bit was pretty disgusting, but we really enjoyed seeing the Jars scattered across the Laos landscape... It was pretty cool. * Mush

Kuang Si Falls, Luang Prabang, Laos

So we finally made it out to the waterfalls that we had wanted to get to with Earl and Joy. And they were stunning! We started at the bottom - a series of small, but wide waterfalls with large pools that you could swim in - or jump in, like Martin did! We then made our way up to the top and the upper falls were huge- very high and very impressive! The colour of the water was amazing - a cloudy aquamarine colour- almost like glacier water, but there aren't any glaciers around here! So we don't know why it was that colour!

The rest of our time we wandered around town, including exploring the Palace, and climbing the 400 steps up the hill to a gold monument or 'stupa' for great views over town. Luang Prabang used to be the old capital and has a very nice feeling about it. There's a definite French influence here: Laos used to be a French colony in the late 19th century when they were 'rescued' from the Thais. So there's lots of baguettes, french bakeries and somewhat delapidated old french-colonial style buildings. My favourite feature was the night market where all the vendors set up shop on grass mats and try and sell you the same stuff - pillow cases, handmade umbrellas, silk scarves, embroidered bags etc etc. We got to recognise a few of the locals. The Lao people are really lovely, and it's nice to see kids so happy and 'smiley'. * Mush

Touring Luang Prabang on One Speeds, Laos

A great way to get around the town is on bicycles. We rented some fancy, one speed bikes with shopping baskets and high handle bars, for $1US and started our own tour. First stop, the Phoussy market which had a very local flavour. Our stomachs churned a little when we saw the flies around the meat section, so we retreated to the fantastic colours of the fruit and veg section.
Further along our ride, we encountered many people. One highlight was watching kids playing a game in the street where they had to whip a flip flop around 30 feet towards a bundle of elastic bands. Kids can come up with anything as a game, and they were quite good at it.
We stopped at many temples (Wats) as usual, but one of importance was where the ashes of the penultimate king lie. He died in 1959 and was succeeded by his son, but the new king was exiled in 1975, along with the royal family and apparently they all died of natural causes as they were never seen again! Colourful Wat Xieng Thong was a highlight with its purple chapels covered in mosaic. Also, a fantastic gold building that turned out to be only a garage for the fancy chariot that carried the urn of the penultimate king to the burial site.
Across an old railway bridge, where the motorcycle and bike traffic went single file in each direction, is where I snapped this shot. It was great contrast from the monks' orange robes against the bright green of the moss in the river.
The day finished with an impromptu viewing of some takraw games which were quite enjoyable. The local kids were flying around kicking the wicker ball at some impressive speeds.
After we dropped off the bikes, we visited the old palace and watched a version of Laos ballet. The costumes were fantastic and quite colourful, but I found the actual play itself a little slow, although the kids doing the dance of the monkeys at the end was fun to watch! And what day would be complete without a trip to the night market for some cheap purchases! *Stub

A Day Out with Earl and Joy, Laos

Joy and Earl are some friends that we'd met in Northern China. As planned, they met us as we arrived in Luang Prabang on the slow boat. Of course, Joy had 5 BeerLao waiting for us at the bar. They had waited to meet up with us, since we hadn't seen them in a few months. This was really very nice of them as they were on a tight schedule, and Earl gets itchy feet and is never one to sit around. Earl and Joy are a retired Canadian couple and they are a lot of fun to be around as they make us laugh all the time.

We spent the following day with them and hired a tuk tuk to take us to some outlying attractions. We went to Pak Ou Temple, which contained hundreds of little Buddha statues in a cave on the Mekong. After another BeerLao (excellent beer if you get to try it) on the water, we were taken to a waterfall in the other direction. On the drive, we were waving out the back of the tuk tuk at all the smiling Laos faces we saw - such happy people! The driver, however, tried to con us and took us to a different waterfall (it was closer) than the one we had requested. Earl was not very happy especially as the one we ended up at only had a trickle of water in it!! I suppose in the rainy season it would be really impressive and pretty with lots of cascades, but it was exceptionally disappointing but comical. We had our laughs and overall it was a nice day. And of course, we didn't pay the guy the full amount either (Earl is a hard bargainer)! * Mush

Second Day on the Mekong River, Laos

The second day on the boat was slighty better. Again they crammed us in. The boat listed to one side, but it didn't seem to worry the driver! It was probably normal. Having commandered a couple of plastic patio chairs we sat at the back of the passenger area this time - way more comfortable than the day before. It was quite sociable back there and we chatted with people we had met the day before at the festival. The time passed and we admired the beauty of the river. The Mekong is 3050 miles long (4880km) originating in Tibet, flowing through south western China making up the border between Laos and Burma and Thailand, flowing through Laos and Cambodia right into the South China Sea. The scenery as we flowed through Laos was beautiful in places - hills and ridges of dense jungle followed by the sad stubble left behind from the occasional logging. It was interesting to watch life on the river as we chugged past - the bamboo villages up on stilts, kids playing and swimming in the river, people fishing, washing clothes or tending their crops on the sand dunes that were the river banks. It seemed very laidback and peaceful. * Mush

Oh, The Sounds of Laos!!

Our stay in Pak Beng was overall an interesting and noisy one! There were a variety of sounds and noises that were just way over the top. By the end we just had to laugh - it was so ridiculous when we thought about it. First was a "Ge Ko" noise from the large geckos in our building. It was followed with the festival and its super loud repetitive songs. Then there was the echoing voice of the host on the microphone: when he laughed it was a loud cackle that went on forever. It was pretty funny. The party went on till 3am and we could still hear it (including the cackle) from our 'hole'. At 2am some kids decided they were going to stand just below our window and clash cymbals and drums for about 7-8 minutes, we think, just for the hell of it. Once they had gone away we thought we could finally settle for some sleep, but at 2:30 someone came and banged on our door shouting something. Realising he had the wrong room he promptly went downstairs and shouted up to his friend who was in the next room. He then came back up and banged on our door again. When we shouted at him he quietly replied "Solly". He must've been a local.

We awoke bright and early (well, not so bright!) bang on 7am to the sounds of a belt sander and drill squealing away. Next it was a revving motorbike just outside our window. And to top it off, the cockerels(roosters), of course, chimed in! Now you can see why we had to laugh! Welcome to Laos! * Mush

Dancing with the Locals, Pak Beng, Laos

After our first day of 8 hours we overnighted in a town called Pak Beng and had the pleasure of staying in our grottiest guesthouse yet... I was just too exhausted and fed up to walk further up the hill to find anything better... It had paint-chipped wooden boards for walls, suspect bedding (thankfully we have our own), a murky pink mosquito net, and a variety of mismatched pieces of torn, dirty lino (linoleum) on the floor. Nice! It was, however, just going to be for one night...and we survived....just!

Later that night we went to a festival that blared out the loudest music and had an impressive echo over the microphone. The lights would dim whenever the guy talked on the mic, so the power was a little suspect. We had a lot of fun dancing with the locals though. They were lovely, friendly people. As you can see Martin's lady thought he did a great job of dancing a traditional Lao circle dance with her (all thumbs up from her).

I ended up needing the loo at one point and was directed towards the 'Ladies' - some bushes next to some local women peeing ... So they kindly stood 'on guard' for me, and then they invited me back to their table offering me fruit to munch on. I was obviously drawing some attention being at their table as many people came over, and even though I couldn't understand the language, I'm pretty sure they came to ask my new friends where they had found me. It seemed they were quite amused to hear where! * Mush

The Slowboat Down The Mekong, Laos

Destination: People's Democratic Republic of Laos. For those of you whose geography is as bad as my sister's, no, we are not discovering a new country! Laos is east of Thailand with Vietnam to the west, China and Burma to the north and Cambodia to the south. A former French colony it gained independence in 1949.

Well, from Pai, it was a super-long tiring day by minibus ride to get to Chiang Khong - the jump off point to Huay Xai in Laos. Unfortunately, Martin was ill with tummy trouble so we decided to delay going across the border. When we did finally cross we had to pay a 2-day fine for over-staying our Thailand visa - no big deal though as it was the equivalent of $10 US. A short 10 minute boat trip across and we were there. After getting our visas checked and passports stamped, we haggled for a songthaew -truck-taxi-thing to get us to a different boat 'dock' - a mud bank - 2 miles up river. Our plan was to take the two-day 'slow boat' south along the Mekong River to Luang Prabang- the old capital of Laos. We had been recommended against taking the fast speed boat which although would take 6 hours instead of 16, was apparently mind numbingly loud. When they passed us on the river - they certainly were!

Our delightful boat was very cramped and really very uncomfortable with literally only 50 poorly-spaced teeny wooden benches, 2 people jammed in per bench, with a small area at the back for sitting/standing. Of course there were way too many people for the boat including locals sitting on huge bags of rice at the back next to the loud engine. About 120-150 people all packed in like sardines... for 2 days, 8 hours a day!! Fun! The first day we tried to squeeze our bums onto the wooden benches with our knees comfortably jammed into the bench in front. We ended up sitting on the guard rail hanging out of the side (there were no windows) to be more comfortable. Inspite of the conditions we still enjoyed watching the world of the Mekong go by. * Mush