Down the Mekong to Champassak and Wat Phou

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Down the Mekong to Champassak and Wat Phou

After an early breakfast we drove through Pakse town down to the confluence of the Mekong and Xe Don rivers to board a covered longtail with old rattan chairs and cushions for seating (a lovely touch, we thought) for an hour and a half downriver journey to Champassak township. Shortly, we passed under the 1.3 km-long bridge spanning the Mekong, paid for by the Japanese, and completed in 2000. It has added to the prosperity of Pakse, however, since it is the only bridge for hundreds of kilometers, and now provides this part of southern Laos with a direct road link to Thailand, 25 km beyond the Mekong. It was another enjoyable, breezy river trip, meandering back and forth between the left and right banks to find the dry-season channels amongst the ever-present shallows. We disembarked on the mud at the foot of some steps in Champassak, a town of 6,000 sprawling for 5 km along the right bank of the river. Our Toyota Hi-Ace had driven south from Pakse, crossed the Mekong by ferry, and was waiting to take us 8 km through this never-ending, agreeable, affluent-looking village to the entrance of Wat Phou .

Rising above the Mekong River on the slopes of Phou Kao Mountain (or Linga Parvata as the Hindu Khmers called it) Wat Phou is a majestic ruin, originated by Khmer kings in the second half of the fifth century when it was a key centre of the Khmer Empire that two centuries later made Angkor its capital. It remained an important axis of Khmer power well beyond this, however, as additions and modifications to the site were made up through the 15th century.

The UNESCO World Heritage site nomination, approved in 2001, covers many square kilometers encompassing the mountain, the Wat Phou complex itself, a geometric pattern of temples, shrines, and water-works stretching over 10 km, and the archaeological remains of two successive early planned cities between the banks of the Mekong and Phou Kao. Because it has been comparatively unknown, far from any significant modern population centres, and free from invasive forms of agriculture, the whole site has been left relatively undamaged, other than from the natural ravages of time. It has also escaped the depredations of unskilled renovation efforts. If adequate funding is obtained for careful archaeological exploration and restoration, it could become one of the most important sites in SE Asia for the study of 5th to 15th century Hindu/Khmer culture.

We spent several hours walking along the processional causeway, admiring the sandstone pavilions, and clambering up the steep paved stairways to reach the magical main sanctuary at the top, ninety meters above the entrance. Behind the sanctuary is a purifying holy spring, and off to the north some interesting rock carvings of an elephant, a naga , and a crocodile. Looking down from here, the complex stretches out across the plain, providing a dramatic panorama and a chance to rest under the shade trees from the sweltering mid-morning heat.

We had the whole place to ourselves apart from a handful of optimistic vendors and an old Lao lady who was sitting despondently on a rock because she could not complete the energetic climb to the holy spring at the top, and was worried about the bad luck this may bring her. Back down at the entrance, we spent some time at the new Japanese-funded museum that houses some of the 6th-13th century artifacts found in the area.

Retracing our route to Champassak, we ate a simple lunch of fried rice or noodles (no spring rolls and soup - yeah!) on a terrace overlooking the Mekong, where kids swam and played off a slender fishing boat near the water’s edge. A couple of kilometers north we crossed this fast-flowing narrow stretch of the river on one of the rudimentary vehicle ferries most of which consist of a wooden platform strapped securely to the top of three simple fishing boat hulls. It cost us an extra two dollars to avoid a 15 minute wait! Back on the left bank we drove about 40 km south to a village on the edge of some wetlands where many elephants are used as working animals - and, these days, for tourist jaunts. One of the elephants selected for us was sick, so we waited in the debilitating heat while the villagers fetched a replacement from the nearby wetlands where they roam when not working. The hour and a half wait was a blessing in disguise since, by the time we started our trek the heat had moderated somewhat and, mounting three animals aged thirty, fifteen and five, we set off through the forest up a hill behind the village. It was wonderfully quiet and peaceful, and fascinating to watch the elephants painstakingly position their feet for each surefooted step over the rocky and uneven terrain. They took us up about forty minutes to a lovely plateau of volcanic rock with views down across the wetlands, and on to a set ruins that may be a mid-nineteenth century wat (according to Udon) or the remains of a citadel according to other theories. The couple of hours spent trekking was delightful and for some reason didn't feel like a touristy thing to do - perhaps because we were the only visitors in the vicinity all afternoon.

In Pakse, 70 km to the north, we stopped at an internet café for Donna to burn a CD to free up her camera disk and for Alexanna and Darius to read their email. Meanwhile, Lisa managed to track down some fresh sugar cane juice she'd been fancying since seeing some stalls earlier in the day, Rami and I rustled up some ice cold Beer Lao, and Donna a freshly squeezed watermelon juice; after a hot and strenuous day, it was very enjoyable just hanging out on the pavement watching the world go by and chatting to the café owner in French.

Back at Champa Residence we managed to get exactly what we had ordered that morning for dinner: a good simple salad, a steak and fries, and an interesting pumpkin, egg and coconut dessert. And so to bed, the prehistoric air conditioning battling vainly against the insufferable heat.

Howard's Wat Phou Gallery

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