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Published: November 1st 2005
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4000 Island's view from hamock at sunrise
The general consensus that I've got from travel guides and other travellers is that Laos is a good place to chill out, and they are not wrong. The pace of life is slow and everyone is easy going and the view in the morning and in the evening overlooking the Mekong was stunning. 4000 Islands
One of the first thing I noticed about Laos is the pace of life and the people. The guys stamping the passports were chilling out wearing t-shirts and shorts (Actually one wasn't even bothering with the T-shirt thing). Once we got past the entry point everyone seemed to chilling out or playing Tackro (kinda like volley ball but without using your hands or arms, it should also be noted that this is the most energetic thing I saw in all of Laos).
We jumped into our transort, a converted flat bed truck with a roof but open sides and seats around the edge of the tray, and were taken to a boat to the islands. I think this boat was even smaller than any of the other boats we'd been on. You could feel the whole boat lean to the side whenever there was the slightest gust of wind. Anyway we made it and the boat didn't sink so it was all good.
On the islands it was pretty dark. There is no electricity supply and they have to un on generators so lighting public places is not a priority. And then the rain came there were
Tad Lo Bus
The bus to tad lo was great. After finding it in a market 8km out of town we jumped aboard. This thing had so much surface and structural rust I would not be suprised if it spent some time at the bottom of the sea. There was a guy employed to jump out of the bus every time we stopped and put a piece of wood under the wheel so that the bus didn't roll away! 7 of us who had come across the border together and 6 of us had slept on the boat the night before so hadn't showered for a couple of days (I pity anyone who had to come to close to us). When we eventually found somewhere that could fit all of us it was a race to get the closest bungaloes. Vic, one of the girls travelling with us, came off a little worse for wear as she ran, slipped, fell and then slid partially under the stairs of the first bungalo. This provided the rest of us with a bit of entertainment especially with the pack on which made her a little like an over turned turtle. She did get the first bungalo for her efforts though.
There is something about Laos that makes me get up early, in the morning I was up before sunrise and went to my hamock to watch the river slowly light up.
Other than sleeping, drinking, eating and resting in our hamocks we spent half a day wondering around the islands to go and see the water falls (would have taken a bike if I'd know that the lonely planet map
Tad Lo Elephants
Tad Lo was an animal haven. chickens pigs and dogs ran free everywhere. We also went on an elephant trek which was nice. Never seen one up close before. Who would have thought that they're covered in hair!! was out scale by about 10x!). Pretty impressive falls, more like a series of rapid that go really steep. Would include a photo but it would never do it justice.
Eventually we did manage to get ourselves off our buts and headed North.
Pakse
Is a travel hub in Southern Laos and is one of Laos' larger cities. The pace of life is slow and to see more than one vehicle on any of the roads was a bit of a novelty.
Not too much to do here though other than load up on cash again and get the emails up to date. We also found a great little indian restraunt that would rival any from NZ for their tasty curries.
Tad Lo
From Pakse we headed out to the Boulaven Plateau to a little town nestled around a water fall called Tad Lo. The water here was clear and bungaloes were suitable decked out with hamocks. Some were lucky enough to get rooms overlooking the river and the waterfall.
My memories of Tad Lo will be the animals. Whether you were eating your dinner, reading a book or going trecking there were animals everywhere. Our guesthouse had a family of pigs (including the smallest piglet I have ever seen, her was half the size of the other piglets and the owners were trying to feed him up with milkshakes!), a family of hens and puppies, oh yeah and a fish pond. There were also quite a few cows that wondered around seemingly aimlessly but I'm not sure where they came from.
Events in Tad Lo were going for a elephant ride and a trek around some villages. Both of which were interesting but I'm not sure how the elephants or the village people find the whole thing. Oh yeah and swimming underneath the water fall. The water was cool and pretty clear, I still think NZ has the best water though.
At this point I'm starting to feel very lazy with my greatest movements in some days being the trip from the hamock to the dinner table but I think I can move past this and really start to enjoy it.
Anyway next it is on to the North and the Capital Vientiane
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Cole
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Greetings from exotic Auckland...
Hey Tim! Your blog has been wonderful procrastination away from my work... Looks like you are having a fantastic time, I'm very jealous. ( oh but Auckland can be interesting and exciting too right ? :P)