Swimming in the Mekong, Waterfalls, Coffee and A Big Cave..

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Ok,

So i'm sorry for not being in touch for a few weeks I apologise but an excuse comes with this apology:

1. I have entered Laos which has either had limited or just damn expensive internet.
2. I have been in Laos and therefore enjoying myself too much to be sat on a computer!

But alas here I am in the capital city of Vientienne with a bit of time on my hands and some reasonably priced internet so here goes.

The last time I blogged I guess I had jut talked about the dehydration mountain bike trip. Due to the fact I have a lot to write about i'm going to skip over my last week in Cambodia but if you must know I went to Kampot and ate some cheap (and delicious) crab, I had to go back to Phnomh Penh to get my Laos visa and I went to the lesser visited Ratanakiri province where I swam in a volcanic lake and saw some waterfalls.

One of the reasons I skipped over this part of Cambodia is because I must tell you about the magical land of Laos.

I managed to secure a Minibus transport from Cambodia across the border and into Laos I had made friends with an Israeli bloke called Omri and we decided to travel together. The minibus was definitely the Falang (Laos word for foreigner) bus as it was full of travelers comprised of a variety of different nationalities.

Anyway as soon as I crossed the border I noticed a stall selling the infamous Beerlao which is quite regarded as the best brew in South East Asia; even though it was morning time it needed to be tested. The problem was I wasn't allowed to take the glass bottle onto the bus; but the Laos people being so accomodating (and loving beer) allowed me to drink my beer out of a bag through a plastic straw! What a brilliant introduction to a country!

I was to head to an area of Islands in the Mekong just across the border by the name of Si Phan Dhon or more commonly '4000 Islands'. I had been informed by other travelers that this place was possibly the most relaxed on Earth... I as not to be disappointed. Myself and Omri managed to find ourselves a bungalow overlooking the sunset side of Don Det Island; with incredible views of the river and a jetty trailing out into the river making swimming a possibility.

We therefore spent the next 5 days relaxing, sipping cold Beerlao's, swimming, meeting other travelers and generally winding down; which was much needed after some chaotic travel affairs in Cambodia.

Ok, so I must tell you about one comedic and slightly bizarre/frightening situation I managed to get myself into on the islands... this story should hopefully make you laugh and maybe cringe a little.

I decided to take a stroll around the island by myself as the other were busy relaxing by our bungalow; the island could be circumnavigated in around an hour and I decided to give myself the task of finding new swimming spots. I had got about half way around when I was greeted by a friendly local bloke (I guessed around the age of 25); he proceeded to ask me what I was doing there and how long I had been traveling etc nothing out of the ordinary. He then noticed I had my swimming gear on and asked me if I fancied a dip as he knew a good place. I thought nothing of it so he lent me a bicycle and off we rode. We were cyling or around 5 minuted until we came to some abandoned bungalows... initially I didnt think anything of this but looking back it was probably a bit iffy! We continued to a good spot to launch from and jumped into the water. After a bit of a swim the conversation we had continued and he started asking me if I had a girlfriend, if I liked asian girls etc etc. I then politely asked him if he had a wife because I did see young children hanging around him; He said no and told me he was due to be married but it didn't work out... the alarm bells inside my head were starting to ring. He continued the shyly tell me that he actually preferred men and had turned when he slept with an Aussie bloke that stayed in his guesthouse... the alarm bell were ringing now because there was a full blaze inside my head. Don't get me wrong i'm no homophobe but i'm also firmly on the hetero side of sexual and when you're semi-naked, in an abandoned guesthous,e in the river and the only other person around tell you he like to sleep with foreign men.. you've got to get out of there. So after another few minuted of English politeness I suggested I get back to my friends which I did; and my story was greeted by a huge round of laughter... so I hope you are laughing into your computer screens right now!

Anyway I digress back to the serious travel writing.

Myself and Omri continued on to visit Wat Phu which is an angkorian temple similar to Angkor Wat... I wont go into detail to save time and writing space but I preferred it to Angkor Wat because it was quieter.

Onto the Bolaven Plateau!

The Bolaven Plateau is probably one of the most beautiful places I have ever set my youthful but weary eyes on. It has been recommended to me by the beard man (see south Thailand blog) as a not to miss place in Laos. It is what it says on the tin, a big mountainous plateau famous for its waterfalls and coffee. Omri and I had met an American journalist and a German Hitchiker to do a 2 day motorbike trip around the plateau with and we were not disappointed.

Imagine the greenest green, the largest waterfalls, empty roads, cool conditions and your getting somewhere close to the plateau. Dave (the journalist) had an off the beaten track guide that listed a load of good places the lonely planet didn't so a lot of the waterfalls we saw had no other people there and were free to enter. Anyway see the photos for yourself it will take me a while to name all of the waterfalls so I wont bother but we swam in a few of them and marveled others at a distance from across large canyons... incredible!

The other draw to the plateau is the Coffee. We pulled into Pakson, a village on top of the plateau to be greeted by a huge sign saying 'COFFEE' and a rather smiley dutch fellow. He had been living and growing coffee on the plateau for a while and while we sipped away at his home brew he told us all we needed to know about coffee. Which brought him onto what he called 'weasel shit' coffee. This is the rarest coffee in the world and apparently sells for $750 a kilo in the USA. Basically a sort of wild cat eats the coffee fruit can't digest the beans and then er 'disposes' of them. The enzymes in the cats stomach that breaks down the fruit apparently gives the coffee its superior taste... we had to try some. Luckily he didn't have some ready so he had to roast some beans so we got another lesson in coffee bean roasting and got to witness the whole process from start to finish. WOW the coffee is incredible and I mean incredible. I will be bringing a small sample back with me so if you're nice to me I might let you try some!

We're getting there...

We had also heard about an amazing Cave on the way to Vientienne by the name of Thong Lo. the cave stretches for 7km and you take a boat right through and I mean right through the mountain to the other side. It was again another breathtaking experience 7km of dark rushing water, huge stalactites and stalagmites all on a canoe with an engine. I do have a short video from inside the cave so I will try and get that up on facebook!

Anyway there you have it. I must say I am loving Laos, the people, the natural beauty and the laid back lifestyle make it hard not to like. I am heading to Vang Vieng after Vientienne which is basically a crazy place you go to get very drunk and do silly things... look it up!

So good bye for now!

I on;y have a month or so left!

Jack x

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Photos

Sunset over the Mekong
The sunset view from my bungalow...

Beer Bag
BeerLao in a bag at the Cambodia-Lao border

If Carlsberg Did Waterfalls...
Probably one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen.

Any guesses at what i'm doing here?
Sipping 'weasel shit' coffee in Pakson, the Bolaven Plateau.