Page 15 of piranha27 Travel Blog Posts


Asia » Laos » South » Tha Khaek October 21st 2012

It had to happen sooner or later. Midway into my journey from Savannakhet to Tha Khaek, the minibus suffers a puncture. I believe this was the first time I'd encountered this since I started my little Southeast Asian adventure some five months ago. Not surprising at all though, considering the quality (or lack thereof) of the roads and vehicles that I've been travelling on all this while. The bigger surprise might have been that it hadn't occurred earlier! But in the end it was just a relatively straightforward one hour wait as the driver got things fixed, and before long I had arrived in Tha Khaek, another *thriving* Laotian border town right by the Mekong, on a part of the river so narrow you can see the Thai city of Nakhon Pathom very clearly across. Although ... read more
Downtown Tha Khaek
Inside Wat Nabo
Puncture!

Asia » Laos » South » Savannakhet October 19th 2012

Continuing my journey back northwards, past Pakse where I entered Laos, and into Savannakhet, another border town connected to Thailand via a Friendship bridge across the Mekong. Savannakhet is Laos's second largest city after it's capital Vientiane, but you wouldn't have guessed it walking around downtown. The place almost always seems deserted! But the signs of prosperity due to the influx of Thais from across the border, as well as Vietnamese who enter from the east, are obvious. Plenty of banks, guesthouses and hotels, as well as some boutique cafes, and relatively good roads. There must be a lot more tourist dollars/ baht/ dong pouring in since the building of the Savan Vegas Casino just outside of town. Baht is essentially legal tender here (tuk tuk drivers quote in Baht first), and with Thai seemingly spoken ... read more
Savan Vegas Casino
Savan Vegas Casino
Casino Royale

Asia » Laos » South » Champasak October 17th 2012

After the five day retreat in the Siphandon islands, it was time to head back northwards, and the next stop was Champasak. A two hour minibus ride and another 20 min boat trip later and I was there, which in fact was just a short ride away from Pakse where I entered Laos from Thailand. Champasak is essentially a quiet, one-street small town, whose unassuming appearance belies the historical significance of the nearby Wat Phu, another Khmer-style temple complex. Wat Phu was built at the foot of the Phu Khao mountain that overlooks Champasak province, and was meant to be spectacular, and to inspire devotees. Well it certainly did its job! The templex complex is sprawling. Fronted by two large lakes, it's a long 800m walk to the magnificent entrance, before a steep and high climb ... read more
Wat Phu
Wat Phu
Wat Phu

Asia » Laos » South » Don Det October 14th 2012

It was a pleasant 1.5h boat ride from Don Khong to Don Det, but upon arrival I did wonder why I made the trip. I'd read that Don Det had become a bit of a backpacker backwater, with noisy bars lining a narrow lane, packed with over-enthusiastic young backpacker falangs. And while rather quiet when I arrived, the muddy, poorly-maintained path leading to the guesthouses sure made for a poor first impression. Having said that, the calming walk along the "sunrise" side southwards, flanked by the Mekong on one side and unending verdant padi fields on the other, reminded me of why Don Det was once thought of as a traveller's haven. Originally a well-kept secret for those looking for a real, tranquil retreat from the rest of Laos (though I wonder why one would need ... read more
Photo 9
Laotian Zero Point!
Photo 3

Asia » Laos » South » Khong Island October 12th 2012

And just when I thought time couldn't pass any slower than in Tat Lo, I realised that I hadn't seen the rest of Laos yet... From Tat Lo, it was a 2h bus ride westwards back to Pakse, where I originally thought I might have to spend the night, as I thought I wouldn't be able to catch the last transport down south to Siphandon (4000 Islands). Turns out I was, and managed to get on the 4 p.m. sawngthaew for the 2h ride down south, barrelling at goodness-knows-what speed! The only problem was when I arrived at Ban Nakasang, which is the ferry launch point for Don Khong (the largest of the islands), it was already dark, and there being no guesthouses in the vicinity, I had to charter the entire boat at a higher-than-usual ... read more
Photo 6
It's Not a Real Lao Ride
Photo 4

Asia » Laos » South » Tat Lo October 10th 2012

So after two nights in Pakse, I made the trip eastwards to the Bolavan Plateau, specifically to the village of Tad Lo, famous for its waterfalls. The bus from Pakse was headed towards another town called Salavan, so to get to Tad Lo I actually had to get off halfway and walk another couple of kilometres. There was actually a motorcycle taxi waiting at the junction between the roads to Salavan and Tad Lo, but being the cheapo I was I didn't even enquire the price, and just decided to hoof it. It didn't sound like a particularly remote or quiet place from the LP description, but when I arrived it soon dawned on me that Tad Lo, while not exactly off the beaten track, was not a typical tourist spot either. Sure there were the ... read more
Just Having a Drink by the Xe Set
Pakse - Tat Lo
Walking to Tat Lo

Asia » Laos » South » Pakse October 10th 2012

Hello Laos! And all it took was a 3h bus ride, half of it from Ubon to the Chong Mek-Vang Tao border, and the other half to Pakse, a relatively prosperous Laotian city located at the confluence of the Mekong and Se Don rivers in the Champasak province in Central Laos, and often used by tourists as a staging point to nearby attractions. The Laotian immigration counter at Vang Tao was something else. Not the typical counter where the immigration officer sits behind a desk and sizes you up before deciding to issue you a visa, this was more like a tourist attraction ticket counter where you can only peek at the immigration officer through a small opening at the bottom of the panel of heavily-tinted glass. I'm not sure if the officer can see the ... read more
Wat Phabad
Dao Heuang Market
Central Pakse

Asia » Thailand » Eastern Thailand » Ubon Ratchathani October 5th 2012

So after that quick overnight stop at little Nang Rong, I arrived in Ubon Ratchatani, one of the easternmost larger cities in Thailand, from where I would make the crossing into Laos. Apparently Ubon was an important air base for the US forces during the Vietnam War, during which time the city prospered. However it does seem as if not that much has happened in the city since, which in many respects seems to have seen better days. The city itself is not large, and quite walkable. There are a few temples of some importance to the city, but it seems the only time it really gets crowded is during the Candle Festival that it's famous for, which occurs annually in July. That's probably also the only time the old, soulless 1970s style 3-star hotels fill ... read more
Candle Sculpture in Thung Si Mueang Park
Nang Rong to Ubon Ratchatani
Ubon Open Air Night Food Centre

Asia » Thailand » North-East Thailand » Buri Ram October 5th 2012

Next stop Nang Rong, a quiet, unassuming small town some 2h southeast of Khorat, in the province of Buriram. Apart from a KFC and a couple of convenience stores, there really wasn't much in the town itself. It was about as innocuous as a small Isaan town could get. And moving deeper into the heart of Isaan, English becomes sparser and sparser, and I find myself increasingly having to test whatever Thai I'd learned in Bangkok. Nang Rong served as a stop point for visiting two ancient Khmer-style temple complexes nearby, known as Phanom Rung and Muang Tam, which were a pleasant 1h motorcycle ride away, through the Isaan countryside, and up a relatively low extinct volcano. It was almost incredible arriving at each temple complex ... read more
Phanom Rung
Phanom Rung
Phanom Rung

Asia » Thailand » North-East Thailand » Nakhon Ratchasima October 1st 2012

And a 4h bus ride later I was finally out of Bangkok, and into the heartland of Thailand known as the Isaan region. I arrived at Nakhon Ratchasima, aka Khorat, to resume the more typical backpacking routine that I had almost forgotten after my extended stay in Bangkok. I am somewhat wistful of the comfortable, static days I spent there, and even apprehensive as to whether I can get back into the groove of my pack-and-go days from not too long ago. Guess I'll find out soon. Khorat is apparently Thailand's second largest city in terms of population, over two million, but they are really spread out across the sprawling suburbs of the province. The city centre itself is home to only a few hundred thousand, and it certainly felt like any other medium-sized Thai provincial ... read more
Phimai Historical Park
Phimai Historical Park
Phimai Historical Park




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