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Published: February 24th 2009
Our journey to Laos started off in typical Cambodian fashion - we were squashed into a van with about half the population of Ban Lung and a lifetime’s supply of grain. So after driving around the town for an hour for some unknown reason we proceeded back along the bumpy, dusty road to Stung Treng with Khmer karaoke blasting in our ears. On arrival in Stung Treng we found ourselves dumped in front of a cafe with no idea what was going on and when we attempted to find out our enquiry was met with “Oh yes, you can go to Don Det”. Yes, we very well knew we were allowed to go to Don Det, but exactly how that was going to happen remained a mystery to us.
About an hour or so later a man in a car pulled up in front of the cafe an announced he would be taking us to the Lao border. I thought this was strange seeing as the border was a river border, but having no idea what was going on we crossed our fingers and got in anyway. After another hour or so of driving we reached a completely different border
crossing to the one we had intended to use, never the less, the crossing went smoothly until we found ourselves dropped in the middle of nowhere about 20kms north of the border where we were told to wait for some motorbikes which were going to come and pick us up in “about 15 minutes” after which the car and driver disappeared.
Half an hour later a fat shirtless man appeared announcing the motorbikes were on their way before he too disappeared. Luckily for us, the motorbikes did actually appear in the end so we loaded ourselves and our baggage onto one motorbike each and sped off. Obviously riding on the back of a motorbike with a giant backpack and various other bags is not the safest of things, so most of the 40 minute ride was spent trying to push thoughts of immediate death out of my mind and focus on the surrounding scenery.
Finally after one burnt leg (Merric forgot to climb on the motorbike from the left, scraping the exhaust pipe in the process) and one breakdown (the motorbike I was on ran out of fuel in the middle of the journey leaving us stranded in
on a dirt road far from anywhere) we arrived in one piece at the ferry to Don Det, our chosen destination in Laos’ 4000 Islands. We jumped on a ferry and then crashed in what was the first free room we could find. This didn’t turn out to be the best idea, as the room was not only beyond soiled, but also home to an interesting array of wildlife including the scorpion who chose to make a home for itself on the INSIDE of our mosquito net.
The next morning we got up and literally ran to the nice (and ‘mid range’) place next door not even bothering to change out of our pyjamas until we reached the comforting surrounds of our new scorpion free room. We spent the next few days at Don Det exploring the surrounding islands (the area of 4000 islands is a part of the Mekong river were it breaks off into a large number of streams essentially forming ‘4000’ islands in the process) by means of boat, bike and tube (you insert yourself into a large donut shaped floatation device and float down the river). It really was paradise and would have been a
place very easy to get stuck in, so before we got too relaxed we booked a bus to Champasak.
The main attraction in Champasak is the old Khmer-style ruins of Wat Phu. It isn’t so much the ruins that attracts but the idyllic mountainside location in which the ruins are found. Whilst no Angkor, the temple was beautiful, reached by climbing a literally breathtaking set of very, very steep stairs fringed with frangipani and jacaranda trees and providing spectacular views of the surrounding countryside - definitely worth the afternoon we spent wandering around there (Champasak was almost scratched from our itinerary in an attempt to get to a cheaper Thailand quicker... Laos is very expensive, especially transport).
After Champasak it was time to hit the capital, Vientiane. This was much easier said than done. First we had to catch a pickup for two hours to get to somewhere near the town of Pakse and from there we had to get another pickup to take us into the town. Our plan was to catch an overnight bus to the capital which left at 8pm, Pakse was only two hours away from Champasak, however, the last bus there left at
8am in the morning, meaning we had no choice but to spend 10 hours in Pakse.
Unfortunately for us (and every other traveller which makes this journey) Pakse is an extremely dull town with nothing much to do except eat and sit at an internet cafe (Pakse was actually where my last blog was written from). We couldn’t even go for a walk because it was so, so hot and we didn’t want to be drenched in sweat prior to taking the bus.
After what felt like far more than 10 hours, we boarded the aptly named “King of Bus” to Vientiane. The bus was very interesting in that not only was it a double-decker bus painted with murals of an ‘ocean theme’ (look at the pictures!!) but the interior resembled a tacky French ‘boudoir’ with pink frilly curtains and red leather bed heads. Merric and I squashed into what could barely pass as a single bed (damn small beds not accounting for taller and larger westerners!!) for a very, very uncomfortable night.
Arriving at 6am, bleary eyed we sought out a hotel room, after which we did some sightseeing whilst our room was cleaned. It says
a lot about Vientiane when you can see everything there is to see in a couple of hours, on foot. We first checked out Patuxai - an Arc de Triumph replica made from concrete donated by the USA to build an airstrip. It was giant and hideous, so much so that even a sign put up at the information booth said. Following this we made our way to the golden Pha That Luang temple. This is apparently the most important monument in Laos... but unfortunately it did not show, the monument was poorly maintained and almost screamed for a scrub and a new coat of paint, which is a shame considering it could have been impressive.
The 5km walk back to our hotel was unfortunately the time, that what was so be my 4th (and longest... though not most painful thankfully) bout of food poisoning hit. It appears it is my destiny that I am to get food poisoning in every country I visit. As a result, the rest of the day was spent wallowing in my own pity before an evening meal. Feeling there wasn’t much left in Vientiane to stay another day for we hopped on another
very expensive bus to Vang Vieng... the tubing capital of the world!
xox Kate.
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James Waller
non-member comment
The King of Bus is a concept that may very well work in Kings Cross, haha. Nevertheless, I was shocked to see you sporting a tan. Sounds as though South-East Asia hasn't quite met your expectations yet. I'm hoping it improves in the coming weeks, although remember that your increasing homesickness may be dulling your take on proceedings (try to counter that by thinking about how hard I am working and the lack of a life I now lead due to being employed full-time).