Blogs from Pakxe, South, Laos, Asia - page 8

We are now in the relative comfort of Pakse Laos, on our way to Bangkok and then on to Burma. A bit of the French is left here, in building architecture and the service iof the nicer hotels in town. This is the first time we feel like we are in a "real" hotel by western standards, not that I miss them. Every decision I make has economic ramifications, from where I eat (the local street corner or the place for foreigners with guaranteed hygenie) and sleep (the Chinese run or the more basic stilt house accomodation) to even buying a soda or tea. I have moved from elder sister to mother in the eyes of Laotians who address me formally, a frightening prospect. Laotians seem more friendly, more laid back. Traveling in the dry season ... read more

It's amazing how much thinking you can do while puttering along on a motorbike. I'd composed line upon line of enthralling, witty, prose about our travels - all in my head. But when I come to put finger to keyboard (how romantic does that sound?) it all floats away.... Never mind. We're in Pakse. The past few days have again been spent on motocycles touring around. We managed to get a reasonable price on hiring them and having endured two 7+hour trips on buses for only about 350km each trip, we decided we'd lash out and enjoy the independence that the bikes could provide. Leaving Pakse, we began climbing the road that would take us out to the Bolaven Plataeu - an area known for it's rich soil, coffee plantations and beautiful waterfalls. Ended up spending ... read more

Laosissa jalleen. Matka Kambodzasta Laosiin sujui oikein vauhdikkaasti. Kratiesta matkattiin ensin reilut kolme tuntia minibussilla Stung Trengiin, missa vaihdettiin pikaveneeseen. Pikaveneet on sellaisia pitkia ja kapeita paatteja, joissa istutaan pohjalla polvet suussa ja takapuoli puuduksissa. Vauhti oli huimaa ja tuulitukka taattu. Vetta roiskui paalle eika moottorin pauhulta kuullut yhtikas mitaan. Venematka Stung Trengista rajalle kesti vaivaisen tunnin. Rajalla jouduttiin maksamaan leimoista dollarin per naama - raha menee suoraan rajamiesten omiin taskuihin. Vaikuttaakohan meidan maksamat lahjukset Suomen asemaan maailman vahiten korruptoituneena maana? Voidaankohan meita kotiin palattuamme syyttaa lahjusten maksamisesta? Millaisenkohan tuomion mahtaa saada dollarin lahjuksesta? Onkohan lahjusten toistuva (maksettiin seka Kambodzan etta Laosin puolella) maksaminen erityis... read more

According to the Footprint guide, Pakse is Laos' southern transport hub. It's hardly the most picturesque place I've visited so far, but we had a pretty good time here. The bus journey from Thakkek was apporximately 2 hours longer than we anticipated. Either the ticket vendor gave an overly optimistic estimate, or, (more likely) the unproffesional driver took too many liberties on the way. It's something of a given here that at several points on the journey your driver will stop off almost without warning and with absolutely no explanation for periods of time that could be anywhere between 5 and 45 minutes. The upside is that you get the opporunity to buy some dirt cheap local food like sticky rice or the meat-on-a-stick they do so well from the vendors that swarm the bus every ... read more

Savanahket was a big sucess, four nights when I only intended to stop by for one to break my journey south. My final day was mostly spent at the hidden but well worth the search Mama Home Restaurant where you can chill out for hours in comfort and good company, any backpackers in savahnaket, it's definately worth looking for. Had a good journey down on the ultra slow and creaking local bus, made some new friends, including a monk, had not really spoken to a monk before so it was interesting to find out about what life is like as a Buddhist Monk. Got to Pakse and got ripped off by a creepy little Tuk Tuk driver, usually they are okay but some of these guys really do make you want to scream. Don't mind paying ... read more