Blogs from Savannakhet, South, Laos, Asia - page 3

On the 7th we decided that it's time to leave Vietnam so we booked a bus to Savannakhet, Laos on the 9th. As we were told we arrived at the travel agency at 7 am and 15 minutes later they brought us to the public bus station in Hue. The guy who brought us there took our passports to check us into the bus but it took quite a while and I had a gut feeling that something wasn't right and I was proved right (as always. haha) The guy told us the bus to Savannakhet is full and we should go on a bus to Pakse instead. From there on we would have two possibilities: either getting off in Seno at 4 pm (20 km to Savannakhet) or going straight to Pakse and arrive there ... read more

It's been a while. A couple of fustrated blogs went missing after i typed them out. So 3 strikes and thats will be that. After Vientianne , we went to Kong Lo caves, this was one of the sites we had planned on visiting. We were lucky to find a bus that went there directly, as our bible (The lonely planet) mentioned we had to take a few different buses and possibly an overnight stay in a small town on route. The bus drove directly to a brand new guest house khonglor eco-lodge, i mean just finish building, brand new coloured sheets the plastic was still on the toilet handle. 1 klm from the cave and only 60 000 kip. For 100 000 kip we get 2 guides witgh head lamps and a small boat. one ... read more

After the island of Koh Tao, we had to head back up north to get to Laos. The journey ended up becoming an epic voyage as we made our way to the South Laos border on the east side of Thailand. We spent 33 hours on a epic journey to Laos. We spent the next day in Savannakhet cycling around and enjoying lunch along the river. We also stopped to chat with a Monk who was teaching younger monks at a temple. The 'mini monks' were so cute in their orange robes. Our first major stop in Laos was at a small village called Na Hin, which is used as a place to base ourselves in order to experience the thrills of Kong Lo Cave. We had to get a bus from Tha-ket and get dropped ... read more

I left Thakhet on the 27th to travel to Savannakhet. Savannakhet is a sleepy city, a transit city for travelers crossing to Thailand or to Vietnam. I checked out the Catholic Church just off the decrepit town square, in the centre of town - the church is still in use. It is a holdover from the French occupation of Laos. I also enjoyed a marguerita at a bar floating on the Mekong at sunset! The table was made from water rotted lumber from sunken boats. Makes for an interesting pic with the sunset in the background. ... read more

We arrive in Savannakhet at 4am on the 15th (my birthday) and find ourselves sitting on the side of the road waiting for the guesthouses to open their doors. As dawn sheds it's first light upon this new city we instantly get a good vibe for it despite our exhaustion. Monks in saffron robes collecting their morning alms breathe life in to the deserted streets and soon the city awakes around us. We enjoy our stay in Savannakhet tremendously! Finally we find a place which has retained it's character as the tour buses pass this unassuming city by and head south to the more popular 4000 Islands. We see only a handful of westerners during our stay and the local people are welcoming and friendly. With renewed high spirits we immediately rent a bike and start ... read more