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Published: October 10th 2012
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Picture Perfect in Tat Lo
Don't hate me, I'm just doing my (non-existent) job... 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 usual guesthouses with signs in English, and there's internet access and all, but it definitely seemed very quiet. The vibe and atmosphere definitely remained quite local. And it's funny how I told the Japanese guy on the bus from Ubon that I remember from my previous trip Laos being such a quiet country that you could hear the frogs and crickets when you slept
at night, cos that was exactly all that I heard at night at Tad Lo (save for the obligatory neighbourhood karaoke session that fortunately ended by 10 p.m.)!
As mentioned, Tad Lo is famous for its waterfalls. There are three in the vicinity, one right next to the main accomodation area (Tad Hang), another after which the area is named (Tad Lo) just a kilometre upstream, and another one some eight kilometres further away (Tad Sung) that I didn't manage to get to. Nearby Tad Lo there are also some small villages, one of which I passed by, and which definitely reminded me of the general state of development of the country. Even the trail leading to the waterfalls and villages was forested and moderately difficult, showing how, relatively speaking, infrequently used it was.
My second night a French woman (Marianne) approached me at the restaurant where I was having dinner, and asked whether I was local, and if I could recommend a place to eat! Haha I told her I was a tourist too, and we ended up talking along with her boyfriend Aymeric. Aymeric's a free-lance videographer, and Marianne just quit her job in PR (!)
Pakse - Tat Lo
Not enough space in the luggage compartment for these sacks of rice, so guess where they'll have to go? so they decided to *celebrate* by doing three weeks in Thailand/ Laos! They're both Parisiens, and made several good-natured jokes at the stereotypes (snooty, aloof etc) over lotsa Beer Lao, and cigarettes!
Stayed at Tim's Guesthouse.
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