Mondulkiri, Kratie, Si Phan Don, Chamesack, Pakse

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Hi all! So since I last wrote we went on a trek (with an elephant) in Mondulkiri, saw river dolphins in Kratie, relaxed in Laos’ 4000 Islands (Si Phan Don), and lastly went to Wat Phu Champasek in Southern Laos.


So first to Mondulkiri. We left Kompang Cham early morning on a minibus. Which of course ended up with 4 people in every row. For us, as now seasoned Asian Travelers, this was just par for the course. However, for the middle aged French couple also in the van, this was an outrage. Half way through the ride the man started screaming at the driver, no 3 in the row, not 4, 3, not 4. This did not go over well with the driver who promptly started removing the couple's luggage. The couple was convinced that as they had paid more for the minibus than the normal bus they should get better treatment. To me, this does make perfect sense, but how I think it actually works is the minibus is faster and more reliable so you pay more to be squished for the shorter ride. Dan and I actually had only 3 in the row, but we were in the back and I swear you had to be 5 feet tall to be anywhere close to comfortable.



Anyways, the French couple decided just to stick it out (the right decision as they would have been left in a town with less than a 1000 people). In Mondulkiri we decided to stay at the aptly named “Nature Lodge” on a hill outside of “town” (the town has 7000 people so it makes Northfield look huge). The Nature Lodge was awesome, as we had our own bungalow with a view of the rolling hills from the balcony. Although it would have been nice to have a bathroom with a ceiling, instead of the trendy al fresco bathroom.



Through the Nature Lodge we decided to do a trek through the jungle with an guide from the Bulong people, indigenous people that live in the area. Along with the guide, the trek provides you with your very own elephant and elephant rider (Malhuot) to carry our stuff! It was pretty awesome to not have to carry stuff, and to just walk with an elephant for two days! The elephant eats constantly, and loves the roots and the highest leaves of the trees. This preferences leads her to literally uproot the whole forest for her breakfast! I also got to ride on the elephants neck which is quite an experience, as ever step it made I was nervous of falling down over 10 feet! Besides the elephant, the trek was very gorgeous, and it was very nice to have a change of pace from the flat lands as Mondulkiri is rolling hills. The locals like to say it’s the Switzerland of Cambodia. Also, surprisingly, we had the best food in all of Cambodia on the trek. Well, that may just be saying that I prefer Bulong food to Khmer food, but the simple vegetable curry and ramen breakfast we had on the trek were delicious. (Ramen was a staple food during our Cambodian travels, I’m going to have to find a new cheap lunch when I return to the states).



After our trek, we hired moto drives to take us around the sites in Mondulkuri. We saw the biggest waterfall in Cambodia, spectacular at 100 feet for one section and 300 feet for another. Unfortunately the big section can only be seen fully during the dry season, but we could stare down its long drop. We also went to a view point entitled “Ocean of Trees” because it is just that. There was no towns visible at all, just forested hills. We had a very jovial guide that day, who during lunch (an extremely overpriced stir fried ramen at $2 each) played for us all the music he likes from his mp3 player and sang along. I think he was quite disappointed in us because we were not as well versed in old school r and b as he expected.



After three nights in Mondulkuri we set off for Kratie our last stop in Cambodia. In Kratie we went a dolphin watching boat to see the Irrawaddy Dolphins. These Dolphins are extremely endangered and live in the Mekong River. They look more like Beluga whales than dolphins. Even through there are only about 34 in existence, there is an area near Kratie where you can view them regularly. As it happens, we saw 6 dolphins swimming while we were there. Unfortunately, they are very shy so they don’t come up to the boat like the dolphins I’ve seen at home, but you can still see them swimming.



The next day we decided to stay in Kratie to have a nice bike ride around a large island in the Mekong adjacent to the town. The ride started out extremely pleasantly. The island is veryrural and we got to see ox flatten hay, and all the villigers milling about. But then it started raining. First just enough to make the road muddy – totally fine. Until, my bike continually got full of dirt and would stop going. But all doable …. Untilthe monsoon came. Of course, this could have been avoided. There was a large rain cloud, that maybe we should not have biked into. Nevertheless, we were stuck inside it. First trying to just continue riding. That worked for a bit, until my bike slide out from underneath me (luckily no harm done). Then walking, until our shoes started sticking to the mud. Then we just walked our bikes barefoot back to the dock. My shoes had at least 5 pounds of mud on them. The last hurdle was getting down the hill to the boat. As I learned in college, I am not graceful at walking down slippery hills. And of course, I fell. Not once, but twice. With at least 10 villagers staring. The whole way back to the hotel, was filled with lots of pointing at my now brown wet ass. .. Don’t worry, Dan took pictures.


After Kratie we ventured to Si Phan Don in Laos. This time we decided to use a bus service to cross the border instead of go it alone. That meant that literally we did not see a single border agent. The bus employee took our visa form, money, and passports and did it all himself. He discretely kept us hidden in the nearby restaurant. It was all a little strange, illegal perhaps? But now we are in, with an official visa, so I guess it doesn’t matter!



Si Phan Don is an archipelago in the southern most tip of Laos. We stayed at Don Khon, the fancier island, and avoided the backpack happy Don Det where pot can be added to any food for $.50 (California in the near future?). Even though the islands are now a hot spot on a journey through the region, they still remain very rural. Especially where we were on Don Khon, there were plenty of guesthouses and restaurants (about 10 in total) but the village life remained seemingly unchanged around us. Our guest house had chickens and roosters running around it and on a short walk in town you would encounter numerous water buffalo and cows. We decided to stay at a small guesthouse (only 4 rooms), that might end up being some of our most basic accommodations as it had no hot water and no flush (you scoop water until the toilet to flush). But the porch was fantastic, and once we bought a second hammock, it was the best view on the island. We had palm trees, an old French bridge, and a little road with motorbikes to stare at while relaxing. Along with of course the pretty Mekong. All this for the hefty price of $6/night. I still prefer ocean retreats (and blue water to Mekong's muddy brown), but sitting underneath an awning in a hammock is giving the beach a run for its money.


After 4 nights in Si Phan Don Bike riding and relaxing, we heading to the small town of Champasek. Which was seriously small. It was quite difficult to even buy snack food. But it was our home base to see Wat Phu Champasek an ancient temple in a mountain nearby (the temple was first build in the 5th century). It was nice, and had great views of the country side. Luckily we did it all in one day, as I was happy to leave the “town” and go to Pakse the largest town in Southern Laos. We took another minivan to Pakse, and this one was AWESOME. It had normal seats all similar to front seats in a nice car, and we each had a full seat to ourselves. We wished it was a 6 hour drive instead of only one as it was the most comfortable seating we had had since leaving the States.



Tomorrow we go on a tour of nearby waterfalls, and then venture further north in Laos. So far, I really like Laos, but I’m curious to see how I like it after some time as the cities really have nothing to do, and everything is about looking at the surrounding nature. But, thankfully, I do really like the food. It is quite spicy, but we’ve had very good fish in pawn leaves (moist fish with a slight lemon grass flavor), and Lap salad which is cut up chicken with spices. Also, they have pho like noodles, which were sorely missing in Cambodia. All in all, I'm very excited for the adventures we will have in Laos!

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