The Last of Laos :(

This tugboat literally pushed us on our 'ferry boat' to the other side of the river.
A view of the river at Don Det
One of the amazing waterfalls
Elderly woman selling baked bananas

I really loved Laos, what an amazing country that just makes you want to chill out and relax. Partly because you had too, like I said previously everything shuts down so early. (Apparently if you are a real keener and want to party there are a few late night places which I did manage to find one night in Luang Prabang but still was very low key). But partly was because you just wanted to soak in all the beauty and enjoy just watching the livelihood of the local people here.
But for day trips, Laos has some amazing countryside which was great to explore! Just when I started to think big deal, another waterfall, I saw the most amazing waterfalls here that were enormous! Some of them you go to all prepared with bathing suit and towel thinking a cool dip would feel so great but they were so powerful and forceful you didn't even dare try swimming in or near them.

WHO is Actually Reading This?!

, Nice relaxing chair I found by some enormous waterfalls with plywood and all.

Of course I had to try it out, it didn't break!

OK, people keep telling me how much they are enjoying my blog and I am surprised to hear they are reading it! I have no idea how many people are, I know it shows that I have 10 followers but that doesn't even show my family and I know they are! It would be cool (for me) to see how many people are actually following my blog so please amuse me (cause I've been amusing you) and sign up as a follower. I don't think it's that hard.......Thanks!! :)

ps- who is Orca Girl?!? Is that you Lisa?!

Southern Laos- Tad Lo and Don Khong

Went on a tour from Don Khong to the smaller islands Don Kong (hardly confusing) and Don Det. This was one of the big attractions. The Japanese had built a railway from one end of the islands to the other to transport things to Vietnam. This is what was left of the railway.

A little girl in Don Khong village leading her water buffalo home, she was not impressed! I thought my kids had it tough on the farm!

One of the local buses, this one wasn't too bad but they cram as many as they can in. When they run out of seats they put stools in the middle. I had to climb over the stools to get to my seat.

On my way to Don Khong Island in Sipandon (4000 islands). Got stuck in a local 'tuk tuk' at what I was told the bus station but at least it took me where I wanted to go......3 1/2 hours cramped in with the locals and thier food for the week. Basically it's an open air, back of a truck with sides and a roof. We stopped in a small village along the way and got smarmed by about 30 people selling food. One was selling chicken on a stick, it literally looked like a run over squashed chicken that had then been cooked. Still had the head and feet on it.....I didn't buy one.....

Cute kids in the village above the waterfalls. They all love to clown around for the camera and then ask you for food or money or your jewelry or try to get into your bag. The westerners have truly spoilt these children. They think it's so fun to see their faces when they give them treats and things but it just encourages them to beg and the candy isn't good for their already bad teeth. It's sad, hopefully more people will realize and quit doing this. It's much better to give to a school, village leader or something like that so they can distribute fairly and everyone gets something. Only in Northern Thailand do I remember seeing children that haven't been affected by this and never asked for anything they were just truly happy to see you.

Tad Lo Falls in Bolevean Plateau, a beautiful spot where I spent a night.

One of the local buses.....this one wasn't too bad, usually the outside is much nicer looking than the inside. One local bus I took I swear was made in the 1940s and had plywood flooring with gaping holes everywhere.

My VIP sleeper bus bed, lucky me I wasn't in the middle!

OK the 'VIP sleeper bus could have been worse! Luckily (?) I was in the back row with 3 other tiny girls from England. It was basically a hard board with a little cushion a pillow and a blanket. The other people had to share bunkbeds and 2 people had to sleep in one bed! Most were strangers to each other and one lady was in her 50s, rather plump and had to share with a young, hefty 20s guy! Seriouusly these beds weren't even the size of a twin bed. They told us there was a toilet on board which there was, it a tiny 3' x 3' room crammed full of supplies you could spot a little tiny toilet.

But they did treat us, gave us a warm soy milk juice box, a little bag of chips, a bottle of water and in the morning a wet wipe!

Off the VIP bus at 6am to take a local bus to Tadlo Falls and to find a room and have a shower!

Beautiful place along the river with the Falls right in the village and another larger waterfall about 20 minutes away. It was refreshing to go for a swim in but strong currents so couldn't go too far.

Next day up to the main road to catch the local tuk tuk to Don Khong, the largest island in Siphandon, also known as 4000 islands as in the dry season (now) the water is low and there are little islands every where! Arrived and took a ferry boat over, nice quiet little island. At 10pm the young guy who was serving us at the riverside pub/restaurant asked us if we could pay our bill so he could go to bed! It was so cute and funny! We looked up and down the dirt road and it was pitch black so off to bed we went as well!

Next day went on a tour of the other islands and yet more waterfalls. I haven't seen as many waterfalls as temples though! Beautiful country, hard to believe it had been bombed so badly years ago.

Next stop, Cambodia border crossing!

Vientiane - The Capital City of Laos

Pumpkin at the start of the Buddha Park

Three headed elephant

A hodge podge, great shot I thought!

Spent a night here, this city is the equivalent of Thailand's Bangkok but on a much smaller scale. Plus in Laos, being a communist country, most of the bars close down early by 11:30 or midnight by law. There are a few that can somehow bend the rules and stay open later, not sure how must have something to do with the laid back attitude. It has it's 'lady boys', bars, restaurants and Wats (temples) and the busyness of the traffic.
Funny I was only here an hour and I ran into 3 different people/couples I'd met in my travels so far. Small world or what?
Being here on a Sunday, lots of things were closed but I did manage to get to the Morning Market, which had a few shops open with their handicrafts and then hopped onto a local bus to go an hour out of town to Xieng Khuan (Buddha Park). I have seen so many Buddhas in my travels but I had to check this out as it was listed as one of Laos highlights even though they say it's quote- 'The flowering of one man's bizarre spiritual vision'. It's a mix of Hindu and Buddhist statues done by an artist with the name of Luang Pu Bunleua Sulilat who had a large local following for his teachings that merged the religions in the 1950s. It consists of 200 sculptures of humans and animals in a chaotic display. (okay I copied this as I am running out of time and imagination on here!)
I took about 50 pictures and stood at the top of the giant pumpkin statue (in which you enter by climbing thru it's mouth) after climbing a series of stairs inside and thru chambers of even more statues. Alot of these statues have humouristic qualities to them as well as some very serious ones.

Well off south to Pakse/ Tadlo tonight on a new adventure called a 'sleeper bus', I'll see if I sleep more on this than the trains!

Some more Fun Observations

The people here are so nice and laid back, in fact they are so laid back they often forget to place your order in the restaurants or bring you your bill after you ask (in SE Asia you always have to ask they won't bother you asking for refills or if you are done.) Then they look surprised and say something to the effort of - 'oh yeah' and dash off to do it. Patience and smiles goes a long way here.

Another thing is I keep seeing the odd Christmas decoration up, at first I thought maybe it's like home with the people who don't take down their outside lights, they just leave them up all year but then the other day I saw them taking an artificial tree apart.

Here in Laos I keep seeing signs for saunas....I can't imagine going to one and actually paying for it! I am in a constant sauna and even though I've adjusted somewhat to the heat the sweat just pours off of you all day!

Lastly I love how the traffic flows here, being so laid back (well maybe not the bus drivers) they just go along slowly, merge, let people in no matter what they are driving. Here the cars, tuk tuks, bicycles, motorbikes, buses, trucks all just flow along smoothly not like Deerfoot Trail at all!

Next stop, Vang Viang!

Two girls on the side of the road during my bike ride who were hollering and excited to see me so I stopped. Only to find they just wanted money, I shared with them some crackers instead but they wanted more and even tried getting into my bag. It's best not to give them money as it only encourages them to beg and candy is not good for their teeth. I probably shouldn't have given them anything but I did get a picture. Not sure why this little girl had a flower ring on her head but they were sweet.

This was on the path to the cave, a barbed wire fence to climb over in flip flops, first of two!

Beautiful scenery on my 'trek' to the cave
The village people working/playing in the river
View from my hammock.
Eating Deep Fried Mulberry Leaves with a honey/ginger sauce, very good!
Mulberry Shrubs on the Farm
Farm truck we saw on the tour around, didn't see any cows there so not sure how it got so damaged!
Loading up the buses!

Waiting at the bus station is always interesting. This time I watched as people were loading up their motorcycles on top of the buses! One bus had about 1o on top, didn't actually get to see how exactly they got then up there, just watched them spending a long time tying them down.
The trip from Luang Prabang to Vang Viang, was probably one of the longest, windiest roads I had ever been on. Last minute I decided to take the VIP bus, I didn't feel very VIPish though as I was in the back row which meant there there 5 seats across and they didn't recline and you had people on either side. On the one side was one poor lady who held a plastic bag to her mouth the whole time from motion sickness. I was thrilled she didn't actually need to use it, taking with a friend who took the local bus the locals didn't have as strong of stomachs. Note-next time book the VIP bus a little more in advance for a better seat! Either way everyone on the bus got their share of shake ups with a few close calls with oncoming buses/trucks/vans and loads of honking. Not a restful drive at all!
Arrived safe and sound and again wanted to kiss the dirty ground but refrained. Went to stay at the Organic Farm just outside of town, sounded peaceful, tranquil and healthy. Alot different from an organic farm you would see in Canada. Here the farm is at the start of the popular tubing tour they have here where there are platforms of bars along the river with swings, slides, ziplines and loud music that goes all day. It's fun and worth doing once but it really took away from the ambiance of the farm. As far as healthy the Mulberry Pancakes were awesome but the deep fried Mulberry Leaves I'm sure weren't on the Eat Smart list! Also they had a sign there to promote drinking as proceeds go towards the children's bus that they donated to the community! Great people and fun times just a little different than what I expected!
Next day I moved into town on the quieter south end. They had hammocks along the river and I spent the day being totally lazy (this traveling can be very tiring I have discovered) It was great to watch how the village people live, using their souped up little tractors to haul rocks/mud/gravel out of the river. Women picking river weeds, children playing and swimming and later in the day families coming down to bathe. The animals here pretty much roam free and I watched 5 of them come across the river and start to go up the road into town. I wanted to jump up to see what chaos that was going to cause but next thing I know someone must of headed them back into the road and they carried on down past me and up into a field.
In town had a great BBQ'd kabob dinner and found the big thing to do is lay around in outdoor cafe/bars and watch reruns of mostly Friends, some places also showed Family Guy and Seinfeld. On the river edge the 'young' people partied and danced until late after spending the day drinking on the river. Luckily I can't drink in the heat of the day so I was very well behaved and home early, exhausted from the heat. It's their summer now and I heard it gets as hot as 40 degrees!
Next day I rented a bike, I really miss my bike at home but this one had a basket which is very handy here because you don't want a backpack on your back only to make you sweat more!
I toured around the villages and then across the bamboo bridge to find the Blue Lagoon and Cave I had heard about. After a good hour or so of biking in the heat and the very bumpy road I finally reached it. Things are less expensive in Laos but every thing you want to go visit costs money. If you want to see a cave you pay, if you want to see waterfalls you pay, if you want to cross a bridge you pay etc....only about a $1-2 so it's not bad but you have to make sure you have extra cash on you all the time.
I decided to go find the cave, a short trek after my long ride but the sign said only 100m to the cave so off I went. The arrow pointed out the direction but I came to a dead end except for a barbed wire fence that was sort of altered you could see. So here I am climbing over it in my flipflops only to find another one to climb over about 10 metres down the way. Walked across an old rice paddy field and got to another lagoon and up a small hill where there was a restaurant. Found some people who also went looking for the cave only to hear the base of it was 100 meters away but it was about a 400 or 500 meter hike up! I decided to scrap that idea being in flipflops and 40 degree weather! So down to the lagoon, full of 20 something year olds, I decided to go down to the first one which wasn't quite as nice but still peaceful only to find it now full of small children just out of school. I had gone swimming in the river with the children and Linda the day before and some of them are curious about you but most just ignore you. Off back down the dusty road to go for a much needed shower again!

Yeah! More Elephants! And kayaking!

Kayaking on the Nam Khan River, awesome views and so peaceful.
nHow low can he go?!
After the bath, we are all squeaky clean!
Kuang Si waterfall, one of the layers with a swimming hole below.
Pak Ou cave looking out onto the Mekong River

I decided I wanted to see more of the area around Luang Prabang and booked myself on a 2 day combo tour. I was the only one doing this specific tour so the first day me and my very young guide, Pang, who had an instant crush on me....here we go again.....went to the Pak Ou Caves. It's just off the Mekong River and is literally crammed full of thousands of Buddha statues of various shapes and sizes. Further up a couple of hundred stairs in the +30 degrees there was another cave as well which was hardly worth the effort but good for the exercise (keep thinking positive) then back onto the hour boat ride to cool off.
After that we toured a few villages which ended up walking past tables of handicrafts for sale and glancing over at their homes but I did get to try a shot of Lao Lao Whiskey, not sure what burns more going down that or the snake whiskey! Then off to the beautiful Kaung Si Waterfall. It was stunning to see, lots of swimming 'pools' and layers and you could hike to the top which I did! I so badly needed a swim after my day only to be told eagerly by Pang to go ahead but I only had 5 minutes before we had to leave. I chose not to and when we arrived at the Eco Lodge near the elephant village I enjoyed a nice long shower! Off to an awesome dinner where I luckily met a group consisting of an American, Australians, German and Dutch that I would be spending the next day with.
Up at 6:30am with a wake up holler from my friend, Linda, as Pang got the times wrong (he's a new guide, probably cause he just graduated!) and dressed quickly in my Elephant 'suit' and down to the river to go retrieve our elephants for a bath. I climbed on top of my elephant with very little direction and almost promptly flew over his head on top of mine except when I screamed (a little) they told me quickly how to hang on and where to stick my legs to 'drive' properly without falling over. Still took a bit of getting used to but by the time we got back to the river I was a pro, almost. Bath time in the river was so fun, some of the elephants were so playful slapping the water with their trunks and everyone literally got bathed. Mine laid down so he was pretty much immersed and then used his nose to spray water back on himself and me too, it's like he knew what he was doing!
After breakfast we got to go on a ride, much like the one I had in Thailand, only for some reason they let an Italian guy drive our elephant at the start who had his own agenda and we ended up going down a very steep cliff like embankment. I told him as we were going down and hanging on for dear life with the guides all panicked and yelling that he does not get a tip! I am waiting for a picture still from the people in front of us, they said it was priceless.
After we got down the hill the Italian hopped off and ran up the hill and out of site.....I think he was a little freaked out, didn't see him again until the end and he said he wasn't supposed to be on that part of the tour. So how did he get to driving our elephant?! Anything goes here in Laos, very laid back people here. It's great most of the time!
After lunch we headed off for our kayaking adventure. The big part of the adventure was getting there, a 1/2 hour ride on a Tuk Tuk with open sides, sort of like sitting in the back of a truck but with benches and railings on the sides so we don't bounce out!
By the time we arrived to the start point we were so covered in dirt even my really white friend from Holland, Linda, even looked tanned! We jumped into the river to get rid of the grime and then I was in heaven as I got my very own kayak to paddle downstream for 3 hours. What a beautiful, peaceful journey it was. Very odd in SE Asia, you really don't see any animals, reptiles or even birds along the river. Some people say it's because they hunt and eat so many of them but I prefer to think maybe cause its the dry season and they all went south (or north) for the season.