The night bus fr luang prabang to vientiane was an uncomfortable ride for me-seated next to me was some fat drunk local pretending to be asleep as he lolls back and forth.
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| my favorite shot |
It was dark and raining in the early morning of vientiane. tuktuk drivers swooped down on unsuspecting travellers like me, and i try to haggle a ride to the town proper. i plunked down a tuktuk brimming w locals, and was dropped at the town center. it was dead calm, the town was still sleeping, and i had to find an open coffee shop and wait for the lodges to open.
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| vientiane wat |
Soon enough i have a place to stay, grabbed my LP book on Laos and headed out. It was raining, and a Sunday, so most of the establishments were closed. Got to see a few wats, the Royal Palace, the Patuxai (their version of d'Arc de Triomphe). Time was very slow. I just want to leap forward and get vientiane over with. I was supposed to cross the border to Nong Khai, Thailand, but i decided to explore the unbeaten path of Laos' Bolaven Plateau instead.
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| rhona, this is what a sleeper bus looks like! |
I got on a true-blue sleeper bus to Pakse, complete w mattress, fluffy pillows and a comforter, and free dinner. I slept like a baby. It was dawn when I woke up in the south of Laos.
It was difficult for any girl to fit 4 days' worth of clothing, rain jacket, camera and charger, and toiletries in a teeny 15-liter backpack, but that's what i did, and left my heavy bulky duffel backpack at the motorbike rental place. I met a "guide/driver" of some sort to drive me around Bolaven Plateau in a motorbike.
For someone who had a bicycle accident early this year, it's no surprise that i am doubly terrified to get on a much-faster motorbike. But since this is the most convenient way of touring the plateau, and hiring a tuktuk for 3 days cost 1 million kip, I wore my helmet and shades on, and I prayed to God for safety every minute i was on it. God was on my side, not a scratch on me. :) kudos to the driver!
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| people on the road fr pakse |
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| Tad Pasuam |
Day 1 was rainy, we stopped a lot and drank a lot of lao coffee, which was later replaced by ice cold lao beer. We ate buffalo meat for lunch which the locals shared w us. We saw waterfalls (Tad Pasuam) and an ethnic village. Early afternoon, we're at Tad Lo, where i saw elephants feeding on bananas. The falls in Laos are different fr the falls i see in the Philippines, which are narrow and high. There the falls are low but wide. at that time the water was very strong, not safe for swimming. But it was magnificent, ten times over. I always marvel at its beauty longer than i should. Masarap lang tumanga at tumambay at tingnan. The view fr our lodge's restaurant was awesome.
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| elephants at Tadlo |
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| sunset at Tadlo |
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| Tad Lo |
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| view fr resto |
Day 2 was sunny and bright. Great weather. We encountered numerous kids walking home fr their school. Tad Faek and Tad Hua Khon were gorgeous! Met a Spanish couple who also hired a bike, but the boyfriend was new to driving one, resulting to his girlfriend's "thigh tattoo" (nasty burn fr the muffler) when they slipped. Had a nice evening with them, interesting to hear them speak Spanish and actually understand what they're saying. Spanish and French classes in UP paid off . Slept in a bungalow overlooking the falls. I wanna stay there forever.
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| day 2 |
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| cute kid |
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| walking fr school |
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| tanders making tambay |
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| Tad Faek |
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| Tad Hua Khon |
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| Tad Hua Khon |
Day 3 was a ride along dirt road to Paksong. saw Tad Katamtok and took what i think is my best photo in this entire trip. In this stretch, no English was spoken. It's funny that they always mistake me to be Lao. I learned how to say in Lao "I don't understand. Philippine." I learned some of their language by this time, learned how to ask for food, fried eggs, noodles. When all else fails i simply whip out my Laos LP book, and there in lao alphabet are a glossary of common food. I tirelessly greet every local "sabaydee!" with a wave and a smile. Paksong is where they grow delicious Italian roast blend coffee, which we had when we got there. Spoke to the owner of the shop, a Hollander named Coffee. He gave us advice where to stay, where to eat and which falls are worth the trip. I slept at a classy hotel (Lao standard) at the top of a hill, overlooking the town. The air was chilly. The fried rice w chicken and Beer Lao in Bolavein Restaurant were delicious.
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| Tad Katamtok |
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| Tad Champi |
Day 4 started early. we were on a muddy dirt road looking for a particular waterfall. we almost fell in ankle deep slush. did not get hurt, just got dirty. hiked some dangerous trail, mala-Mt. Banahaw ang terrain, all roots and branches to hold on to for dear life. twisted my ankle. damn those flip flops. wishing for my trail shoes which were sitting clean and primly in pakse, inside my duffel. we were on top of a 100-meter falls. on the trek back we saw pilgrims worshiping a buddha on a mountain peak. very scenic way to worship. finally had our wish when we went to Tad Champi. biting cold water, but swam anyway. said my last goodbye to laos, and rode back to pakse.
It was refreshing to go down the path less traveled.
From there I took another night bus, crossed the Thai border at ubon, then arrived in Bangkok in the morning.
