26^th January, Continued…….  

We arrive in at our hotel and we pretty much have the day free…..  no plans!!!  We go for a wander round the town and find a Wat a Buddhist temple and nip inside for a look.  One of the Buddhist monks wanders over and, keen to practice his English starts chatting to us.

Anyway, he tells us the biggest week in the Lao religious calendar is happening in the next week, starting tomorrow, for 7 days, thousands of monks from all over the country are making a pilgrimage to Wat Phou, an ancient temple similar to those at Angkor, where Buddha himself is reputed to have stayed.  Great, that sounds amazing!

So after a lazy lunch and few beers, we plan the next 7days and aim to visit Wat Phou on the last day, for the culmination of the weeks celebrations!   Finally we watch the sunset, from the roof of our hotel.

27^th January

Today we are picking up our motorbike for a 7day tour around southern Laos….  But this time, without a guide!!!... We have come up with a plan, we had a quick chat with a local guy/guide and he recommended us to head to the Vietnamese border town of Dakchung….. 100kms off the main road, apparently the views are amazing and tourists never venture out that far, but we will have to follow the most useless map available where by 1 inch covers 200km (unfortunately it is also the only road map of Laos!!) so it will have to do! 

We are leaving one rucksack at the hotel, so we don’t have too much luggage, so we strap it all down and  jump aboard the 250cc Honda and like Ewan McGregor and that other bloke, we set off into the hills  on our “short way round”….. tour of southern Laos.

First off, it’s a waterfall called “Tat Fan”…..  a very high 100m drop from a plateau….  Tick.

Next is another waterfall…..  we have lunch…….  Then swim in a waterfall lower downstream….. Tick.

A few km’s from our planned overnight is another…..  large waterfall, where you can get right to the edge, as it’s the dry season……  fortunately there were no flash floods!

Finally we stop off at……  yes, you got it!…… a waterfall, check into our ultra basic guest house……  complete with mattress made from solid teak and a thin cotton sheet.

(we only discover this when we get into bed with a painful thud!) and go for a wander round the falls and a swim whilst watching the sunset with a beer…. Nice.

28^th January

Up we get, nice and early and watch the sunrise whilst the locals bathe in the river.  After a short ride, we stop for a really thick coffee by a road junction in Paksong.

Our next stop………  a waterfall  (ye, we were getting a little bored at this point as well!) but the highlight of the morning was the ride, trundling up and down a dirt track for hours, through the pristine rainforest, without seeing a soul, apart from the odd very confused looking local!

After lunch, we head off to the town of Sekong, our potential overnight.  But we arrive at about 1:30pm and there’s nothing here so we decide to push on to Dakchung.

Once over the river we have 100km to travel….  Shouldn’t be a problem…..  but the wide dirt track soon turns into a dust track, so fine it’s like riding on talcum powder……  which also has a similar riding quality to snow…….  A rather hairy 30km later and we have been making very slow progress….  Lorraine tells me that the surroundings are quite pretty, however, I can’t take my eye off the “road” for a second to take a look….  Not a moment too soon and we emerge onto a more solid dirt road and start to wind our way up the mountainous valley.  The views are quite spectacular as we whizz along the road. 

It’s probably at this point I should mention that we have no idea what’s in Dakchung….it’s just the word of that guide we met, saying it’s quite a cool ride?.....  Its not in any guide books and barely registers on our map.  We don’t even know where we are going to stay tonight!.....   we hope there might be a guest house but we expect we are going to have to blag some floor space from someone…..    So needless to say, we want to get there as soon as possible……. 

So when we meet our first river crossing….. we begin to wonder how long this trip might take….. still it looks quite shallow, about knee deep, so Lorraine gets off to document the event and I charge through the water…. Soaking me in the process……  maybe next time I won’t go soooo quickly!

We press on and the mountains get more impressive as we climb up the valley.

Every 20kms or so, we pass little communities, and the kids look terrified at the sight of us, but as we pass them waving, they generally give us a smile…. Or remain open mouthed!  I guess they haven’t seen many white people?…….

Another water crossing, this time a little deeper, but not quite as big a splash!

By now, all this faffing about  has taken its toll and time is cracking on….  So we decide to start to look for some where to stay.

In the next village we stop and ask a local woman about staying the night.  She directs us to the main village centre…….through a really deep river….. arse.  I just about make it through, but the water went right over the bike at one point!!   In the village, we ask about, but unfortunately there looks like there is no room at the inn so we have to press on….. back through the water….and to cap it all…….. it’s now beginning to get dark…..  (this is beginning to remind us of our Africa expedition……  but at least we had a tent back then!!)

20kms later and in the dark, we come into the village of Dakchung... “we made it!!!”  …..  all we have to do is find somewhere to stay.

A quick lap of the village, and it’s quite apparent that there is nothing here…… the only building with any lights on is a restaurant…… well I say restaurant……   this is a couple of chairs on the ground floor of a house on stilts….  No walls…. And a mud floor…… still beggars cant be choosers!!!  

Following a long “chat” with the very friendly proprietor we manage to not only get some floor space for the night, but some dinner as well!!! 
We spend the rest of the evening playing cards with her and her husband.

The whole village seems quite fascinated by our arrival and over the course of the evening, loads of people come in to look at us….. and the bike!  These guys are really impressed by the 250cc Honda!!!  I guess it’s because, the only bikes we have seen in Laos are little hairdryer 50cc mopeds!!

Our accommodation isn’t without its “charm” as we settle in for the night in and amongst the proprietors family….   All in all a long but good day.

29^th January

Dawn breaks and the cockerels start their dawn chorus.
It’s a misty morning, as we have a wash out the back, pack up the bike and say goodbye to our hosts.

There is only one road to Dakchung, so it's back the way we came, taking in more of the surroundings this time, including the fab views and the inevitable wet feet through the rivers.

The journey yesterday took its toll…… on our backsides!  We are beginning to get quite saddle sore with all the bouncing up and down!  So as we have plenty of time today, we can take it easy.

We arrive in Sekong by early lunchtime, so after a quick dip in the river to wash off the thick dust ( now set like concrete to my wet shoes) from our clothes, the kids seem quite bemused when  we walk straight in, fully clothed!

10 mins out of the river and we are dry (it's that hot!) and after a quick bite, we carry on our journey to Attapeu, another 100kms south, but on tarmac road!

Once we find ourselves some accommodation, its back to the river front to watch the sunset with a beer, whilst sat on a soft cushion!  

30^th January

Today we have given ourselves a real test.  To get from here to Thang Beng.  A simple journey of no more than 100km.  however, our map says there are 2 river crossings……  major rivers, not streams like yesterday.
We will probably need a boat, or if no boat, make one from bamboo!   In preparation, we have bought an axe machete thing from the market and some rope!!!!  BRING IT ON!!!   Also, in preparation, we have bought the two pillows from our guesthouse…… our butts need the rest!!!
Good thing is, we don’t have far to go, so we can just take our time and soak in the surroundings.

In no time at all, we are at our first of many junctions in the “road”  and following a chat with a local, they point us in the right direction.  (only trouble is, they haven’t heard of Thang Beng, but they have heard of a bigger town nearby called Champasak)  This kinda sets the tone for the rest of the journey, it looks like Thang Beng is a small shack at the end of the road!....  never mind, Champasak will do.
In no time we meet our first river!
But Hurrah, there is a guy with a boat!......  two canoes strapped together with some wooden planks to park the bike on.
Our boatman waves wildly in the direction of the road when we enquire about Champasak. 

It’s at this point the road starts to get a little smaller, presumably because cars cant cross the afore mentioned river.  20km later and the road has turned into a footpath, no wider than the bike!  This is no problem, this is what we wanted on our big adventure!  We just trundle along taking in the jungle and a couple of small streams we have to cross, whilst watching the km’s tick by. 

By mid morning, we meet our next river, its smaller than expected, critically though, no boat, but it is reasonably shallow.  Having found a suitable route across, I decide to walk the bike over, as its very rocky…..  and there is no chance I will be able to keep the bike upright.  10 mins later and we're back on the ….  footpath.  

After a short break in a village (the bemused kids come over to look at us!)  we crack on.  And as the odometer rolls over 100km, the road begins to widen out again!  Way hay, back to civilisation.

Eventually we meet a tarmac road, the end of our adventure ride, but oddly, we should have passed the lodge we have booked ourselves in.  we must have missed it?......  hummm……    “isn’t that the place we stopped for a thick coffee, the other day???” ……  arse.

Somehow, we have managed to make our way through a national park, for 100km…..  on a route/road/footpath that doesn’t exist on the map and ended up in Paksong…….  A good 100km away from our intended overnight stop.  ARSE!!!
turns out Champasak is a province as well as a town?...  Still, its tarmac all the way and a little over an hour later we rock up to our Luxury Eco lodge…… well we have saved our money over the last few days!   Hot shower, nice dinner and a soft bed.

31^st January

Today, we have a short 50km ride to the Mekong river and an island within it called Don Khong.   

Just to make life interesting, we leave the main road and follow the river front, passing villages and fishermen and more confused looking children!
The real fun were the bridges…..  we had to really wonder if this one could take the weight….  As I crossed this one, the middle bounced up and down like a trampet, you might notice the precarious lean the uprights have???.....  

We arrive on our sleepy island before lunchtime, rent a canoe and head off to one of the 4 thousand small islands this area has to offer (4 thousand island is actually the name of the area!)  

The Mekong River widens out to 14km here, and the shallow water reveals loads of little islands and sand bars, great for relaxing and swimming off!... 

That night over dinner, the moon rises over the river, (how romantic!) but it’s a fabulous burnt orange colour, amazing!

1^st February

After our sunrise breakfast we head off again, this time to a more lively island of Don Det.  This is where lots of travellers head to, so we thought we would give it a go.  By 10am we arrive and dump the bags in our riverfront bungalow.  Off we go for our motorbike tour of the islands, first off…..  a waterfall, well we haven’t seen one for a few days, then we jump aboard a canoe with a guide for a trip down river to see the rare Irrawaddy Dolphin, apparently there are only 100 left in the world.  They only emerge for the briefest of moments, but it’s very nice to hear them.   

One of the strangest things were the trees that lean far over, as the waters rise, the branches get dragged downstream and they end up growing into fantastic shapes!

The main reason travellers from all over the world love this place is because it is soooo chilled out…..  you can just imagine if the island itself lost its moorings and  drifted down steam into Cambodia, no one would roll out of their hammock and put down their beer to do anything about it.  

This goes some way to explain the 2 hour wait we had for our pizza and possibly the optional $3 “happy” topping!......

2^nd February

After a long leisurely brekkie over the river, we make our way back across the Mekong, onto the main land and start to wind our way back up to Pakse, where we started our bike ride. 

Our plan is to stop, en route at Wat Phou, for the celebration we have heard so much about.  Thousands of monks chanting in a sea of brilliant orange robes…….  Or so we thought…..   the place is deserted…..  it finished yesterday.   

Bugger.
Still we wander round the site.
Every where we look there are constant reminders of what an amazing event it must have been, from the thousands of used josticks, and offerings made to the Buddha statues.  It looks like the aftermath of a music festival. 

Anyway, we give Wat Phou a big tick and head off to Pakse.   

So as I tap this out from another super bouncy bus ride...  (more of that next time), we bid you farewell…… and see you later!!.....  Later, being less than 4 weeks…. L …..  Hasn’t that gone quick!

W& L