Pakse

We find ourselves now in Pakse, one of the larger cities in southern Laos. We visited the massive, sprawling market here earlier today and wanered around a bit on foot. Pakse isn't the most exciting place on the planet, but it is a sort of regional hub so we can get to other places from here. Meg and I will be headed out to the Bolaven Plateau tomorrow for a couple of nights in an eco-lodge beside the Tad Fane waterfalls before heading up to northern Laos (Vientiane and possibly Luang Prabang)for a couple of nights. Phil and Maya will be heading to the west coast of Thailand for some beach time. We'll catch up with them there next week.

Rice paddies on Don Det.

We were all sad to leave Don Det. It was a sort of minimalist heaven. In between lounging in our hammocks, we explored the island and it's neighbor, Don Khon. The islands are small, their interiors given over almost entirely to rice paddies, with a handful of bungalows and restaurants along the rivers. We spent a day biking around the islands (they're connected by an old railroad bridge) and another floating down the Mekong in inner tubes.

Sunset over the Mekong.
The sunsets were spectacular as were the pumpkin burgers (really a pumpkin fritter and cucumbers on a toasted baguette) and spring rolls at Mr Noi's. A crazy Aussie ex-pat (whom everyone referred to as Mr. Oi)runs a small bakery on the island, churning out homemade, Western-style pastries including donuts and pouches full of chocolate and banana. It was a tough place to leave.

Between Don Det and Pakse, we spent an evening in Champasak. There we visited the ruins of Wat Phu, an Angkor-era temple built on the side of a mountain near the city. The views from the wat out over the surrounding countryside were stunning. The temple itself was not as well-maintained as those around Siem Reap, but they were less crowded and did have some interesting features.

The view from Wat Phu.
Getting to Champasak was interesting. We took a minibus from Ban Nakasang with a German couple who seemed to be headed to Champasak as well and appeared to speak little or no English. At one point, our bus driver stopped at a crossroads more or less in the middle of nowhere and, pointing down one of the roads, said, "Champasak." This didn't seem right, as we knew for a fact that: 1) the city was on the opposite side of the Mekong; and 2) the road we were traveling on was a couple of miles from the river. After some shouting, we convinced the driver (who also didn't speak English) to take us all the way to the ferry stop. The Germans just smiled and nodded. When we arrived at the ferry, there were a couple of different ferry docks, so we were trying to figure out which one to go to before getting out of van. At this point on of our German friends "When we went to Champasak before, this is where they dropped us off." As it turns out they not only spoke English but weren't headed Champasak, but Pakse. Needless to say, we were a bit cheesed that they hadn't interceded at the crossroads.

Anyway, we eventually got to where we were headed and even met the governor of Champasak Province, but that's a story for another time. Right now, there's a cold Beer Lao waiting for me at the rooftop restaurant in our hotel, so I gotta go.

Enjoy.