Laos - part 4

And onwards to the very south of Laos.
We travelled by overnight bus. And what a bus!
I've never seen anyting like it!
A sleeper bus with no seats, just beds, with clean pillows and quilts and supper, water and lollies were supplied.

I thought it was great and slept most of the way just opening my eyes now and then to peer out the window at the moon above the rice fields.
G, being taller, found it less comfortable.

We were then transported by mini bus for a couple of hours, and then boat to the island of Don Det, where we made the unfortunate mistake of getting off the boat.
It must be about the only place in south-east asia where there is not a tuktuk waiting to take you somewhere.
But we actually wanted to stay on the next island Don Khon which is connected to Don Det by a french built railway bridge.

So we walked - in the middle of the day, through the shadeless rice fields - to Don Khon.

G on the railway bridge - minus the rails

It was worth it!
We found the wonderful Mr Pan's guest house next to the river and promptly fell asleep!


From our verandah we had a great view as the afternoon storms swept along the river.

We rode bikes to the falls which surround the islands.

And to the very south of the island where the afore mentioned french railway began, and where you can see Cambodia.

Despite all the bike riding and losing my glasses (which luckily were later found) it was very relaxing.
The islands have no electricity, but the restaurants manage to serve up the best food, keep cold beer, and generally be a great place to chill out for a few days.

Mr Pan's guesthouse

Laos - part 2

Travelling in Laos was surprisingly easy.
In Luang Prabang there are many travel offices offering day trips and extended adventures or organising travel to the next town, next country, whereever.
The guest houses will also organise things for you.

With only a couple of days in Luang Prabang, we first went on a boat trip to the famous Pak Ou caves, up river on the Mekong.
I was filled with emotion as we sped, um er chugged upstream in the longboat, my dream of travelling up the Mekong was realised!


The tour stopped at a small village, where Lao rice whiskey is made.
We tasted, even though it was 10 o'clock in the morning!



Wandering through the village we found the weavers.
This lady let me take a photo if I bought a scarf, and as it was only $2, it seemed fair enough.

The caves are filled with hundreds of buddahs.
It seems that in Lao more is better and there is great spiritual merit in the many buddah images.



The boats tied up at this wonderfully rustic bamboo pontoon.

bamboo pontoon and boats at the Pak Ou caves

Another day was a minibus trip to the Tat Kuang Si - waterfalls and beautiful blue swimming holes.