Hired a motorbike after our last not-disastrous experience and followed the Nam Tha downriver on a dirt road. Thick jungle on alongside the river. Passed a few villages and when we stopped in one to look for something to eat the only English-speaker, a 15-year old boy, gave us a guided tour. Found a lovely spot for a picnic by the river, but didn't have a picnic! Normally carry food with us but find plenty of food en route - this time the villages were too small. Still, a great ride and the chocolate pancakes back in Luang Namtha tasted even better!
Moved 60km west to a small town Vieng Phouka passing through some lovely countryside. Stayed in a guesthouse with very basic bamboo huts with lean-to loo! Went trekking next day and visited one small cave and one enormous one. Nowhere to hire bikes or motorbikes here, just a few guesthouses and places to eat and two trekking operators. But the countryside around is a great mix of limestone mountains, jungle and rice fields, some bright green, others waiting to be planted. Weather has been cool and grey for a few days with some rain. Preparing us for home?
Another 120km west to Houay Xay on the Mekong and a border town with Thailand. The road wound through the mountains with spectacular views of forest-clad hills in places. We passed villages, the remains of a rolled-over coach and, at the bottom of one long descent, a lorry and trailer on its side. Found a cheap hotel with hot water and enjoyed a long shower. Bought some Thai baht and a bus ticket to Chiang Mai in 2 days time, just before our visa runs out.
Failed to rent a motorbike so passed a gentle day strolling paths and tracks. Getting brighter and warmer (the weather, that is). Across the Mekong to Thailand tomorrow, the beginning of the end of our odessy.
First thing we noticed is how different the food is up here, spicier and lots of bamboo, so a nice change. Lots of ethnic variations.
Luang Namtha is supposed to be the Eco-trekking centre of Laos and there are lots of places offering choices. They all do different things so that tourists and their money get spread around the villages. So a bit of leg-work involved in finding the options.
We chose Ethnic Travel (not the same as Hanoi!) because while we were dithering in their office 3 people came back and said what a great time they'd just had. So, next morning after buying our supplies at the market (well, the guide did) we headed into the hills. We'd decided that villages and people were the main focus for this trek. We had read that there are still some "authentic" experiences to be had but details were quite vague.
Our first overnight stop in Ngue Bong after about 3-4 hours walking was at a village of 8 families mostly from the Yao ethnic group in the heart of the forest. No water, no toilet, no electricity, lots of pigs and chickens, and very shy children. After a quick look around and an invitation into other homes we took a shower with a scoop from the stream. Dinner was cooked on a one-burner wood fire. Bed was a sleeping platform shared with our guide - only just room for three. Don't think we got the sanitised version this time. Last foreigners came about 6 weeks ago.
Next morning our guide decided he wanted one of the puppies from where we had stayed, so we set off with a 2-month old puppy that walked most of the way. A 4-5 hour walk through the forest (shady) to another village Phu Luang on a steep hillside. People here were Hmong and seemed a bit better off.
Villagers had built a separate hut for visitors, fortunately in this heat no metal roof which some of the others had. Also the one squat toilet with scoop flush in the village, but not sure where it drained. Had a scoop shower in the one trickle of water watched by sundry kids. This time shared 6-man sleeping platform. Next morning had musical interlude with village men but given our lack of success with european instruments, didn't stand much chance with these. And Hmong women seem determined to try and sell you "handicrafts" wherever you are.
Third day was very long - we had been warned. Mostly in shady forest, but long steep bits. Sun appeared after lunch and we got very hot. Stopped briefly in a Lantan village Namla of 7 families - they were very friendly and wore traditional dress. A long hot walk then back to our last village then tuk-tuk back to town.
Our three top tips if we did this again would be:
Take some simple indestructible toys (ball, frisbee, etc) to help you play with the kids and to leave behind;
Try to be in the villages Friday, Saturday, Sunday because the school-age kids (8 plus) go to the city school all week and stay there;
Given the huge number of ethnic groups, the Hmong (women) were our least favourite.
Enjoyed a hot shower and meal that wasn't all rice. Bed early and the earth moved - we felt the earthquake in Myanmar and Thailand. Everyone came out of their rooms and then the electricity went off.
Next day on bikes around the Namtha valley, a bit flat area surrounded by hills. What a contrast from the mountain villages. Everyone has water for irrigation and fresh veg, whereas in the mountains no water for anything - a real hungry gap. Visited stupas and temples and got escorted onto the right track by a very nice girl in one village. Watched women spinning local cotton and weaving cloth in another - lots of Lao women were also sitting around, as usual, so one working, ten not is quite normal.
Our first full day here started with pouring rain. We treated ourselves to a long lunch in a fantastic Italian restaurant. Buffet lunch was, in Judy's words, "exquisite". Every dish had its distinctive flavour, and the desserts - to die for. First non-local food of the trip. The La Scala is highly recommended (by us) with a real Italian chef. Sat and thought about what to do next.
Decided to skip the tourist hotspots of Vang Vienh and Luang Prabang and head straight for the heart of the far north-west. Choice of long cheap buses or short expensive flight - gave in and booked flight. Did lots of other organizational things too, then went off with Vientiane Bush Hash House Harriers - interesting to say the least!
Hot and sunny again so after visiting the national monument, a huge gold stupa, we retired for another long Chinese buffet lunch. Not a lot to do in Vientiane, so eating passes the time.
Quite a lot of French influence still with many French restaurants and wine shops.
Heading for the hills tomorrow, not sure when the next post will be possible. Have to leave Laos by 2nd April.
Strange to think we'll be back in a few weeks!
You'll be pleased to know that we're sitting in Vientiane, capital of Laos in the cold and rain (like a Dartmoor summer day!). Got here on the first luxurious bus we've seen for weeks. Had spent a day trekking in the amazing limestone country near Tha Khek, lots of caves including one 200m tunnel with a Buddhist shrine at the end. Ended with a mad game of petanque in a village UFO huts.
Booked the walk on a hot sunny day "but the weather turned around" - prize if you can place the quote.
This is being posted for the benefit of other travellers visiting the Bolaven plateau who like to avoid organised tours. We hired a motorbike in Pakse and used it for this trip which took us about 5 gentle hours, 3 walking, from Paksong. We took a picnic.
From the 0km mark in Paksong go east about 1.5km to a dirt road right with a big sign for the Nong Luang natural area. The sign is old and dirty and has pictures of waterfall and rocks and says 13.5km. If you reach the Attapeu road you have gone too far.
The dirt road you follow is described in the 2007 Lonely Planet as "arse-jarring" but on 11 March 2011 it was mostly smooth with short rough bits. We trundled along at about 30kph. It was the end of the dry season.
As you enter the village there is a big sign with a picture of a waterfall saying 3.5km left. Stop here and read the small blue sign giving prices for homestays etc. As far as we could tell this is from the past.
Pass the sign and swing right and after a few metres you will see a small blue sign saying "Ticket check point". We gestured but got waved on. In the small shop/cafe on the other side of the road there is a big noticeboard covered with photos and maps from when the area was opened in 2004. Unfortunately we didn't see this until we stopped on the way back. The lady here kindly looked after our motorbike. Park here and enjoy the following walk. There are other paths and waterfalls marked, but this is what we did.
Follow the track all the way and you will go under a big blue arch saying welcome to the Keelee Vong Kot natural area. Keep left following the waterfall sign. Continue on the track which later swings right and arrives at a Buddhist shrine under a big overhanging rock. This will have taken you about 30-45 minutes. We spent a while trying to find the way from here but it turned out to be very easy.
Climb the wooden steps at the right of the rock (picture) then another set and a third and you will be on top of the big rock. You will see a path leading up the slope in front of you. The blue sign in Lao is off to the right, so don't use this as a marker. Go up the slope and at the top you will see a new (2010) golden Buddha on top of the hill in front of you. Admire the view from the Buddha.
Follow the path down immediately to the right of the Buddha and go into the forest. After about 100-200m you come to a fork. There is a small sign saying Keelee Vongkot rock left. Go left through more forest to come to the rock formations. Don't stop at the first, keep going till the big one at the end (pic).
Retrace your steps to the fork and go the other way. After about 100m the path goes down, eventually to a rotten flight of steps. You will see a big decaying building on your right, probably built for visitors to admire the view. There is a path behind it that may go down to the bottom of the falls, but we didn't follow it.
Follow the original path left and shortly you reach the top of the falls (pic). Enjoy your picnic here!
The return walk to the village took us less than an hour. A man who spoke some English appeared and we had to decline laolao (rice wine) from another friendly group.
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Two days in one-street Champasak were pleasantly relaxing and included a visit to Wat Phu, another Angkor-era temple complex where the position at the base of a mountain was half the pleasure. The local bank closed for 2 days so had to change money in a shop. One internet cafe had WiFi but Apple Mac's wouldn't speak to my Windows mobile phone. Discovered our international SIM cards don't work in Laos.
Two days in Pakse with the luxury of ATM's and internet choice. Downloaded loads of stuff from our architect in France and spent ages reading.
Having made some difficult decisions we took the plunge and rented a motorbike (110cc Suzuki Smash for afficionados) and headed for the Bolaven Plateau. It was only 50km to Paksong at the centre of the plateau, but Chris hadn't ridden a motorbike since his accident nearly 20 years ago, and never with a passenger. The drive went through some interesting villages along the way and we arrived safely. Cooler at 1500m.
Next day we drove a short way south over a dirt road to a small village where we parked the bike and walked to some interesting rock formations, a Buddhist cave and our very own waterfall tumbling off the edge of the plateau - lovely! About a 3-hour walk and nobody else around.
Decided to go for the big Kotamtok waterfall next day, knowing it might be difficult after talking to other travellers who had come past it. The first 30km were on a dirt road being reconstructed, then another 24km on ordinary dirt. But worth the trip because the falls are about 100m high. Stopped and looked for about an hour.
Then we noticed smoke coming from the forest at the top of the fall and soon this was spreading. As it was close to our road back we got back on and headed for home - but too late. Flames and smoke were close to the road and local villagers had blocked it. So it was the long way back, but mostly over asphalt so easier riding. Also through some lovely country we wouldn't otherwise have seen and we managed to stop at another waterfall for a swim. But a 200km day made it a pleasure to stand up at the end.
The last day we followed another dirt road and walked some forest tracks to a village we didn't know existed. I think our arrival surprised them.
After all that excitement we caught the local buses about 400km north to Tha Khet, a scruffy expensive town where you can stare at Thailand across the Mekong.
Stayed at the Star Hotel, a place of very faded grandeur. But had a very good local guide, Jimmy, who took us on a 3-day mystery trek into the jungle. First was 40km on the back of a scooter over the red dusty dirt roads, then ferry across the river, then 7km more on the scooters down rough paths and tracks to a native village. Here we picked up our ranger/porter and loaded with food and water for 3 days for 4 people and hammocks we set off into the jungle.
Very hot for the first few hours, but after encounters with pig-hunting natives we waded across another river and stopped for a cooling dip - bliss! One more hour to our camp site by a waterfall with a good swimming hole. Food cooked over a fire, water boiled in bamboo, hammocks hung then early to bed to the sounds of frogs, birds and occasional gibbons.
Next day woke to the sound of gibbons in the trees, then through the jungle down barely identifiable paths and frequent use of the machete to loop back to the river. Cut bamboo to make a raft then floated down the river to our next camping spot. Climbed a hill to admire the view over the forest into the distance as the sun went down.
Third day after washing in the river we tramped back past small cultivated patches with bamboo huts to the village where we started. Back at the hotel covered in orange dust a welcome shower then off for cold beers.
Decided go leave Ban Lung next day so another 3 hours in a rattly minibus (everyone had their own seat this time) over dirt roads, a long wait for the minibus up to the Lao border and a very easy exit from Cambodia and entry to Laos. First night on one of the 4000
Islands which are very scenic. The island Don Det is where kids come to chill, smoke hash, drink beer, hang about in hammocks or in tubes on the Mekong. We had a nice day in a wooden canoe, but moving on when the laundry is done. Lao is very slow.
In Kompong Cham for a couple of nights after a good bus ride. Very relaxed place on the Mekong, nice pagoda in town and an amazing bamboo bridge to an island. Apparently the government won't build a proper one so it's rebuilt every year after being washed away in the wet season.
Cycled around the area visiting temples and villages. The Angkor age temple had a recent one in the middle using the 1000-year old entrance and shrine and was a working monastery. Sat in another monastery and talked to some monks, also to some other Cambodians. Hard lives; very interesting. Country is drier and dustier than Xmas time.
Then on to Kratje past mile upon mile of rubber plantations and very rural areas where the main house type was a platform on stilts with palm leaf roof and walls.
Kratje would be a one-horse town if someone had a horse, but does have great sunsets over the Mekong. The reason for being here is the population of Irriwady dolphins 15km north, so we cycled out early next morning and spent an hour on a boat among them. Lovely to watch but very difficult to photograph!
The ride to Ban Lung put Ryanair to shame! A minibus for 15 had 3 extra tiny seats and set off with 23 on board, plus one child. Even the driver shared his seat! Luggage was stacked under the seats because there were 3 motorbikes (and a computer) tied on the back. But only 4 hours, most of it over dirt roads. No electricity in town for the first few hours but eventually got the promised hot shower.
