I hate to disappoint, but the bus to Pakse provided us with another smooth ride (this is me assuming you get a kick out of the nutty bus rides as I do). We met a really nice monk who spoke decent English and really wanted to chat. We shared some food with each other and done deal, we were friends! Marj and I got a kick out of this woman on the bus that was so similar to many Thai women. She just talked and talked out loud throughout the bus ride - not to anybody in particular, and not really sure if anybody was listening, but she didn't really care....she just wanted to talk....at high volumes. It was funny to us, at least.
Once in Pakse, I was faced with a dilemma. My stomach still had seen better days, but I was confronted with Indian food and couldn't say no which, clearly I suffered for. As soon as I ate, I was in the bathroom. The poor restaurant owner thought his food made me sick so I had to explain to him the truth of my situation. Later, I went to a cafe to Skype with the fam briefly (awesome), before the cafe suddenly just shut off the wifi with no warning of closing. Thank you SE Asian communication skills. Late night, Paul arrived in Pakse to continue our travels together....it was great to have him back.
The next morning we had a really sweet tuk tuk driver take us to the southern bus terminal to catch a song-taew to Paksong, the hub to explore the Bolaven Plateau (dubbed by Lonely Planet as the wild east). The bus terminal was pure craziness, in a fascinating way. It was small and over-crowded with song-taew's everywhere, tons of people loading bags and boxes. The station was surrounded by an enormous market, supplier of the freight (fruits, veggies and other goods) that was loaded. Our song-taew was no different and we delivered everything along the way to people who, we assumed, place orders as many locals don't have motorbikes or the big markets are too far away. It was quite the ride and we met some really sweet locals while squished in together, nice and cozy. Paul had recently gotten into snacking on raw veggies (I take full credit for his new habit), and sharing of fresh market snacks with the locals on the bus was nice.
The next day our agenda was chock full of waterfalls, what the area was most known for (oh, and cool weather, a lovely reprieve). We took a song-taew 10km from our guesthouse to the first beautiful waterfall, Tad Yuang. There was a stairway to a view point in the middle of the fall and then on to the bottom by walking through some little cave/tunnel things, which of course we did. The bottom of the falls were more powerful than I expected and we got soaked - it was great! There were some kids playing in the river at the top of the falls and an older, but still young guy laying in the river drinking a beer - he raised it in cheers....now that's the life!
The second waterfall was called Tad Fane, 2 falls directly next to each other at 120 meters high. These were very beautiful, but you could only see them from a distance. Here, we stopped at a restaurant overlooking the waterfalls for a lovely lunch and people watching. The 3rd and final waterfall of the day was Tad Champsee and it was the most fun! It was a 2km walk through a nice village from the road. Once down at the base of yet another powerful waterfall, Paul spotted a raft with a pulley-rope that delivered you across the river and underneath the falls - we were like kids in a candy shop! We rafted to the other side (well, I did while Paul took pictures telling me how strong I was) and spotted a break in the falls. Despite our attempts to go the route with the break, we still ended up right in the midst of it and got soaked...it was awesome. Once we were back on the other side, we realized there was a walking path! We didn't care though, we were more than pleased with our mode of transportation. Back at the main road, it was after 6pm with no song-taew's on the road. Within 8 minutes, we hitched a ride back and scored a great view of the sunset - it was a great day.
The Bolaven Plateau, ideally, is seen on a motorbike. There's a loop you can ride that allows you to hit all the main spots and we were determined to do this via public transport. The big disappointment was that public transport didn't ride on the Ho Chi Minh Trail part of the loop. But we did make it to Attapeau Province, which was a feat in and of itself, and ended up at a basic guesthouse with the cutest owner. Amidst a thunderstorm, we decided to watch a movie and left the room door open because it was so hot. The guesthouse owner took this as an invitation to come in, sit down on the bed and chat with us....only in these parts would one find this adorable rather than weird!
Later on, beer on the river was a callin'. It being day 6 of diarrhea, I skipped the beer but enjoyed the lightening show in the sky from the earlier rain. Laos has some of the best lightening ever.
To see some sights around Attapeau, we hired a tuk-tuk to take us around. The first stop was to a Wat being built by monks. Attempts to the top of the mountain to see an area housing dead monks from years ago were made, but half-way there, the route was blocked. When suddenly we were approached by a curious monk, and what do you know? It was the same curious monk that chatted with Marj and I on the bus a few days prior! Such a mall world.
The rest of the days visits included an original missile made by the Russians and Vietnamese to fight the Americans and a special Wat within a small village. In the village, I heard music and went to scope things out. There was a wedding in the hood and stopped at a nearby home to chat with a few locals. With the wedding as the opening conversation starter, I was naturally offered a marriage to a Laos man which I graciously declined.
The next and final stop in the Bolaven Plateau was Tad Lo. Getting there via public transport was simple and were dropped off at the first guesthouse on a small block full of them. We were greeted by a German couple Yens and Dane we had briefly met earlier in our trip (seriously, such a small world) and Martin, a Czech guy managing the guesthouse. They had informed us that Martin was making Czech soup for dinner. We signed up immediately!
With some time on our hands, we took a walk to Tad Hang, 1 of the 3 waterfalls in the area. In the evening, they release the dam making the water plentiful and powerful. Paul shared that as kids, he and his friends would have stick races: drop a stick in the water and whichever stick makes it to the finish line first is the winner. For fun, we played a few rounds before heading back for Czech soup and wait, get this, roasted potatoes. Its been a long time since potatoes went down this throat, so that was a special treat.
The next day we rented a motorbike for a few hours to hit up Tad Suong waterfall, the big waterfall. Paul shuttled Marj and I back and forth, one at a time. It was a beautiful ride and it was great to be back on a bike. We got there and the waterfall was more a drizzle of water than a fall of water (not quite yet the rainy season). We walked to the top of the waterfall and I hiked a bit on a little trail in the surrounding woods. Back in Tad Lo, we went for a late lunch at Mamapops, their slogan being: big food, small kip. And wasn't it the truth! Mama gave me the biggest bowl of noodle soup I've ever eaten and for the first time in my travels, was unable to eat it all!
Tad Lo waterfall, the waterfall of the town, was my favorite in this area. While enjoying the view, we met 2 French Canadian girls and everybody met later for drinks. It was a nice last night before heading to Si Phan Don, also known as 4,000 Islands, so we could get our relaxation on in the most southern tip of Laos.
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