Our last day in Laos.
Due to the closure of the Bangkok airports we had to leave early and prepare for a 14 hours bus drive. We did the first stop of the day – and the last in Laos – at the market in Pakse.
Category Archives: 2008:Laos
Don Khong Island: Mekong Cruise, Dolphins and another Waterfall
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Today was another adventure packed day. We boarded a slow boat on the Mekong to get to Don Kong Island (the one without ‘H’), here we had a jeep ride through the jungle to get the Southern tip of the … Continue reading
Roadside Impressions from Laos
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In the course of this tour we used ferries to cross the Mekong multiple times … this always somehow felt like an adventure in itself … below some Impressions.
My last Ride on an Elephant …
This afternoon – after our exploration of Wat Phu – we had the opportunity to go elephant riding – the activity was actually included in the tour.
The ride went through jungle uphill to some ruins; during a break at the ruins we had the opportunity to have a look around – and opt out for the ride back. Having been on an elephant before, I knew that this was not going to be the most comfortable and safe ride – I did it anyhow … and decided to use my own feet for the way back to the village.
After the elephant ride we walked over to the local school to hand over exercise books, pencils, erasers and other stationary items to the students and teachers.
Wat Phu – Khmer Temple
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This morning we were picked up after breakfast by songthaew to get to Wat Pho, an ancient Khmer temple ruin.
Hinboun River Cave
After breakfast (which consisted of rehydration fluid for me) we got transferred to the nearby six kilometer river cave – an unexpected highlight of the whole trip.
While inside, many of us had an actual “Lord of the Rings”-esque feeling, somehow expecting a dragon or a dwarf coming around the next corner – out of the dark … a feeling best described as eerie.
Laos Homestay
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Destination for the day was a small village in Hinboun province. During a homestay we had the opportunity to get a glimpse of local village life and to experience local customs and food. I got hit by food poisoning (likely … Continue reading
Heading South
We left Vientaine again – this time traveling South … destination for the day … Hinboun province.
Back to Vientaine … and into Buddha Park
After a drive of just a few hours we got back to Vientaine.
Following a recommendation from Claire most of us ended up going to Buddha Park in the afternoon.
For dinner we met up again at the riverfront (once more) and had an opulent meal around sunset.
On the Road again … to Vang Vieng
On the road again … now leaving Phonsavanh and heading for Vang Vieng.
We made it into Vang Vieng in the early afternoon … I – along with half the group – ended up going inner tubing (water = no camera = no photos) – and probably the most crazy inner tubing on the planet.
By tuktuk we went to a starting point of the tubing trip. Already before we hit the water, the first bar came into sight – this continued the complete way downriver – bars everywhere … spring break everywhere and good fun.
