Laos - The Bolaven Plateau Loop - day 1

I left Pakse around 10.30am, a little later than planned but it seems its impossible to buy suncream here that doesnt bleach your skin!
So after taking some good advice from the Spaniards, i set off for my first stop Tad Champee, (Tad meaning waterfall) which was 36km from Pakse. Unfortunately i never managed to find the waterfall and i was worried i might be on the wrong track until i saw a huge market which i remember Maria talking about the night before. I stopped here to look around and get some lunch. A little old woman waved me over and said "soup, soup". Before i could answer she had plated it up for me with an iced glass of water and 3 bananas! The soup was really good! The whole this cost leas than £1. The locals were stopping and saying hello (Sa bai dee). One woman asked me where i was going and pointed me in the right direction. When i went to leave there were a crowd of locals watching me drive off and waving. It was strange being the only tourist!
The next stretch of road was really breath taking with the veiw of the mountains in the distance. I felt really lucky and overwhelmed to get to see the scenery here. It made me think of my nan who would have loved to have visited a country like this and experience the kindness and welcoming smiles of the local people 😌
I was now heading for Tad Lo. I was told it was very beautiful and of I got there by 4pm, i was in for a chance to see elephants!
I turned off the main road and followed the dirt track for a few hundred meters. I heard the waterfall before i saw it. When i truned around the corner it was amazing! The place was really stunning. Lots of bamboo bugalows along the river and small guesthouses. I decided to try and get a bungalow and i was lucky enough to get one with a river view! There were so many animals wondering around, chickens, dogs, pigs, buffalo. I dropped off my bag and headed straight back out to look for the elephants! I ended up running into 2 dutch girls who i had met on the bus to Don Det who were also looking for the elephants. We were pointed in the right direction and walked up the hill to Tad Lo and went for a swim in the river. There were a handful of people here but not too many. As we swam and waited, a local woman came down to the river with her 4 children and a basket of washing and sat there scrubbing the clothes. Old school. She then took the kids one by one and they all got their nightly wash in the river. Then just before they finished, the elephants came to bathe alongside them! It was really incredible to see. The elephants loved being in the water, they were splashing and swimming into the deepest part so they could submurge themselves. It was not something you see everyday! I feel very lucky to have had the chance to watch the people and animals go about their daily routine, which is a world away from mine back home!
In the evening the girls invited me over to their guesthouse for dinner. It was called Fandee Family and was run by a french man and his Laos wife. She cooked a big dinner and about 20 of us sat around the table and ate together. There were alot of children there who had come from families around the village who were helping out in the kitchen. We were told that some of them dont go to school and their parents make them work in the fields. The french guy has them around his house everynight and feeds them which is nice. There were also lots of dogs and cats from other houses which came to chill out at the guesthouse. It was a very warm and welcoming place.
After dinner i left and walked back to my bungalow, accompanied by a dog who barked at any animal who came near me, then he dropped me off at my guesthouse and went home. A bit surreal being walked home by a dog!Read more