Backpacking 2015

I arrived in Laos later than expected, due to the not so helpful security at the border crossing! You were charged for your visa plus and extra $2 either side just for the stamp.if you didnt pay you didnt get a stamp! There were 4 miserable people working at the border and it seemed 1 person was there to stamp the passports with 3 different stamps, and the other 3 people were there just to watch. I feel like im getting used to the slowness of South East Asia now, and luckily we arrived a Nakasong just in time for sunset over the Mekong river. We all got on a small boat with our luggage and headed for Don Det. I had heard alot of good things about this island so was excited to see what was going on.
Don Det is super chilled out, like knowwhere ive been before. There werent too many tourists, most of the guesthouses are run by locals who are very welcoming and everywhere shuts at 11pm! I met Risyad on the boat over and we decided to find a hostel together. We had dinner at Oi's places with 2 english guys we met on the boat. I had spicy coco nut with stir fried veggies, it was delicious! Westayed one night in a guesthouse before moving to a riverside bungalow the next day with a hammock! We rented bikes and cycled over to the next island Don Khon where we visited a huge waterfall called Somphamit falls. Then we carried on cycling and hired a boat with a drivier in hope to spot some Irrawady dolphins, aparently there are only 76 left! Risyad had asked about it in the morning and was told we would 100% see them and if we didnt we would get our money back, so we were hopeful. We rode out into the Mekong, the driver was emptying out the water from the boat every few minutes which was slightly worrying! We stopped at a rock in the middle of the river and got off to try and see the dolphins. We waited for around 45 minutes and still nothing. We got back onto the boat and started heading back when they were spotted swimming a hundred meters or so away. There were about 5 swimming close to she shore, it was really amazing to see and lucky as there are so few left. We ate dinner at Mama Tanons - it seems in Laos each guesthouse or restuant is run by "Mama" while the husband just sleeps in a hammock nearby. I was offered sticky rice wich had been mixed with coconut milk, put into bamboo and barbecued, it was really tasty! We sat out the back in the hammocks for a while where we met Heather and Becket from the USA and decided we would all rent bikes in the morning and go find the next waterfall.
When we returned to the bugalows there were a few other drinking on their hammocks so we joined them, we got to try Loas Loas for the first time which is the local spirit. Not too bad, i think its made from rice.
We started our bike ride around 10am and headed over the bride to the next island. The bikes had seem better days but you cant expect much for $1! We found the waterfall and this one you could swim in, so it was nice to cool of and relax for a bit. I sat under a smaller waterfall and had a natural spa session. We ate some food in the restuant nearby which was home to a naughty puppy who kept trying to steal food from the customers. Before we carried on exploring a herd of goats arrived and started chewing on the side of the resturant. We cycled into the woods and i hooked up my speakers to the bike so we had disco bikes! We passed a village and the children were dancing and clapping to the music, i got some strange looks from some of the locals to begin with, i dont think they understood where the music was coming from, but they enjoyed it and some of them started dancing.
It was Heathers birthday so we joined her and Becket for dinner in the evening where we had Indian food, it was probably the best indian ive ever had! We also bought some Laos Laos from one of the restuarnts, you could buy it from the shops but i was told if you get it from a local its better. It looked pretty scary coming out of what seemed to be a jerry can but she assured me it was good, and it was! Banana Laos Laos in a mango smoothie. Yummy!
The next day was my birthday!! Risyad and i had agreed after all the cycling we were going to have a day of relaxing! We woke up and chilled in our hammocks for most of the morning before having breakfast/lunch. Curry for breakfast is the best! Then we didnt move from the restuarnt until about 4.30 in the evening. We rented a tube eached and floated across the river to a small sandy island we had spotted from our bungalows to watch the sunset. The sky was so beautiful, it looked like someone had painted a rainbow of clours with oils and either side there were two spotlights of blue piercing through it. Ive never seen the sky like this before it was amazing. Great birthday present from Laos!
We enjoyed the indian food so much the previous night we decided to eat there again!
The next day we had to get the 11am boat back to the mainland to catch our bus to Pakse. When we got off the boat i noticed there was a difference from when we got on, there had been a huge fire and alot of the shops along the front had gone. There were children walking amoung the mess salvaging what ever they could. It was sad to see this had happened and in such a huge scale! I hoped know one was hurt.
We got on the bus ready for the 2-4 hour journey to Pakse where we would spend a night and go our sperate ways. The bus was full and there were still people trying to get on, in Laos if the bus is full that doesnt matter, they wipped out some plastic chairs and put them down the ailse for people to sit on. I have to say im glad i didnt get one!!
I have no idea what the next step will be from Pakse!Read more

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