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Other entries in Paksé

The South...

... of Laos was more like I had expected Asia to be before I saw the multiplex cinema in Chiang Mai. It's a little harder to get around than the north, but everywhere I went was still pretty touristy. Apparently a lot has changed in Laos in the past years, my guidebook was published in 2002 and now there's organised tours where only the adventurous went before and 20 guesthouses in a village that used to have 3. Asia like you imagine it was always there, though. Children waving at me and shouting sabaidee (hello) as I cycled between rice fields; fishermen throwing their nets into the river from long, narrow boats; women weaving silk in front of their stilted wooden houses; long, dusty rides on songtheos (pickup trucks with benches and a makeshift roof) among rice sacks, chickens and piglets; markets smelling of early-morning cooking fires, places where no English is understood. Even the famous hospitality is no myth, I was invited to eat with their family by two teenage girls. They took me out to see a small waterfall and a big Mekong bridge on their motorbikes and made my stay in the otherwise dull town of Pakse (which unfortunately has the only internet cafe of the region) enjoyable. They were immensely proud of their "new best friend", I was paraded around the school yard where everyone cheered "falang, falang!" (foreigner) and admired my white skin (and there was me thinking I was really tanned) and nearly curly blonde hair - how exotic!

Every day I am amazed by the beauty of the countryside. I spent two days on the Bolaven plateau, probably the most remote part of any country I'm going to visit on this trip. Attapu, something of a provincial capital, really felt like The Middle Of Nowhere. A market with friendly vendors, quaint streets with beerlao boxes piled up in backyards like everywhere else, a noodle shop with cold soup: there was just enough to keep me occupied for an afternoon, then I decided that the "beaten track" is enough for me; it's my first trip anyway!
I've seen old American shells used as flower pots in the north, but there were even more around Attapu. During the Vietnam war Laos became the most heavily bombed country per capita ever, because the Ho Chi Minh trail rain through it and because all the powers had an interest in controlling the country. Even now, the countryside is apparently full of UXO - unexploded ordenance and you are warned never to stray off well-worn paths because then you might be blown up.
The plateau is famous for the coffee that is grown there; I drank good coffee but somehow managed to miss out on the plantations. Instead, I went elephant-riding near a pretty little waterfall at Tad Lo. There were a couple of ethnic minority villages and the dry plains with rice fields that are so typical of the country, always with some mountains in the distance. Plains with fragile trees (the colours very much remind me of European autumn), mountains, rivers that's what it usually comes down to.

And THE river is never far, the Mekong, lifeline of south east asia. There is an area called "4000 islands" in the far south, near the Cambodian border, where the river becomes 14 km wide at one point and flows around lots of (maybe not 4000 though) islands. One of them is backpacker land, I spent New Year there. I had a barbecue with 10 Israelis first (fun people who I spent most evenings with), then the party moved to the sandy boat landing which had music and a bonfire. Don Det is the name of the island- remember that, it's a wonderful place.
Around New Year nearly every bamboo bungalow was full, but in the 3 days that I stayed on the island afterwards it gradually became emptier. Not that it mattered to me, after travelling fairly quickly in the north I felt like having a mini-holiday, reading a book in my hammock or meeting my bungalow neighbours for a round of billiard. Once I was feeling really energetic and cycled to a waterfall on the neighbouring island - whoow, lots and lots of water pouring down! Many people who normally spend two days in a place got stuck in Don Det for a week or more because it's such a beautiful and relaxing place: cheap accomodation, a good mix of people, palm trees, a beach, sunsets over the river which between the islands is dotted with rocks and plants. I met a guy who had been there for four months.

At Champasak, I saw ruins built by the ancient Khmer who also built the temples at Angkor. I wondered how the buildings could still be standing, the dark brown stones were piled up at the oddest angles. I was deeply impressed by the style of Khmer art and the serenity of the ruins. I won't have to wait long for the "real thing" - I'm flying to Cambodia early tomorrow morning and will probably see the sunset at Angkor Wat in less than 24 hours.
I'm (of course!) looking forward to it but I also feel quite sad to leave Laos. Everyone I talked to agrees with me that it's a very special country. When I came here I thought it might prove a friendly, beautiful and interesting place, and it's exceeded all my expectations.