4000 Islands

The 4000 islands are at the Mekong just at the Cambodian border. If the this delta really consists of 4000 islands is difficult to say. It also varies very much about the wet and dry season. We went to the most southern worth mentionable island which has the most reasonable prices. The sunsets are beautiful and you can forget about the dirty food you just ate and the generator next door that will turn on as soon it gets dark. Freddy treated his foot and I tried to think about something else than my digestion. Mendel also caught up with us and we made a bicylce tour as soon everybody felt more or less in shape. The paths are rough and the bicycles shit. After about 4 hours of the 6 tyres 3 were without air. But we had seen a lot of local huts and the great Mekong, some little lakes were we bathed in, buffaloes and pretty big waterfalls even tough it was the dry season. After 3 nights we decided to go on to Cambodia. A 12 hours bus trip to the remote areas of northwestern Cambodia.

Pakse

Pakse is the biggest city in Southern Lao. It's the gate to Thailand and Cambodia in the south. Its size is considerable and the heat already pretty ugly. The market is a chaotic mix of jewelery shops, fruit shops, BBQ places, about a 100 buses waiting for passenger to fill up - add a little dust and you have it. The street where we stayed at is much more civilized and offers western cuisine. I chose the Schnitzel which initially proved unwise, but in the long run just plain bad. I got sick and couldn't really eat and had temperature for 48 hours and then chose to take antibiotics. The "bus" from Pakse to the 4000 Islands in the south was packed with people (about 30) of which some had to stand at the rear of the "jeep".

Tadlo

After already spending some days here maybe one month ago I new what was awaiting me. Tadlo is primitive - pigs everywhere, pig shit, elephant shit, dog shit and so on. But the price for a bed was one dollar and a huge meal as well. So you don't feel ripped of at all and can lay back and enjoy the show. The occasional motorbike is already worth mentioning. We walked up the river, down the river and to a waterfall 1 hour away. There are a considerable amount of foreign tourists here since it is mentioned in the Lonely Planet. People spend the way to hot day trekking in the dry landscape and keep an eye out for the daily live of these farmers, shopkeepers and strollers. In the evening people sit down for a beer or the local liqueur. The next day will be the same with little variation.
Everybody had the shits since the food is very suspiciously cheap. Freddy spraind is food while jumping from one of these big rocks to another. The pain and the slow walking had lasted for about 3 weeks and hindered big excursions.

Tha Khaek

A sleepy town - typical for Southern Lao - is in a coma since a long time. Situated on the Mekong with a view Thailand. The concrete roads are in a bad state, buildings which probably weren't nice when they built them are decaying and melting into the general feeling of this place. Young people are not very visible. At the riverfront some people drink beer and sipping the afternoon away - all of them locals. I made a visa run over the Mekong and tried to get some Thai baht, since the Lao ATM suck. On the boat were some Thai tourists whom were coming back from a one day visit to Khaek. Alcohol is cheap in Laos, that's why they were vomiting over the railing already in the afternoon. The Thai ATM didn't work either. Probably because I tipped in the wrong pin number, which I found out 2 weeks later because my debit card was refused all the time. Mendel my brother and me drank some beers, ate cheap and waited for the time to pass.

Nahim

In the more remote southern part of Laos in a mountainous region is the town of Nahim. Tourism is still sluggish and the people authenic. The reason to come up here is the lime stone cave of Don Kralor - a jeep ride away. The cave is bigger than everything I have seen before. The underground river that flows through it allows boats to drive through the shallow water. The ceiling of the cave can easily be 40 meters above the river. From time to time you have to get out of the boat to overcome a too shallow part. After an hour you come out of the darkness into a pristine forest with local kids bathing naked. Then you return with a slightly shorter route. This cave has huge potential to boost toursim and is a must visit in Lao.
Here is where we met Mendel from Holland with whom we traveled for the next 10 days.

Vietiane

Vientiane is one of the least spectacular capital cities I have visited. It is right at the passing Mekong, which is extremely wide here. On the other side Thailand is easily visible. They are currently deepening the Mekong to gain some land on the riverfront to build a huge park. Which will help a lot to upgrade the city as a whole. We visited the museum of national history which is as bipartisan as the United States Congress. Dont get me wrong - foreign powers have raped the country since it has been mentioned, but it was definitely far away from objective. We also visited their White House and the monuments next to it. Vietiane can be very hot which made it difficult to walk to the Cambodian embassy twice. We went bowling in a bowling center, which was the first time for me in years.
The nightlife is at the riverfront with a lot of restaurants offering a big variety of food. Lao people are not as pushy as surrounding countries which makes walking around a bit easier. They are bit lazier than their neighbors as well.
One interesting thing is that China is building a lot on the Lao side of their border. The language in this area has changed to mandarin, the currency is the Yuan and the Lao people have been transported away by the Lao troops. This happened because China has offered a lot of money to establish casinos and fancy hotels for Chinese nationals. Now the Lao border officials have moved away from the original border to the "new border".

Luang Prabang

Luang Prabang is Laos main tourist place. Fat wallets fly in with the plane and check out the old part of town. Which is ok, but not amazing or anything close. The fact that is surrounded by the Mekong and another river make it nice. Prices tend to be of of place. We rented some really bad bycicles with only one gear and rode them to a famous waterfall 30 km in the south. It was as hot as steep, which resulted in a poor condition of us at the sight. The waterfalls were truly beautiful - only rivaled by Lanquin in Guatemala. Turquoise pools separated by picturesque waterfalls. But the word has spread a long time ago and the tourist infrastructure is well established. Even a asian bear parc is at the entrance. We hiked up to the very top of the fall - were 90 percent of tourists physically cant go and walked to a cave on the plateau. While we visited that place we were the only ones in the cave. Then we returned, dipped into the refreshing pools and packed our bicycles on top of a TukTuk and drove back.

Mekong

The two day boat cruise went from Huay Xai all the way to Luang Prabang with a scheduled stop at a village in the middle. We left 2 hours late because the people in charge wanted to wait for more tourists to earn more money. During the smooth boat ride we saw the hilly, green landscape of Laos with an occasional fisher trying his luck on the shore. Sometimes you could see a cluster of locals trying to find gold in the water. We spoke a bit with an Malaysian guy who is married to a Swiss woman who was traveling with him. He was speaking about trading silver or herbs from Southeast Asia to sell it in Switzerland. He gave us more insight into Malay politics - basically saying the country is going down the drain because Chinese people are taking over the economy and extreme Muslims the politics. A funny side note is that he told us in front of his wife that he spends 3 months per year in Vietnam or so to spent some money for women. Apparently the money she earns. They seem to have a funny deal there. In the later afternoon everybody had to get out of the boat because there were some rapids coming up and a shallow. So everybody had to carry their backpacks and suitcases through the sand and rocks 1 km downriver. But by the time everybody arrived the night has fallen and a nearby indigenous village splashed out and set up several improvised kitchens. They were charging horrendous prices - clearly used to the fact that some time tourists get stranded here. But these prices fell the less they were selling. People had to sleep on the uncomfortable windy boat. The nights here get pretty cold. I didn't want to sleep in the cramped boat and that's why we decided to set up my mosquito net on the shore in the sand and sleep there. It was freaking cold; apparently also in the boat. Freddy wore everything he had with him. The next morning everybody felt like shit. The views were better than ever. Morning mist was all over the snaking valley were the Mekong searches it's way to the South China Sea.
Everybody was happy to arrive in Luang Prabang and ending the slightly too long trip.

Huay Xai

The Lao border town is small and extremely unsignificant. The basic tourist infrastructure caters the tourists which usually stay only one night to catch the two day boat cruise to Luang Prabang the next day. Still it has some decent restaurants on the river which offers you some stunning views of the sunset. We purchased the tickets and boarded the long narrow boat which has a pretty big diesel engine. The water is pretty low during this season. Not only because of the weather but also because the Chinese have built a damn upriver in Southwestern China to withhold water for their own consumption during the dry season. This has become a major problem for Cambodia and Laos. Thats why the tourist had to be separated to two boats to make sure we wont hit any hidden rocks.

Tadlo

We reached Tadlo really late and had to change a 50 USD bill to local currency what was not to easy. Tadlo is a remote village in a remote area in a remote country. People are still living in their traditional shacks and bath in the river. Waterfalls are close to the village and offer some sanity to battle the hot weather.
85 percent of the countrys land is not being used . This is partly because of a bad economy and relatively small population but most likely because of unexploded US bombs, that remain from the Vietnam war. The Viet Cong needed a safe heaven, because of the US air superiority in Vietnam. But eventually the same faith was awaiting them in Laos. Nowadays a lot of Laotians die because they have to clear fields or they on purpose take apart the bombs and sell the medal to China.
This gives you a impression of the economic situation of Laos. People were kind and helped you find the attractions and the kids were happy to play with us. Well maybe they were more interested in Victoria, since they don't seem familiar with Latin American clothes. So she got even more attention here then in other places all around Southeast Asia.
In total a beautiful place worth visiting for a few days.

Savannakhet

After a long trip from the South China Sea into Laos we arrived in Savannakhet. At the border Timmy didn't have to pay for his visa while Victoria had to pay 38 USD. More than US citizens or Frenchies.
Savannakhet is a sleepy town in the rural region of southern Laos. We stayed for one night only and ate at the night market at the Mekong river. A really basic set up, but none the less really pleasing you sit around a pot and make your own soup. Similarly to fondue chi noise you throw the raw meat, the vegetables and hard noodles into the water. Then you take bite by bite and dip into a peanut paste. Really good and relaxing after the rather rough trip over the border.
The next day we took the astonishingly slow bus south.