Finishing in Laos and Heading to Cambodia

Looking Up in Pakse

Our Pakse stay definitely improved today. Breakfast was good all freshly made on both days and the hotel although not the most modern makes up for it with things like the shuttle bus to and from town each night. Also providing a lift to the bus stop on our last day and saving us trekking up the hill with our bags. The owner is really helpful as well.

TukTuk fun and Vat Phou

We had been in contact with other companies on Google but all seemed to be the same person replying! The price stayed too expensive decided to go with the trip the owner suggested for $60 each. When went to speak to her, there was a tuktuk in the car park and the hotel owner sorted this for us for a total $35.

The trip last around 5 hours and was basically the tuktuk driving us to places then waiting for us.

The tuktuk journey was fun through the countryside and small villages, the driver had to avoid various animals, potholes and then a Buddhist Procession. The cows were the best they would just lay on the road and not move however close we got until a blast of the horn scared them . Other cows would be on the far side of the road until we got close then suddenly run in front of us. We also had this with dogs and goats. Less expected was a cockerel playing chicken with us. At the end of the day it was monks the tuktuk driver needed to avoid as they pulled along a float carrying a big shrine.

The main place we visited was Vat Phou, a temple which in parts dates back to the 5th Century. It was definitely worth the stairs to go up. We also visited a more modern temple and the driver took us to a restaurant where we had lunch overlooking the Mekong.

The day had started cloudy but by 1pm was 30C so we declined the option of walking up to the golden buddhs overlooking the city and headed back to the hotel for a swim.

Bus to Cambodia

The border the following morning was straightforward, the crossings are something I find stressful so always a good feeling to get through. The border was really quiet just our bus. On the Laos side there were barriers across the round these were lift by a guy in the kiosks with string attached the pole! It seemed like something from a Monty Python sketch. The lift to the bus station was appreciated as well, it was a really small place and we may have doubted we were in the right place. The bus ride was 9 hours but they came round with tea, water and coffee as well as providing lunch. This meant the journey seemed a lot easier than we expected. The weather in the evening was even more changeable than in other countries it went from sunny to a torrential downpour in minutes and our walk for tea involved ankle deep puddles!

Last Laos Thoughts

Laos was a mixed bag. With Luang Prabang and Vientiane both being great. Vang Vieng wasn't really targeted at us although we loved the balloon ride. Pakse isn't a destination for tourists more somewhere to stay whilst visiting Vat Phou, waterfalls or the islands. I think Laos must have the most ATMs per capita of anywhere we have been, we soon learnt which ones worked with our card and which didn't.

Overall though a definite thumbs up for 2 weeks in Laos.