I think I'm in love.
After three very hectic days that came after three very lazy days in Laos, I've arrived in the capital Vientiane, which seems about as crowded as my hometown on a sunday.
Tad Lo
After three days near the Mekong, I headed east of the river and into the Bolaven Plateau. There is so much to say about this place, that I'm not even going to bother trying to say everything. The small village of Tad Lo made a huge impression on me, not in small measure thanks to the fantastic Mr.Bah. He runs the Pamaly guesthouse, helps you get to the most interesting places, gets you a seat on the family's dinner table and above all is a very honest man.
On my first day there, he rented me a mountain bike, fit for a twelve year old. Needless to say, it was the best bike I've had on this trip so far. Sure, I didn't have that much room to maneuver but this thing had gears, so no real risk of breaking my chain again on one of the numerous slopes.
I went to a waterfall called Tat Suong, which is subjugated to the will of a local hydroelectric dam as to just how much water flows over the edge. When I arrived there, I could walk (read :climb, fall, slip) all the way up to the point where the water crashed into the jagged rocks below. There I met a french couple and some local kids who were heading for the pools that are formed by the waterfall, to take a swim.
I'm a really bad estimator, so estimating that this thing was about 125 meters high could be way of the mark. Then we'll just stick to the fact that it felt huge and threatening.
Near the waterfall is a village that looks like the set of 'the Others' Village' from Lost. The retro-seventies design didn't turn out to be retro at all, as the hydroelectric dam that gave birth to the place was built there about 35 years ago, sending power to Thailand, China or Vietnam. The employers live in the village, behind a wall and a spiked fence. Jolly.
Then came day two, where Mr.Bah sent me off and I went to a local minority village. Here there was no power and more than half of the villagers didn't even speak Lao, as they never went to school. The local school is about 30 years old and when I went to take a look, the teacher came out and ran a big bell. Out came kids running, yelling 'Falang!' (Foreigner!) and 'Sabaidy!' (Hello). Before I could make my mind up on whether to turn around and walk away, I was literally surrounded by 4 to 13 -year olds who formed up a circle around me and fell pretty much silent. When I moved closer to the boys and girls in front of me, they walked backwards while the ones in front of me followed me.
Then I decided to show them my camera, and as half expected, some of the kids ran away screaming. A camera is a curious thing around these parts, as some minorities are known to suspect that they lose their soul when a picture is taken. It wasn't complete pandemonium though, as the screaming kids just went to stand behind me, while some brave souls stood defiantly and went on to encourage me to to take a picture. I took a few and showed the results to them, which 'drew a few laughs from the crowd' as they say.
Then, walking back through the amazing scenery , I noticed that the Tat Suong waterfall was in 'full force'. Overnight the electric company had decided to let it flow again for a little while. When I asked Mr.Bah about this, he said 'Well, I sure hope nobody tried to camp near the waterfall last night.'. Dry.
Night At The Busstation
Ok, so I spent a night in a bus station. The bus from Tad Lo arrived in Tah Keak at about 01:20 AM and the bus to Vieng Khem left at 05:30 AM. This, and the fact that the nearest guesthouse was a comfy 5 km away, had me deciding on staying the remaining hours on the well lit and surprisingly crowded bus station. I ended up talking to a guy from Lao and two guys from Vietnam, where my Vietnamese phrasebook saved the night.
Kong Lo
That morning, I was off to Kong Lo Cave. A cave that is about 6 and a half kilometers long, crossable on boat only. Seeing the daylight disappearing in the distance and floating through parts of the cave that are over 100 meters high are awe and/or shock inspiring. I had a headlight, a Petzl (you know, those good ones) and not being able to see the ceiling is somewhat concerning. Think Mines of Moria with water but without Gandalf's staff, and you're good. Think Pitch Black or Doom 3 and you're pretty much looking over your shoulder all the time.
Bus rides, More Bus rides!
Having skipped a night of sleep had me craving for one of the super comfortable sleeper buses which Laos, like Vietnam, has to offer. What I got, was an 8-hour bus ride in the most rundown bus I've ever sat in. The seats were either broken, almost broken or just not there. The bus driver drove extremely carefully (take notes Vietnam), which got us to Vientiane safely, but it took us a while to get there...
In Vientiane it was 2 am, again. But this time I got myself to a guesthouse, with the help of (another) friendly Laotian that unfortunately kept on taking the wrong turns, even after asking for directions. After an hour of seeing everything nightly Vientiane has to offer - ten cars, four motorcycles and a bus -, I finally ended up where I wanted to go and had the best night's sleep in ages.
Vientiane
This town is quiet for a capital, thus is scoring big points for me. Another highlight of this trip is the COPE organisation, It has a small museum dedicated to the UXO (unexploded ordinance) problem Laos faces thanks to American bombings during the Vietnam war, who were 'never there' in the first place. To this day, Laos remains the most bombed country in the world and every year about 300 people lose their lives to a war they had nothing to do with. The stories told there are moving to say the least and the staff is very friendly, some of them have fallen victim to UXO's themselves. They were screening a documetary called 'Bomb Harvest', which, without a shadow of doubt, you should see if you can.
After three very hectic days that came after three very lazy days in Laos, I've arrived in the capital Vientiane, which seems about as crowded as my hometown on a sunday.
Tad Lo
After three days near the Mekong, I headed east of the river and into the Bolaven Plateau. There is so much to say about this place, that I'm not even going to bother trying to say everything. The small village of Tad Lo made a huge impression on me, not in small measure thanks to the fantastic Mr.Bah. He runs the Pamaly guesthouse, helps you get to the most interesting places, gets you a seat on the family's dinner table and above all is a very honest man.
On my first day there, he rented me a mountain bike, fit for a twelve year old. Needless to say, it was the best bike I've had on this trip so far. Sure, I didn't have that much room to maneuver but this thing had gears, so no real risk of breaking my chain again on one of the numerous slopes.
 |
| Kind of funny |
I'm a really bad estimator, so estimating that this thing was about 125 meters high could be way of the mark. Then we'll just stick to the fact that it felt huge and threatening.
Near the waterfall is a village that looks like the set of 'the Others' Village' from Lost. The retro-seventies design didn't turn out to be retro at all, as the hydroelectric dam that gave birth to the place was built there about 35 years ago, sending power to Thailand, China or Vietnam. The employers live in the village, behind a wall and a spiked fence. Jolly.
Then came day two, where Mr.Bah sent me off and I went to a local minority village. Here there was no power and more than half of the villagers didn't even speak Lao, as they never went to school. The local school is about 30 years old and when I went to take a look, the teacher came out and ran a big bell. Out came kids running, yelling 'Falang!' (Foreigner!) and 'Sabaidy!' (Hello). Before I could make my mind up on whether to turn around and walk away, I was literally surrounded by 4 to 13 -year olds who formed up a circle around me and fell pretty much silent. When I moved closer to the boys and girls in front of me, they walked backwards while the ones in front of me followed me.
Then I decided to show them my camera, and as half expected, some of the kids ran away screaming. A camera is a curious thing around these parts, as some minorities are known to suspect that they lose their soul when a picture is taken. It wasn't complete pandemonium though, as the screaming kids just went to stand behind me, while some brave souls stood defiantly and went on to encourage me to to take a picture. I took a few and showed the results to them, which 'drew a few laughs from the crowd' as they say.
 |
| 'Go ahead, make my day' |
Then, walking back through the amazing scenery , I noticed that the Tat Suong waterfall was in 'full force'. Overnight the electric company had decided to let it flow again for a little while. When I asked Mr.Bah about this, he said 'Well, I sure hope nobody tried to camp near the waterfall last night.'. Dry.
 |
| Scenery |
Night At The Busstation
Ok, so I spent a night in a bus station. The bus from Tad Lo arrived in Tah Keak at about 01:20 AM and the bus to Vieng Khem left at 05:30 AM. This, and the fact that the nearest guesthouse was a comfy 5 km away, had me deciding on staying the remaining hours on the well lit and surprisingly crowded bus station. I ended up talking to a guy from Lao and two guys from Vietnam, where my Vietnamese phrasebook saved the night.
Kong Lo
That morning, I was off to Kong Lo Cave. A cave that is about 6 and a half kilometers long, crossable on boat only. Seeing the daylight disappearing in the distance and floating through parts of the cave that are over 100 meters high are awe and/or shock inspiring. I had a headlight, a Petzl (you know, those good ones) and not being able to see the ceiling is somewhat concerning. Think Mines of Moria with water but without Gandalf's staff, and you're good. Think Pitch Black or Doom 3 and you're pretty much looking over your shoulder all the time.
 |
| 'Aw crap, we still need to go back!' |
Bus rides, More Bus rides!
Having skipped a night of sleep had me craving for one of the super comfortable sleeper buses which Laos, like Vietnam, has to offer. What I got, was an 8-hour bus ride in the most rundown bus I've ever sat in. The seats were either broken, almost broken or just not there. The bus driver drove extremely carefully (take notes Vietnam), which got us to Vientiane safely, but it took us a while to get there...
 |
| Good thing I didn't take a picture of the hole in the ceiling. |
Vientiane
This town is quiet for a capital, thus is scoring big points for me. Another highlight of this trip is the COPE organisation, It has a small museum dedicated to the UXO (unexploded ordinance) problem Laos faces thanks to American bombings during the Vietnam war, who were 'never there' in the first place. To this day, Laos remains the most bombed country in the world and every year about 300 people lose their lives to a war they had nothing to do with. The stories told there are moving to say the least and the staff is very friendly, some of them have fallen victim to UXO's themselves. They were screening a documetary called 'Bomb Harvest', which, without a shadow of doubt, you should see if you can.
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