Laos Part 5 - Don Khon, Campasak, Tat Lo and Ban Kong Lo

We've had 2 weeks exploring southern and central Laos and there was alot more to see than we'd expected. We've done alot of slow journeys and have been on jam-packed sawngthaews (large tuk tuk) with all manner of goods on board. On one we were crammed in around 3 huge baskets containing bags of live fish and river water. During the journey one of the fish escaped and had to be caught and put back in the bag! We've also been on numerous small boats, lots of hot sweaty packed local buses, the back of a pick-up truck and on very bumpy transport with tractor engines.

After crossing the border from Cambodia we spent some time in an area known as Four Thousand Islands. We chose to stay on Don Khon and expected to be able spend lazy days swinging in a hammock and swimming in the river; however it was very very hot here (April is the hottest month here) so getting to sleep was difficult and village life starts very early so we didn't get as much rest as we'd anticipated. On one of the days we hired bikes and explored the small island. It was the first time that I'd been on a bike since my accident last September so I was a bit nervous. The path was very bumpy and I got a puncture but luckily I didn't have to push my bike too far as we found a village with a man that could do repairs. There are alot of buffalos on the island and they spend alot of time cooling off in the river:



Our next stop was Champasak. The slow journey here involved 2 sanwgthaews, 2 small boats and a tuk tuk, but it was worth it as we were very impressed with Wat Phu, the ancient temple that we'd come to see. The temple is located on the side of a hill and is composed of many levels, which means climbing up lots of steep steps. We met a few Vietnamese and Thai tourists who commented on how hot it was! At the top there is a beautiful temple with incredible carvings and Buddhas. There are also massive rocks with carvings of an elephant, crocodile and Buddha's footprint. It's a really amazing place and so quiet compared to the temples in Angkor.




Our next destination was Tat Lo, a tiny village next to a waterfall. It's a few hundred metres above sea-level and the air felt cooler and fresher. We had a few days here and enjoyed swimming with the local kids, watching the three elephants from the resort having their morning and evening baths in the river and we also went on a morning trek to see four local villages and some different waterfalls.






We really enjoyed our trek and our lovely guide Boun spoke very good English. He told us about the local plants and trees and explained the traditions of different ethnic groups that we met along the way. We had so much fun with the children and the adults were very friendly too.



One of the groups smokes tobacco in a bamboo bong and you can see children as young as 3 smoking. We enjoyed relaxing and smoking with with lovely lady and her husband:


We then had a hot, sweaty 9-hour bus journey to Tha Khaek and checked into a hotel at midnight. We spent the following day sleeping and eating and chatting to some other travellers. The following day we'd expected a long, slow journey to Ban Kong Lo but luckily some other people at the hotel had hired a minibus to take them there and they had space for me and Nic. This was a real stoke of luck and it only took us 3 hours and it felt like luxury after all the other journeys.

We'd come to see Kong Lo cave, which is 7.5km long and runs beneath a huge limestone mountain. The scenery here is spectacular and dramatic. We'd heard that there is a village on the other side of the cave which has homestays, so we hired our boat and took our bags with us. The journey through the massive cave was spooky and alot of fun.



We then had to walk 2km to the village and we met the Chief who took us to a homestay:



We were greeted with enthusiasm and were given a corner of the living space to sleep in. We had mattresses, a mosie net and a curtain for privacy. The family consisted of the grand father and grand mother, mum and dad and 3 children, 2 girls and 1 boy. We made good use of of phrase book and showed the family photos of different places in Laos. It was a very enjoyable experience and we had alot of fun despite the language barrier.

Here's the grandmother sorting the tobacco leaves:




I gave the children my sun hat from Myanmar and the little boy loved it:


The following day there was a huge thunderstorm and the rain was torrential. The chief came to visit us and they performed a ceremony for us. They gave us a small, whole, boiled chicken, sticky rice and Laos whisky and the oldest members of the family said a blessing and tied some cotton bands around our wrists. One of the girls ate the chicken's head the men ate the feet. Nothing is wasted, the leftovers are given to the dogs, then the chickens have a go at it and then the pigs finish it off.

We hung around all morning and then finally we said goodbye to our lovely family and we were taken back to the cave on some sort of transport with a tractor engine. We got totally soaked and had to cling on for dear life. The path was totally washed away; I can't imagine what it must be like in the monsoon season! We then had another enjoyable boat ride through the cave and made our way to Ban Khoun Khan and stayed at a peaceful resort with amazing river and mountain views.


Yesterday we got the bus to Vientiane and met up with our friend Connie for a few drinks. There was another huge thunderstorm and it's raining today. Definitely time to leave! Tomorrow we fly to Beijing and carry on our adventures in China. We've been in SE Asia for a year and we've got so many unbelievable memories.

Cambodia part 3 - Siem Reap and Kratie

We had 5 days in Siem Reap and had 3 very long days of temple seeing and 2 days off to rest. We visited around 20 temples, some close by and some hours away. It was hard going in the heat but it was a very rewarding experience.

As you can imagine we took 100's of photos but here are a selection from our favourite temples:

Ankgor Wat, we visited this temple 3 times, including at sunrise and at sunset. It is massive and has some amazing bas-reliefs:




One of our favourite temples was Ta Prohm, which we visited first thing in the morning to beat the crowds. It's a real Indiana Jones experience!


The temple below is Bayon in Angkor Thom. There are hundreds of carved heads and beautiful bas-reliefs and it's one of the most amazing temples:



We had a great trip out on our tuk tuk through lovely countryside and friendly villages to see Kbal Spean, also known as the River of a Thousand Lingas. A Linga is the Hindu symbol for the penis.

We walked up a hill for about an hour and a guide showed us all the amazing carvings in the river bed. It was one of the highlights of our trip:



The temple with the most incredible carvings is Banteay Srei; it's very beautiful and looks like a fairy tale house:




Here's our lovely tuk tuk driver, Kim. He looked after us for 3 days and was always ready with a smile and a cold drink:



After leaving Siem Reap we headed to Kratie, which is the best place to see the rare Irrawaddy Dolphins. We went on a boat trip and saw quite a few but they are very difficult to photograph. This photo is not very good but it shows that we saw them!


We then left Cambodia and entered Laos from the south. The mini bus that we got had 16 people in it and there were 2 people sat in the driver's seat. Brilliant!!!