Pakse and Motorbike Adventure on the Bolaven Plateau

The boat and bus trip from Si Phan Don was an uneventful four-hour affair. Upon arrival at the Pakse bus station in the afternoon, we hitched a ride in something that wasn't quite a tuktuk, but rather a moto with a rickety homemade sidecar into which Lauren and I managed to squeeze ourselves and our bags. The ride was jarring. We checked into the Sabaidy Guesthouse and spent the rest of the evening drinking the best coffee I've had yet (it's grown in the highlands near here), walking around town, and getting some local food.

The next morning, February 16, we awoke around 7:00 a.m. and walked down the street to rent a couple motorbikes (we thought it might be better to not keep our proverbial eggs in one basket and instead get two bikes; they were only about $6 per day anyhow). We took a quick ride through town to get some breakfast and more of that stellar coffee, then followed our map and headed for high ground.

The Bolaven Plateau is a region near Pakse with lush green hills that is set a couple thousand feet higher than the rest of the area. We headed up the highway towards Salaven and sped up a bit on the desolate and smooth road. The journey through here was highlighted by small villages and coffee plantations with the backdrop of the Plateau off to our right. The dusty land turned greener and we passed the occasional mountain stream.

After about two hours and 85km, we reached our principle destination for the day, the Tat Lo waterfalls, which is a series of three waterfalls within about 8 km of each other. After hiking a short ways to the second of these cascades (and witnessing a comical old white couple riding an elephant that looked like it was about to dump them in the river), we returned to the parked bikes just in time to see a teenager opening the gas cap to my bike, holding two empty water bottles. He walked away sheepishly and we left with plenty of gas (and that's why you always lock your seat cover).

After a quick lunch in one of the restaurants in the small village near the falls, we headed back up the road towards the third of the falls, Tat Suong. This was by far the most impressive and must have been about 150 feet tall. In the wet season I'm sure the water roars over the edge, but now, nearing the end of the dry season, there is a mere trickle pouring over, and at least half of what flows over gets blown back up in a swirl of mist by the winds rushing up the cliff face. After walking back up the steep slope to the bikes, we headed to the nearest village to fill up the two liter gas tanks so we could take the long way home.

We headed off in the other direction away from Pakse until we reached another highway that headed up further into the highlands. We saw the best scenes of the day on this 125 km stretch back to Pakse as we passed remote villages where the people seemed more intrigued by us. The kids walking back from school all waved and yelled joyful greetings (or perhaps cheeky insults) and we smiled and waved back.

The mountain scenery was beautiful up here, and for the first time in SE Asia I felt cold. The afternoon ride home was peaceful, and once again I had the feeling that this truly is the best way to get off the tourist track and see the country. Lazy clouds rolled across the azure sky and I got that sense of adventure in me that I don't usually feel in the cities or around other travelers.

I was brought back to Earth from these joyful heights when near the end of the 200+ km journey I pulled off the highway to use the bushes, a bit too abruptly, and skidded out on the gravel shoulder (and that's why you always come to a complete stop before pulling into the gravel). I took a nice belly slide into the grass and gravel shoulder but was not injured, aside from some minor abrasions on my hand and a sore thumb. I knew it couldn't be that bad when Lauren pulled up and laughed at me. And kids: that's why you don't try to learn how to ride a motorbike in a foreign country. Don't worry mom and dad, I don't think any of the places north of here rent motorbikes to tourists. I'll just have to get my license when I get back to the States.

We rode cautiously back into the small city of Pakse and returned the bikes (after I removed the grass from the spokes and straightened the front basket). Exhausted from the all-day trip, we had dinner and retired to our room.

Our final day in Pakse we were planning to leave early in the morning for Tha Khaek to begin an arduous three day trek to the allegedly impressive Kong Lo Cave. We decided over coffee that morning, however, that it would be best to regretfully abort that mission so we could spend more time in the North of Lao(s) before Lauren has to return to BKK on 3/30. So we booked an overnight bus to the capital, Vientiane, for that night departing at 8:00 p.m. and explored a bit more of Pakse, stopping at the post office and a Mekong riverfront restaurant and otherwise just tramped around for a while.

And that's the entry folks. We now are in Vientiane (say: Vien-chan).

And for today's study guide:

Please answer the following questions individually and then discuss in groups of 4-6 people:

1. In your opinion, how has the advent of the internet facilitated travel to remote regions of the world?

2. When motorbiking in Laos, what three items (at least) should you always remember to bring and use?

3. To which place in the world would you most like to go? Would you rather get there by teleportation or bicycle/pedalboat? Why?