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Again we were dropped off somewhere on Route 13 and waited for a ride 7 km. inland. To our surprise nobody wanted to take us... so finally, after 1-2 hours waiting, we more or less forced ourselves on a pick-up truck that took us to the turn-off for Kyet Ngong. Knowing it was only 2 km. we just walked with our packs in the heat. As soon as we arrived and further throughout the village, we were met by elephants with their mahouts (trainers). I find it always quite a thrill to see them towering over me and they seem so gentle and friendly. We knew there were some bamboo huts for visitors, so we had to cross the entire village to eventually get to them. There were 5 independent huts with just enough room for a double bed and a veranda. All had a fantastic view over wetlands (now dry) and the Bolaven Plateau in the distance. I could see various crane birds, buffaloes and even an elephant here and there. I really had the feeling to be on an African savanna, especially when the sun was setting! There were a couple of other foreigners staying there as well: a German guy and a couple from Ibiza. As we were ready for a bath we headed out to the local well on the side of a huge field. Some ladies were already washing their babies and laundry. Two boys were helping us haul buckets out of the deep well in the ground and we just splashed ourselves with water (Mommy had to use her sarong local style). It was super refreshing. Dinner was served to us all inside an open hut and it was of course quite basic, but tasty. It was nice chatting with the others too. |
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The main reason to come here was to see the elephants and more exactly to ride on one. That's what we did the next morning. For US$ 10 the 3 of us got to ride one for 2 hours through beautiful jungle with huge trees and up a hill for a fine view. I even got to be a mahout for a little while as I was seated on his bare back (his neck hair surewas prickly...)! I love them so much, but my parentstell me they are too expensive.... The rest of the |
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day was spent lazing around and walking through the village. I did a short hike with Papa out in the wetlands to get a closer look at some of the grazing elephants. Since it was the dry season, the muddy ground was totally dried out and you could clearly see the huge elephant tracks. It was like we were on a safari (some cows really looked like lions in the distance...)! |
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Everybody decided to leave the next day and we reached Pakse without further hassle. Had a quick lunch and e-mail check and got on another bus to our next destination: Tatlo, a village known for its waterfall and swimming. I hadn't had a swim since Taiwan, so I was looking forward to it, especially after all those hot & dusty road trips. We stayed in a bamboo hut overlooking the falls and soon we joined a bunch of local boys wading in the pools beyond the falls. I was also playing and picking flowers with some of the local girls. But there was another reason we came here: another elephant ride! Yep, the next day we got to ride one again, this time though a lot more adventurous, in the sense that the elephant went right through the bush, clearing branches with his trunk. We really had to hold on tight too, cause he took some very steep sections and walked over large tree logs. It was also nice to walk right through a small and friendly village, and being high up we could see right through the windows. After that we were told that there was no more bus back to Pakse (our flight to Cambodia was the next day), so we decided to go to the main road anyway and try our luck. We were lucky indeed since we got |
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the only Tuk-Tuk that would go in our direction that late in the day. It was slower than the bus, but it was very authentic and we got a good impression of the scenery around us. We were dropped of at a highway crossing 20 km. before Pakse. The sun was setting so we were seriously hitch-hiking this time. Soon a large 4x4 pick-up truck stopped and the Belgian driver told us to hop in on the back. In no time we arrived at his office in Pakse and he gave us a tour. He was one of four guys from the Belgian military providing training and advice to the local UXO team (unexploded ordnance). It is their task to remove or disarm the numerous unexploded ammunition, bombs and mines left behind by ground battles and that are found all the time by local villagers. It was interesting to see samples of all the stuff that they had found... |
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On our last day in Laos we had breakfast in an Indian restaurant (paratha & egg...), visited a beautiful temple on the Mekong, bought some last minute bamboo souvenirs and visited the large local market, where I enjoyed kiddy rides and a large play-house. We met up with some other travelers we knew from before and together we shared a Tuk-Tuk to the airport. The Lao Aviation flight from Vientiane was on time and soon we were on our way to Siem Reap in northwestern Cambodia. |
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