We could see the sunset when we arrived in the village of Ban Khinak on the 30th of April. We took a room in a little hotel that was not very well taken care of but was beautifully situated on the side of The Mekong River. From one of its veranda’s we could see the many islands, a beautiful red colored sky and some bright stars. We were in the middle of a 50-km long section of the Mekong which is called ‘Si Phan Don’, which means ‘four thousand islands’. Exactly here the Mekong has its widest girth along its 4350-km journey from the Tibetan Plateau to the South China Sea. Despite the noisy generator of the hotel – no electricity was available here – I slept like an ox, the trip obviously drained me.

The next morning we woke up early to catch the 7 o’clock bus to Pakse, a town 120-km north of Khinak. At the local market we brought some bananas and (Lao) baguettes (like in Cambodia one of the few French influences left in Lao). Promptly at seven we left. This time we sat in a converted truck. The cargo area was open on the left and the right (windows without glass) and in the middle benched we made for people to sit on. Large pieces of cargo and luggage were loaded on the roof and the smaller items were stowed under the benches and in the back. One of the first pleasant things I noticed soon after we left was the excellent condition of the road. The main road in Lao, route no.13, which stretches from the far south all the way up to the north, was asphalt. Here and there some parts were still under construction. It took 3,5 hours to reach the southern bus terminal of Pakse Km 8), a busy place with many ‘sakai-laeps’ (‘Skylab’, a large three-wheeled taxi which can hold four to six passengers) and other bus-trucks. One of the things we noticed on arrival were the many ‘falangs’ (Lao for foreigners) we saw, jumping on and off buses. We changed to another truck, the one that would go to Salavan (130-km northeast of Pakse) via a little town called Ban Saen Wang Nyai (100-km from Pakse) where I planned to stay for two nights. During our two-hour ride we saw the landscape slowly changing to a more mountainous scene. This was the Bolaven Plateau (in Lao called Phu Phieng Bolaven), which under the French kolonial period became an area with many coffee, rubber and banana plantations. At Ban Saen Wang Nyai we were enthusiastically greeted by many kids with ‘sabaai-di’ (meaning ‘hello’). We stayed at the Saise Guest House (in the Green House, which is better that the main building) next to the impressive Taat-Lo waterfall. The area was nice, many trees, small patches of farmland and small mountains. The waterfall was a great place to cool down and get a ‘rough’ back and shoulder massage. Here I stayed two days, enjoying the environment, quietness and a good book.

Early in the morning of May 3 I left Ban Saen Wang Nyai together with an Englishman and a Dutchman. Within two hours we arrived at Pakse. Pakse is a pretty dull place so I decided to only stay there for one night. I prepared myself for the long (20-hour) bus journey to Vientiane, the capitol city of Lao.

At 9:45 hours on the 4th of May, I left Pakse in a grumpy looking Korean bus from the northern bus terminal (Km 7). For 26.000 Kip (about US$3,50) I bought a ticket for the long ride. The bus was nearly empty when we left but rapidly got full along the way. After eight hours we reached Savannakhet, a little town on the Mekong River. Just on the other side of the Mekong is Thailand. The 8-hour journey wasn’t the most comfortable, many parts on this stretch of route no. 13 weren’t paved yet. But I was able to see many things like beautiful forested area’s, lively villages and a lot of farmland. Every time the bus stopped to pickup more passengers a group of young ladies would run to the sides with the most diverse selection of snacks and drinks. Crickets on sticks, chicken on a stick, some sort of small bird on a stick (imagine that these ladies move these sticks through the open windows and under your nose), corn on the cob, bananas, baguettes and candy. At the bus station of Savannakhet I bought two very fresh baguettes and some delicious peanuts. We waited an hour before continuing to Vientiane. In the meantime the sun was setting, huge snowy white and dark gray clouds dominated the sky. Already I could see impressive lightning. This lightning became even more spectacular after the sun was disappeared and we were surrounded by darkness. That night we were treated with some heavy downpours. During our ‘nightly excursion’ I wasn’t able to sleep at all. By the time we reached Vientiane, at 4:15 in the morning, I was dead tired. For 15 minutes I walked through the quiet (and wet) streets of Vientiane. In Pakse some fellow travelers gave me the name of a good place to stay, so I knew where to go. I finally reached the guesthouse and fortunately somebody was there to open the door. Until 7:30 hours I slept on the couch, as no bed was available. This guesthouse only had a dormitory style accommodation (Sabaidy Guest House, a good value budget place) but was clean and well managed. For some reason Vientiane has, unlike the rest of the Lao, very expensive (from the perspective of a backpacker) accommodation. Sabaidy Guest House offers a bed in a dormitory (and a hot shower in a common bathroom) for 16.000 Kip, which is about US$2). Vientiane is a small city (less than 150.000 inhabitants) in which most travelers don’t stay very long. There is not a lot to do except cheap Internet access, a few nice Wats (Lao Buddhist monastery) and some French colonial building (unfortunately most are deteriorating). Like Phnom Penh, this city is full with expats, most of them working for UN or NGO related relief organizations. It also has a wide variety of western style restaurants and bakeries (finally got some decent bread and yogurt). Vientiane city curves along the Mekong River, with on the other side neighbor Thailand.

From the crowded but well organized bus terminal on the East Side of Vientiane, I left the capitol on the 6th of May. Next destination: Van Vieng, a small town 160-km north of Vientiane. The three-hour journey was nice. I saw small villages, curly and steep roads and lots of trees. Especially the last hour of the ride was nice. Here the landscape changed. This are was full of small hills, which appeared like the humps of many camels. It was a beautiful sight that reminded me of Halong Bay in northern Vietnam. After I arrived I noticed the many tourists, more than I had seen in the south. Vang Vieng had many guesthouses. I was able to get a nice room with attached bathroom (for 25.000 Kip, less than US$3,50) in the well-situated and friendly Dok Khoun I Guest House. From the veranda next to my room I had a great view at the surrounding hills. One day I rented a Chinese mountain bike (a real piece of junk but one of the few multiple speed bikes available in town) and made a nice tour in the are west of the Nam Song River. Here I was in the middle of a beautiful forested area., here and there some patches of agricultural land, small villages and fresh streams. The water level was not that high so I was able to walk through them with my bike on my shoulders. I recall one of the small streams where many kids were having a great time by diving from high tree branches into the water. Here I sat for a long time just watching the kids having fun. The area around Vang Vieng (mainly in western direction) is famous for its many caves. I planned to visit two of them, the Tham Phu Kham and the Lusi cave. Tham Phu Kham was hard to reach. The small road leading to the mountain in which the cave was positioned was muddy due to heavy rainfall during the morning. The climb up to the cave was even more challenging. The path and rocks were very slippery and some of the limestone rocks were hard to hold as they had razor sharp edges. The cave was huge but I was not too impressed, just a cave. The main hall contained a Thai bronze reclining Buddha. Lusi Cave however, was worth the effort. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to it by bike. Again I had to cross the Nam Song River (at three different locations) and walked for about two kilometers through a very nice area. First I crossed through rice paddy fields then the area changed to a forest like area with small creeks and patches of grassland. At the cave I got a tour from the caretaker. Soon I realized that he had a boring day. His breath smelled like he drank too much Lao-Lao (rice whisky), but was able to guide me through the cave without falling down. This cave was beautiful, it had various chambers, small pools, interesting hanging limestone formations and impressive shapes. As Vang Vieng is a popular tourist destination, it can be hard to find a good and reasonable priced place to eat (and without techno music). Of course there was the market which offers delicious fruits and fresh snacks (like fried banana). However, there is also the End of the Wold (‘World’ misspelled) restaurant. They had a great selection of tasteful dishes for around 8.000 Kip (which is just over US$1). Here you just eat in the living room of the family who owns it.

On the 8th of May I left Vang Vieng. I boarded a local bus (with more tourists than locals) to Luang Prabang, a six-hour journey up north. Just before we left I met Norman, a 63-year old Canadian who just finished three months of teaching English as a volunteer in Nepal. Because of the many steep hills, the bus crossed slowly through the beautiful area. In the afternoon we finally reached Luang Prabang, a small town with approximately 16.000 residents. We found a nice and clean guesthouse on one of the small streets leading to the Mekong River (Vilay Guest House, 20.000 Kip for a double room – no bath). Luang Prabang is a nice town. Many of its French colonial buildings are still standing and reasonable well maintained. The main street has a wide variety of shops and restaurants. Because of its 32 historic Buddhist temples (of the original 66 built before the French colonization), Luang Prabang got the UNESCO World Heritage status two years ago. It was very hot in Luang Prabang, which kept me from being very active. However, Norman and I visited one of the Wats, the Wat Xieng Thong (built in 1560). A beautiful place, with a big courtyard, beautiful trees and a fantastic wooden temple building. It also had an impressive Royal Funeral Chapel. Here we sat and wondered around for hours, observing and chatting with the monks. On the second day we (Betty, another Canadian joined us) hired a jumbo (kind of taxi) and went to the magnificent Kuang Si Falls, 32-km south of town. It was a wide and many tiered water fall in a beautiful jungle-like area. A small trail leads from the main road to the first level and passed thick trees, colorful plants and small trees. We walked all the way up to the top but decided to take a dip at the main ‘pool’ at the second tier. Standing under the falls was very relaxing and refreshing. One afternoon Betty and I went to the local Lao Red Cross for an hour-long Swedish-Lao massage, which I very much enjoyed (especially after the long and tough pickup journeys).

After more than two weeks I was ready to go to Thailand. I was slightly saturated with Southeast Asian culture and needed some time to relax and do other things than being a tourist. To reach Thailand I decided to go to Huay Xai, a border town 300-km to the west. From Luang Prabang it is impossible to reach this place by road, only by boat or plane. I decided to go by boat, as it offers me a great opportunity to experience this – mostly untouched – part of Lao and the Mekong River. However, there are two kinds of boats. One is the slow boat, which at that moment needed 2,5 days to reach Huay Xai (which is upstream). This option didn’t appeal to me as I had done many long slow boat journeys. The fast boat, better known as the speed boat, only needed six hours to reach the border town, but costs more than three times the price of the slow boat (180.000 Kip, about US$24). But the speedboat, as I was told, could be dangerous, because of the high speed and the hidden dangers of the Mekong River (like the sometimes hard to see rocks and floating objects). I spoke with several locals and decided to go for the speedboat, at the time not completely realizing what it actually was. Betty decided to join me, so we left for the speedboat jetty on the 13th of May. I was told that the engines of these boats were incredible noisy and that helmets and life vests were mandatory – after a Thai was killed in 1992. But still, I didn’t really know what kind of boat I was about to board. When we arrived at the jetty I understood why people complained about the noise. Already from a far distance I could hear the incredible noise of the speedboat engines. After paying a small Lao ‘fortune’ I walked down the hill to get my first glance at the speedboats. Well, that was a surprise. These things really looked fast and small. These boats were between 5 and 6 meters long and approximately 80 centimeters wide. It holds a maximum of nine people including the boatsman. The engine on our boat was a Toyota 16 Valve (for those who like to know the details), a huge noisy ‘beast’ with a long tail on which a small propeller was attached (fortunately I had earplugs with me). The eight passengers had to sit in four rows, so two people next to each other. There was no space at all, so we had to sit close to each other and with the legs up (literary I had to put my knees under my armpits). The small front section of the boat was reserved for luggage. There was no protection from sun and rain, and nothing to hold on to. When the boat was not in motion, the water level was just a few centimeters below the side of the boat. Betty and I were on the first boat, together with two English guys and two Japanese. We carefully boarded the not stable boat and positioned ourselves (we ’sat’ on the front row). We got a helmet, which of course was too small for my head and a life vest (which I believe couldn’t even keep a chicken afloat). Then we took off, I still remember this well. It was frightening. This thing was going so fast that I couldn’t believe it. I thought about the six hours we had ahead. I couldn’t imagine myself enjoying this trip at all. It got even worse when we had to navigate through rapids, rocks which barely rose above the water line and huge pieces of floating stuff. What did I get myself into again? Suddenly the boat slowed down and docked at the other side of the Mekong. The boatsman decided to change his shorts for a pair of long jeans. Betty and I looked at each other, and at the guys behind us. We all, except for this one Japanese guy, were terrified by the speed of this boat and didn’t like the cramped position we were in. After ten minutes we left again. It was amazing. The boat reached a speed of 60 to 80 km. per hour (which was fast believe me). I remember the raindrops, which felt like little needles piercing my skin. But I must say I was impressed by the skills of our young boatsman. He navigated us very well and ‘only’ hit three big pieces of floating bamboo. Looking back at the first leg of that trip, I conclude that the first 10 to 20 minutes were awful. But after that we became more relaxed and even enjoyed the fast journey. The are we cruised through was gorgeous; thick jungle, beautiful rock formations and mountains. It was an absolute fantastic tour. At the small village of Pakbeng (which was halfway) we stopped and ate lunch. Here we also moved to another speedboat, which took us to Huay Xai, three hours away. Again we enjoyed the ultra fast ride, occasionally getting rain, and enjoyed the surroundings. Here and there we pulled to the side of the river to drop a passenger and pick up a new one. As there are no roads in this part of Lao and slow boats really go slow, this kind of boat service is very popular. Finally we reached Huay Xai, around 16:00 hours. Now we were in the Bokeo province, in the middle of the world famous Golden Triangle, Burma (Myanmar), Lao and Thailand. Here the opium poppy has been cultivated here for centuries. Arab traders once introduced it during the 13th century. The poppy is well suited to hillside cultivation as it flourishes on steep slopes and in nutrient-poor soils. Northwestern Lao is dotted with heroin refineries that process Burmese and Laotian opium. Smuggling routes for Laotian opium and heroin continue to pass through the Thai border at several points throughout the north and northeast, including the provinces of Chiang Mai (via Myanmar) and Chiang Rai (Only around 2% of the opium crop is intercepted by national or international authorities each year).

What a fantastic trip we made. At the Lao immigration office we filled in our papers and got an exit stamp. Our last 5.000 Kip was spent on the fair of a very small boat, which brought us to the other side of the Mekong River, Thailand. I very much enjoyed my relatively short visit to Lao. Next time I would like to explore the far north of the country more. However, things change quickly in Lao. Thailand is investing a lot in Lao and more tourists make Lao their destination. The people were great they were friendly and very helpful. The environment was beautiful and in most spots untouched. Traveling through Lao is a pleasure and mostly hassle-free.