Laos. Pakse and Mekong River Cruise

Laos, Pakse and Mekong River Cruise.

 

I am greeted at the airport by a very upset young woman who explains that she is my escort to the hotel but the driver didn't turn up with everything required and she had to get her sister to drop her to the airport on the back of her motorbike. We waited another 5 or 10 minutes and he arrived to a blistering tongue lash from her. For Laos that is remembering the comatose speed of everything here.

She drops me at the hotel, suggests a cafe over the road for lunch, says she will be back at 9.30 in the morning and that's it! I think very unsatisfactory considering I haven't a clue where I am or what to do. The hotel is very pleasant with the best bed that I have encountered in SE Asia. Nice pool but once again bucketing down with rain. I stroll over to the cafe, half eat a very unappetizing lunch which gives me severe heartburn and that exacerbates my cough so what a miserable afternoon in bed. I am low on ventolin as I have misplaced the new one but do eventually find an antacid that helps a bit. I don't want to be be here!

Enough I say, get up, get showered and go into town for some dinner and at least kill some time. Eventually the receptionist finds me a tuk tuk and I set off with my umbrella up to keep dry. The hotel recommended a floating restaurant. I arrive at this 200 seat monstrosity in the middle of nowhere and I am the only customer. This time I am not staying. Am so uncomfortable. I get back to shore, not a tuk tuk in sight so I started walking in what I believe is the direction of town and I am feeling nervous. At least I am right, I get to the centre of this one horse town which really is just a jumping post to other places, and find open the cafe where I am meeting the cruise operator in the morning. I have one mouthful of the red wine vinegar as there is no white , eat 4 or 5 mouthfuls of the rice and leave. It is tasteless and I have lost my appetite. It is still pouring rain, I walk for almost an hour asking for help using the map but everyone looks at me blankly or points and walks off. Finally I come across the hotel and I am seething at being here and being left like this. Thank goodness for the comfy bed.

My transport arrives on time in the morning and I am dropped at the cafe where the next leg begins.

 

I begin the day at the pharmacy and manage to get another ventolin so my mind is at ease. The other 8 passengers are already at the cafe enjoying a very strong but very good Laotian coffee, this area is known for its arabica beans. In fact 80% of Laos is covered in mountains or forest, ideal conditions. Our luggage is taken by tuk tuk, we stroll up the street because we frustratingly never set a decent pace and we wobbled over a little gangplank onto the long boat that is going to deliver us to the cruisboat. We motor downstream for an hour and eventually reach the Vat Phou. This vessel used to be a barge carrying goods and timber from Vientiane to Pakse and was converted some years ago to a floating hotel. It is of course Asian in design and furnishings with lots of beautiful timber and decking highly polished. Our shoes were confiscated once we walked the gangplank on board. The vessel has 12 twin bedrooms each with ensuite. It pays to be slim and not too tall! The rooms are comfy and have what we need, we actually spend most of the time either out sightseeing or on the large covered front deck during the day to,catch the breeze or the rear deck at night where it is a bit more protected. Breakfast and lunch are taken on deck but dinner is a small A/C dining room due to insects. The rooms have A/C from 6pm to 6am but pleasant with the window open and the fan on. My room was like an ice box and I had to cover the vent.

 

 

We ate lunch aboard and the food is fantastic in quality and quantity. Fresh spring tools, fried spring rolls, omelette stuffed with pork and veg. Rice noodle dumplings and stir fry veg followed by tapioca with coconut milk and fruit!!!

The food was walked off in the afternoon by an energetic visit to Wat Phou ( the boats namesake) this is a pre- Angkorian temple complex built in the 5th or 6thC on the natural terraces of a BIG hill with the lingam (plallic symbol) high up. There is a male and female temple where the holy waters wash through and then down to the man made barays which are big lakes. We walked up a gentle paved hill which was the main walk way to the temple, up a few sets of not too big steps but then ............ 7 sets of 11 deep steps . Doesn't seem much if it is said quickly but everyone of those steps was a big step up and breathtaking both physically and because of the view. Coming down was a very slow affair! Worth all the effort and creaking strained knees!!!

My co travelers are a really nice group of people. 4 women accompanied by their guide and John the owner of the tour company. They all live in the states but one is Russian and she is accidentally hilarious, another of French origin and the other 2 Americans through and through. The other couple are from Switzerland and also very nice. We all get along famously and their tour guide named Seuth has adopted all of us and assists the cruise guide, in fact he is better and such a nice guy. I have since discovered that Seuth was a monk for 7 years and his spirituality glows from him. We actually spent one evening with him explaining to us about Buddhism and the rules which he says are not so far from the tenets of the Christian Church. ( killing, telling lies, adultery etc)

We met on deck for per-dinner cocktails made from the local rice whiskey called Lau-Lau. Powerful stuff! Dinner is eaten downstairs in a small air conditioned dining room due to the night insects, of which we saw none! Another fantastic meal. Fish steamed in cabbage, curried beef and eggplant, pork and mushroom stir fry, vegetables and a chicken dish followed by fresh fruit. We can't do the quantity of food justice but we discover that the staff are allowed to eat what we leave in the serving dishes.

We finish the evening with tea or coffee on deck and most people disappear to bed at 8.15. Trouble was, and it was a self fulfilling prophesy, I woke at a ridiculously early hour! Can't go up on deck because we know the staff sleep there at night!

Breakfast of fresh fruit, juice, baguette, eggs, bacon if you want it. The boat sets off down the river again. At around 9am we disembark and set off for a stroll through a little village and into the forest to find the riverbank ruins of an old temple. Peaceful, cool and a gentle bit of exercise to walk off breakfast. I am a bit confused as my itinerary has us off exploring one of the larger of the 4000 islands then setting off somewhere else by bike for a little trip finally sightseeing on the Cambodian- Laos border. We return to the boat for a very quiet morning sitting around reading, snoozing and watching the riverbank go by as we cruise along until lunch time. Every few minutes we hear yelling from the riverbank and see the local children running along to a clearing and waving frantically, my arms were aching by lunch! Another amazing feed of traditional larb which is minced pork cooked with herbs and spices- delicious. A delicious chicken curry with pumpkin, vegetables, a noodle dish, sticky and steamed rice followed by pomelo which is a cross between grapefruit and I believe tangerine. Enough sweetness to reduce the bitterness of the grapefruit, a new find for me!

The afternoon was spent lounging around the deck and watching the heavy rain on the river then at 4 we once again disembarked for a VERY muddy and wet walk through a local village which the cruise line supports by donating to the school. I personally found it a non event and I suspect nobody was particularly impressed. Once back on board the staff took our shoes from us as they were caked in mud and this morning we know we are going to find them gleaming at the back of the boat.

Pre-dinner drinks again taken with some traditional Laos snacks supplied by the delightful Seuth. The previous nights were nuts pan roasted with a smokey fish which didn't excite me and last nights were a riceflour and coconut milk mix rolled in palm sugar and fried. The name delightfully interpreted as cat shit! Never having eaten cat shit before I can't compare the taste but it is more to do with the shape, the taste was sweet and quite pleasant! Dinner was another event with the Laos version of Amok, the spiced and steamed fish mousse in banana leaf, heaven! An amazing sweet and sour fish, a different type of chicken curry, vegetables and rice. Certainly cannot complain about the quality and quantity of food served.

We lasted up on deck until 9 pm sitting talking, being taught how to dance Laos style by Seuth, accompanied by tea and coffee.

Our last day on the boat started in the usual manner of a good breakfast and a cruise up the river until 9 am when we disembarked and were loaded onto a long boat so that we could safely cruise amongst the 4000 islands. We motored along for an hour or so until we arrived at Donkhone Island where we walked for a while, visited the Old FrenchBridge and observed the locals. Back to the long boat and cruised our way to a water side restaurant for lunch. Food was fine but we have been spoilt on the boat.

After hanging around for far too long we were loaded onto a small bus for our trip to the Phapheng waterfalls. The falls trip was far too short and we were only given a 30 minute visit which wasn't long enough to explore the area. Loaded back on to the bus for our 2 and a half hour drive back to Pakse.

Said goodbye to my fellow travelers around 4.30 and returned to my hotel.

Overall a nice but over priced trip boat trip and the activities were nothing like what was on my itinerary and I feel a bit duded. The boat was great, the food excellent but the beds very uncomfortable and I didn't see what I was expecting.

Laos is a lovely country, beautiful scenery with less rubbish and mess than Cambodia. The food is good, people charming and gentle and a much slower pace of life than what us Westerners live and I would certainly recommend a visit.

My mini break is over and I am ready for my return to Siem Reap.

 

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