Journey into Laos and Back to 'Daily Life'

I've been back to my site about a week now since all the glitz and glam (not so much since, I was on a limited budget) of traveling in Cambodia & Laos. Still, it was a change of scenery and an exciting time to explore these countries we've been living so close to for the past 2 years.

This is the last of my 3-part series on travels abroad and then I'll be back to my regular daily ramblings of life and site and the 'end of days' (which, is quickly approaching in 3 months time...eeek!)

Lovely Laos
I found Laos to be a lovely country in most every sense of the word--the people, the weather (at least when I was there), the breathe-taking scenery, food, which is mostly like Thai food only they have one important distinction... BAGUETTES! (Thanks to French influence). Up until around 1990, Laos was mostly closed off to travelers from abroad given the political and economical influences--like so many countries in the world, many things changed after the Fall of the Berlin wall and the end of the Soviet Union. Laos is sparsely populate (est. 6.3 million) compared to Thailand's whopping upwards of 64 million people--Cambodian and Laotian populations together make up less than 1/3 of Thailand's population!--by the way, this is all according to The World Factbook .

I would note that Thailand and Laos share a lot in common--Thai and Lao languages are very similar and much of the cultural attributes such as lifestyle, religion, dress, & cuisine I am used to experiencing in the Northeast Region where I reside is shared with it's Lao neighbors. Many of my friend's here have often referred to Laos as Thailand's "sister" country since so much history and present-day culture is shared. But, just like Cambodia, Laos still has clear distinctions.

Minor Setbacks...

Unfortunately, it was harder for me to draw out the singularities of Laos. Somewhere between the morning we left Cambodia and getting to the Laos border, I became very ill. Who really knows what caused it or how it went from bad to worse but, it wasn't fun! Thank goodness I had a travel companion to help with my visa and get me across the border in one piece because I was in no shape to be doing those things for myself. Especially since we almost got swindled out of $10 while getting our Visas at the Cambodian-Laos border. (kick me when I'm down was the general feeling I had at that moment). After 3 bumpy bus rides and several emergency 'bathroom' breaks that amounted to having to stop in the middle of a forested area... we finally made it to the shores of the Mekong. It was then another 1-2 hours before I was even close to bording a boat to our next destination--Don Kong Island. Once we finally got to Don Khong, we spend the next 3 days mostly in our bungalow recovering from an illness we both contracted in Cambodia. We came to think of Don Khong island as 'rehab' island. It was just so convenient that the illness hit shortly before we came to this quite little island oasis on the Mekong. It was almost like it must have been developed specifically to cater to weakened individuals suffering from various maladies. Only it appeared to be completely run by children--literally every shop and restaurant we went to had a pint-sized server! On day 4, deciding we were well enough to move on, we ventured to the neighboring Don Det island (which, by the way is not a rehabilitation island--but is more likely to cause an illness that would lead one to staying on Don Khong. Actually, both islands were very chillaxed and therapeutic--especially since we were into the slow- moving recovery pace. Twice, we rented bikes and saw all the islands had to offers. We even came across a legitimate organic 'Veggie Patch' restaurant run by foreigners that served amazingly fresh and healthy food. We rang in the New Year on Don Det with a delicious dinner to the stylings of Indian naan & curries after which we attended a 'beach party' with probably the most random mixture of locals and foreigners you may ever encounter. It was great!

Pakse
The last, albeit, healthier leg of our trip was spent in Pakse--a larger (well, larger for Laos) old colonial town near the Mekong about an hour from the Thai border. I don't know if it was just me feeling better than I had on Don Khong or if it was a true reflection of how I felt or if it was me attempting to soak up the last leg of the trip but, I really felt an affinity towards Pakse. Parts of it reminded me of Ubon Ratchathani in Thailand where I spend many weekends but it had it's definite distinctions. Journeying 30-40 kilometers inland, we came across breathe-taking waterfalls, natural scenery, kind folks, and (one of my favorite parts)--goats! This may seem silly but I love goats. They're such spirited, peculiar, and smart creatures. I used to raise goats for show at the country fair in Iowa. They were also beloved pets. Some of my fondest memories of childhood include springtime when the new baby goats were born and we (my brother, sister & I) were responsible for taking care of them. Anyways, that was pretty much the icing on the cake. It's funny how seeing goats in a completely different setting under completely different circumstances in a completely different stage in my life can conjure up those same old sentiments.


I also loved the food (legit Italian food & coffee--need I say more?!) and the structures of Pakse proper. It was clean and easy to get around and we found a great new hotel to stay at for less than $10.


And, alas, this concludes the rants of my recent travels. Enjoy the pics!




'Dek' (Children) Island--reminiscing with the staff!


Sunset on Don Khon Island, 4,000 Islands in Southern Laos on the Mekong River






At one of the many waterfalls in Pakse