Entries about province

Today has been a good travel day. It was sad to leave the quiet and peaceful Don Khone. However, the journey back to Pakse was interesting, as travel always is in Laos.

You really must have a sense of humour and no time limits when you travel in Laos. Fortunately I had both. Departure times are never quite exact (perfect for me!). So when we finally got on our boat to get to Ban Nakasang to make our connecting bus, not far from the river banks we turned around as the tour operator forget his squash racquet! We all applauded when he picked it up and pushed the boat off again.

The boat trip was lovely as it always is on the Mekong. Scenic and enjoyable watching the green water pass with the breeze blowing and spots of greenery on the river from river trees. The most exciting part was coming into the port and watching a boat racing team practicing. The season has already started and I haven’t had the chance to see a race yet, so just as good to watch a training session. Humorously, they stopped momentarily and we watched them bail out water from the boat! They were sitting pretty low in the water. But soon they were off again, the team counting in unison with their quick strokes.

Unfortunately, it was off on a minibus for us, couldn’t stand around watching the boat racers all day. Although when I looked back at the port, the clouds and sky was looking amazing. The sky does amazing things here that make for really good dramatic pictures.

Another funny story was before he took off, the bus driver went around closing all the windows. It’s the middle of the day and quite hot with the air-conditioner going it’s still a little stuffy. The road ahead was dusty, so the reason was evident. About 10 minutes down the road, visibility inside the mini-van started getting bad. I cleaned my glasses as I thought my lenses were dirty. But no, despite the windows being closed, the mini-van was quickly filling with dust! It was hilarious. We were all laughing on the bus. Not too long after we hit the main paved road and the windows were all opened to let the dirt out. This is why we travel! For these experiences; it was so funny. Ok, maybe you had to be there.

On the rest stop, there were the usual vendors trying to sell corn, meat and various delicacies. I picked up a few sticky rice cooked in bamboo sticks. They’re fun to eat when you can crack them open. It was a really good choice. It turned out to be sweet coconut sticky rice! I haven’t been able to find it all this trip, so very pleased I got it at this rest stop. Delicious and very sticky! :-D

Finally, after a few more pit stops picking up and dropping off passengers, we ended up in Pakse central. It was nice to be back on familiar ground and I was able to help a few travelers get orientated. It’s funny, when you’re on the islands, you keep running into the same travelers. So it’s like a nice little community of travelers, even if you’re only there for 1 or 2 days, you’re bound to run into the same person at least once. This is what happened to me, so whenever you say goodbye, it may not really be goodbye! But this time, seeing my French friend to a hotel, I think it was the last time.

So here I am, about to board my sleeper bus to Vientiane. I had my final meal of ‘Heavenly Beef and sticky rice’. Well, it was very good. Not sure about heavenly, but it was warm soft beef jerky. Very tasty indeed!

Looking forward to being back in Vientiane tomorrow – a few more things and places to eat at! :-D