Entries about waterfalls

After an enjoyable hour long boat trip to Don Det, I arrived and was quietly shocked to find the place similar to Vang Vieng. It was a tourist haven with guesthouse and tourist services lined up side by side on the main strip.

So I quickly rented a bike and got out. The countryside was similar to Don Khong with empty rice fields creating a dry roadside scene. After half an hour of riding in the baking sun on a frequently rocky road, I arrived at the bridge to Don Khone. Don Khone was a much greener island with a lot more tracks to cycle down – however sometimes very rocky and more suited to walking or a proper mountain bike.

It was a fun experience to just cycle wherever the road led. There weren’t too many other cyclists or traffic on the roads, you could go for stretches without seeing anyone. However, turning up at the main port or Li Phi waterfalls there were quite a few others but we all seem to space our timing out that we never have to fight for space on the tiny roads.

Taking the boat trip to see the Irrawaddy dolphins was the highlight of the day. The Li Phi waterfalls were very pretty and impressive in its expanse as well as the strength of the water gushing over the rocks.

The boat trip down the Mekong was very scenic and being in a long-tail boat which just sits above the water made it feel like you were just flying across the surface.

Pleasantly we arrived at a large rock on the middle of the river that would be our viewing point. We stood on the rock and gazed around the river. Our driver was very good and spotted them almost immediately and stood pointing in the directions that he saw the dolphins. It took us a while to spot them, but then we got better and he didn’t need to point them out for us. Although they were specks and largish specks in the distance, it was marvelous seeing them pop up and sometimes even playing, a few times they’d splash about and we’d all be laughing with them at their enjoyment. I felt like I could have stayed there all day just watching the water for a fin or tail movement. Except, whenever a long tail boat passed through the area the dolphins were in, it was very sad that they left their engines on at full blast. It’d be nice if they either took a different route or if they killed their engines or slowed right down. Hurtling through this peaceful zone was so disruptive for us, I can’t imagine the impact on the dolphins. The engine sounds must be awful underwater!

Then a quick cycle back to Don Det to make it for the spectacular sunset. The sun blazed an orange hue and as time passed it turned deep pink and spread across the clouds and reflecting beautifully on the river. It was a wonderful end to a great day of cycling, wonderful waterfalls and being fortunate enough to see the endangered Irrawaddy dolphins!

Today was full of coffee trees, villages and waterfalls. Driving south of Pakse onto the Bolaven Plateau we pass plantation after plantation of coffee trees with villages dotted in between with coffee beans drying in the hot winter sun.

First waterfall stop was to Tad Padsouam. It resembled a small version of the devil’s mouth at Iguacu Falls. Although the falls were none too spectacular, a local guide who spoke decent English took me closer to the falls navigating through the large boulders beside it. It was interesting that you could just walk that close to the falls.

Near Tad Padsouam there is a display ethnic village. This resembles a bit of a theme park where each house has examples of different ethnic groups from Southern Laos. The houses are real examples of each group and the government has assigned families to live in each house. There is always one person dressed in traditional garb ‘on display’. I asked my guide to ask one of these traditionally dressed villagers if they liked living in this display village, the villager replied, ‘they just put me here’. No further questions. While learning about another culture is interesting, displacing families for tourism like it were a human zoo is a little sad. They do get a free house and their children are employed by the local resort, but it does not seem the best situation.

On the bright side, I had to giggle when my guide explained a tree-house type structure in the village. Raised up high with seemingly only one room, this was the dating place. When a boy and girl like each other in the village, the allocated place for their first date is this house! They also have some interesting customs like having a small hole cut in the wall where the girl sleeps so the guy can come feel her hand and give her gifts before the first date.

Next waterfalls: Tad Hang and Tad Lo. Again you could wander over the boulders to get closer to the waterfalls. It was nice being able to walk around than having everything fenced and cemented. I’m sure this will come in due time. The other enjoyable feature is that there are very few tourists at these waterfalls. Roving about the Bolaven Plateau you feel a sense that this is what the south of Lao is really like. Devoid of tourist services and hoardes of tourists, you can see villagers and observe locals going about their daily life. Past Tad Lo is a real, live Nik (ethnic group) village which is nice to also walk in and observe. The villagers don’t seem to mind and continue about on their way. The chickens, pigs and other animals also don’t seem to mind. The children might ask you to donate a pen, apparently as an educational resource, but my guide told me they try to discourage giving as it only encourages the children to keep asking each time a foreigner comes through.

Lunch stop was nearby where there was a guesthouse for foreigners and a computer centre and library. Sometimes foreigners come and volunteer to teach anyone in the area how to use a computer and speak English. The food was good and freshly made here. I enjoyed a chicken curry and sticky rice. The host spoke very good English and French (as well as Lao)!

We stopped off at a Sinouk (brand) coffee plantation and resort. With elegantly manicured gardens it seemed out of place after passing through coffee farming village after village. Sinouk, while less well known as Dao, apparently treats their coffee farmers better, but who knows. The farmers we passed along the road certainly aren’t living in places as well kept as this resort facility.

Then it was onto seeing the Tad Yoaung and Tad Fane waterfalls. I felt the day was leading up to these two falls. Tad Yoaung was more impressive than Tad Fane because you could get closer to it. Tad Fane, even from afar, the height of the falls was impressive. Finally we stopped at a coffee and tea farmer’s plantation and got to see how they pick coffee! Also the farmer’s wife poured us some fresh green tea which was delicious and refreshing. A lovely way to end the day!

Waterfalls on the Bolaven Plateau, Champasak, Southern Laos