It's raining it's pouring, and jH is snoring..

  Savannakhet, Savannakhet, Lao Peoples Dem Rep
Saturday, May 10, 2008

My last few days in Laos before I head further east and into Vietnam..

From Pakse I hopped on a bus (well 3 actually) to get back north to Savannakhet, I don't know why I needed 3 buses, I only paid for the first and was shuffled onto the others along the route, think one of them the engine was over cooking, they kept pulling over for no reason.

All a little frustrating when no one knows a word of English!

But it all adds to the mixture of the adventure, nice to be the only westerner or "falang" as the locals always mummer when a strange face is about.  Had a monk sat in the row of chair opposite to me on the last leg of the journey, he was only young, maybe in his early teens but his thirst for knowledge and information was very impressive, inquisitive about the book I was reading, Glue by Irvine Welsh, wonder what he would make of it if he could read it.  Seems to be so out there for me some of his books, but for the monk, it would on a different level.

The pictures from the Laos/Vietnam lonely planets kept him busy for a good half hour, but we both had a chuckle at the visual cabaret show that was being pumped out of the DVD entertainment center at the front of the bus, camp men dressed as women, faces full of well over the top make up, prancing around on a stage infront of a live audience - performing class slapstick..

Somethings, I guess are universal.

So my last major junction in my Laos experience, Savannakhet. Not much to report from the town, although the charming Dinosaur Museum was an interesting experience, the region has had a large number of important historical finds.  But the Museum, which is made up of 1 medium sized room doesn't seem to have any of them.. still the staff were welcoming and equally charming! Enthusiasm counts for a lot in this parts..

Having had almost too much fun the previous day at the museum, I decided to head off on a mini moto-bike loop (not on a tiny bike, but a small looped route through the surrounding area and back to the town in time for dinner!  So I rented a Chinese made Honda, well it had Honda stickers on it, not to mention go faster strips! And headed out, only to return because the odometer wasn't working, so a quick visit to the rental places recommended mechanic and I was away.. 25k to fix it, or 3 USD..

Vroom, Vroom..

The loop takes you east from Savannakhet up onto agricultural land

Local Farmers..

and through fairly remote villages, the tarmac / surfaced road completely disappears and you're left dodging the stones and tractors whilst trying to maintain grip on the dirt track. There's a couple of Buddhist Wats to visit which the local monks are more than happy to take you around, even if they can't speak a word of English, and with my Laos being limited to "thank you", "thank you very much" and "hello" / Goodbye" it was still an enjoyable experience.  Ban Dong Mouang there is a "MONKEY FOREST', the LP said come prepared with bananas, so I did.. but still no monkeys,

Monkey Forest..

so I headed for the Wat and another Monk spotted me and showed him the banana, and he ushered me over to an opening and started making noises - not quite a monkey sounds, but it was enough to get there attention, at least 30 rampaging monkeys could be seen tear-arseing there way towards us! 

Strangely enough though they all came to a halt just infront of us, well all expect the biggest one, I guess the others were just waiting inturn. So I lobbed a couple of bananas to the big fella and distributed the others to the rest.

Next on the LP route was a river crossing! Something that I always was a little bit dubious about, they mention that you should cross first on foot to check the depth and then whack the bike in first and floor it! Well I came around the corner and thought, that's a no, no..

River Crossing..

kids were swimming in it, and some older lads came over as I assessed the situation.  Again the language barrier was a problem but not a major one, me pointing to my bike and then pointing to the other side, followed with their laughing gave me more than enough of an idea that the crossing wasn't possible! 

Oh well, an about turn was needed.. and I head back to town..

The route is listed in the 2007 Laos LP on page 248, but from my recent experience at attempting, maybe try it in the dry season, or knowing that it hasn't rained in a couple of days..

Anyhow, just taking some time to go through and update the last month or so (eak) time does fly when you're having fun! Still I hear the weather back home is lush, just to let you know, it's been raining soild here for 24hrs! nice, nice, nice.. But I've got a comfy bed, with cable TV and there's resonable food and internet access within reach! ahhh, the little things in life.. wish you all well.. jH

More to follow..
Next step Vietnam..
Photos for the 'Savannakhet Spin' on Flickr..