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After a cramped boat ride and a sauna of a bus ride we were told to get off the bus with a simple "Champassak!" from the driver. Most people on the bus were going straight through to Pakse but we had read about Vat Phu and decided it was a must see. The few passengers who got off with us walked down the road to the river and got on a boat. We thought they must be going somewhere else as the driver had clearly told us we were in Champassak. 2 hours later and after a lot of walking with locals laughing and waving at us we realised we weren't in Champassak and that we needed to get a boat! Another scarey boat journey, this time two boats put together with wooden planks which about 5 4x4 cars drove onto and we had to stand and hope we'd make it there - see pics.
On arrival in what was actually Champassak a Tuk Tuk driver picked us up (free ride - result) and said he would take us to his guest house which was recommended in Lonely Planet. We checked in and decided to go to Vat Phu the following day as it was now getting late. The room was 2.75gbp a night and the food was cheap and very good, all main meals costing less than 1 pound. Once again our view of the Mekiong was breathtaking and we spent the evening watching the fisherman and the sunset with our new best friend, Beer Laos.
The following morning we rented bicycles from the guesthouse and they gave us directions to Vat Phu, a 20 kilometre round trip. It was a very HOT morning but our ride to the ancient religious complex was at least flat and it we quickly learnt how to say Hello in Laos, waving and laughing with the locals. We took pictures of people working the rice fields and of the lush green scenery, so pretty.
Vat Phu has been a place of worship since the mid 5th century and there are still remains of several buildings and statues on the hillside which is based on 3 levels. The site is managed really well and we were surprised at how wonderful the views were and how scerene the whole place was, hopefully our pictures will do it justice.
When we got back to our guesthouse Matt found the resident mynah bird and went missing for half an hour, amazed! A talking bird that repeats everything you say perfectly, hours of fun! We took a video which we can hopefully post on here...
Champassak is a very small village so there is little choice of other places to go but there was a nice hotel just over the road with Wifi so we decided to eat here (fab food!) and watch the BBC website for commentary on the GP. That was exciting for a while until Hamilton crashed out... less said...
This was the night of the England v Italy European Championship quarter final and we were worried we'd made a mistake being in such a small village, noone was showing the game. Matt used his charm with the owner of our guesthouse and he agreed we could watch the game with him in his lounge! Time for a nap...... the alarm woke us up at 1.15am and we crept into the front of the guesthouse where the owner had set up his telly, had the game on and handed us 2 bottles of Beer Laos - brilliant. A shame England went out on penalties but a funny experience for us.
Waking up late the following day we decided to rent bicycles again and enjoyed venturing around sleepy Champassak. At one stop we ordered peanuts and they came freshly roasted, nice with a cold beer on the river. We had a quick evening meal and an early night ready to leave for Pakse early in the morning.
- comments
Janet Pantry Great post Gemma! I'm following your blog with interest. Ella sent me the link. You really make these places come alive for me, not having been any farther afield than the Canaries! All the best to you both and keep posting! Janet Pantry (Ella's mum)
Gem Thanks Janet, glad you're enjoying it. Means spending half a day in an internet cafe every now and then but at least there's air con! Off exploring is fab, we'll be able to print a book from here when we are finished so it'll be a lasting memory for both of us. Hope you're good, love Gem x