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Blog 29
7 hour journey to the village seems like nothing really! All on a local songtau so not the most comfortable of rides but can't complain when you're paying less than £7.
When we arrived we had planned on staying in a home stay somewhere but the eco lodge which was just where the bus stopped which was only £3 a night for a private room beckoned us in.
That afternoon we explored the little village which was gorgeously friendly and small, saw a kid rather savagely kill a metre long smaller which was just minding it's own business on the road (I'm guessing he knew it was poisonous though!) and headed back to near the lodge for dinner. After tea, both felt pretty bloated so went for another little walk which didn't seem to help on my part before I stated with a stomach bug which lasted all night! Not the nicest of bathrooms to be stuck on the toilet in - the door didn't even close. I made Bryn wear ear plugs that night! Pretty mortifying but can have slightly more empathy for patients after that experience! Can still taste that bile now!
Next morning, feeling drained but defiant I wouldn't miss the main attraction of the 7km cave I took a loperimide and a rehydration sachet (1 week later and the affects of the loperimide have finally worn off! Yay!) and we headed down to the cave. A boat and a couple of Laos guys took us through the cave at a rate of knots. First reaction was I definitely wasn't going to be needing that jumper I brought with me... it was so hot and humid! At parts this cave was 100m in height, and the stalagmite formations were incredible! Oo that reminds me we still need to look up how they're formed. My guess was it was the minerals being leached out of the limestone rock, but I guess Google will have to clear that 1 up. After a few wobbles on the boat as we became grounded a few times we were eventually brought out into the 'hidden valley' which is only accessible through the cave where we had 10 minutes to top up on normal oxygen and have a drink (and a toilet stop.... this doesn't seem fair!) Before we headed back through the way we came.
On arriving back in the village we jumped on the bus at 11.30 to start what was going to be the worst journey so far. The first bus to the nearest village, Thakek, took 4 hours, but wer told 1/2 an hour! Next bus took us to a random junction where we were luckily met by the next bus about to leave for Pakse so jumped aboard. Now aiming to be in Pakse by 12am ready for the 1am bus to our destination. We stupidly didn't think that buses run on Asian time so actually arrived on Pakse at 2.30am. Ooooo that annoying Asian music which is cranked upto top volume, while I tried to sleep on the bus is still burning my ear drums!
You can probably tell that: having d and v; 2 nights no sleep; and no food for 36 hours made me quite a grumpy lady!
Love Jojo x
Blog 29 continued... Pakse
Arriving into a city at 2.30am was never going to be a good idea but never mind... sometimes there is just no easy option. We weren't planning on staying the night here but after finding we'd missed the bus to take us further on we reluctantly were ushered into a moto tuktuk and driven round to several guesthouses to get a few hours kip at last.
To cut a long story short, we were ripped off for a room, ripped off for the moto ride and almost malled by some wild dogs but finally got a few hours much needed recovery sleep. Tiredness undoubtedly made the situation feel worse but the next morning we woke up feeling refreshed and set on our way to the 4000 islands in south Laos! Yay! Get us out of Pakse.
Love Jo x x x
- comments
Mum xxxxxx I can just feel that tummy bug Jo! AND the defiance to keep going and not miss anything! I hope Bryn understood why the 'grumpy lady' syndrome kicked in during the next hectic few days of travelling! The caves do, however, sound unmissable! I know as you read this you'll be back in Thailand and hopefully soaking up some sea air and rest and recovering!
Jojo Bryn was very understanding mum! He'd make a good nurse! Just had a lovely few days soaking up the sun on koh payam...bliss! X