Southern Laos Mekong River Cruise

The last three days have been without internet while I was on board a riverboat. We left Saturday morning for the bus that took us about 2.5 hours south to Pha Peng waterfall, which is the largest cascade on the Mekong river along its 2700-mile journey from Tibet to the South China Sea. There was a large crowd of locals there that day because the army was going to try to raise a 2000 year old tree that fell into the river using a helicopter. We didn't stay around long enough for that show, but we did spend time at the falls.

After the falls, we had lunch at a small restaurant on the Mekong. After lunch we boarded a longboat and made our way downstream to Khone Island, which still has some French influence, including an old steam locomotive from the late 1800's.

After exploring the island on foot, we boarded the longboat again for about a three hour trip upstream, where we met our riverboat. We got settled, made our way upstream a bit more to where we docked for the night. We had a delicious dinner, and then called it a night.

The next morning (Sunday) we were up early cruises up-river a little ways to the small fishing village of Ban Dua Tae. The houses were mostly built on stilts to prevent flooding during the rainy season. We then cruised upriver for most of the rest of the day, passing many small islands along the way. The local people cultivate vegetables for familial use on the sunny banks, using the river water to help the veggies grow! We passed fisherman in their small dugout boats casting their nets.

Later in the afternoon we stopped at another small village called Houei Tami, where we explored the ruins (and man were they in ruins!) of the nearby Angkorian temple of Oum Moung, which was a 12th century Khmer sanctuary hidden in the forest!

After visiting the ruins, we returned to the ship for dinner. The next morning (Monday) we were up for a ride to another temple called Vat Phou. It was very hot, and we had a steep climb up to the main temple. Although it was a tough climb, especially in the heat, the view was totally worth it. There was an archeological team hard at work surveying the temple, taking measurements and photos. It was great to see then at work, but I wish they would have gotten out of my pictures....... Oh well! You can't have everything, I suppose.

We then made our way back to the boat, where we had lunch, packed up, and then boarded a small longboat which took us back to Pakse. We were dropped off at the hotel, and after a long trip in the heat, I decided to take a swim in the cool, refreshing pool. It was lovely. Not too long after, it was time for dinner. Tomorrow we fly to Cambodia (103)!