Doug visited this town 5 or 6 years ago and found it to be a sleepy Lao outpost - no much going on! What a surprise it was to witness the changes that have taken place. Pakse is the capital of Champasak province and an educational and cultural centre. It appears that many dollars are flowing in for government buildings, new hotels, etc.. And they blend with the remnants of French colonial architecture. The activities we enjoyed were: walking along the Mekong River, exploring the historic old quarter of Pakse, coffee shops, fine dining on the hotel rooftop ($20 inclusive), great buffet breakfasts, massages (this is the only one I have enjoyed -$9,and last but not least the day trip to the Bolaven plateau with it's spectacular waterfalls,tea and coffee plantations and traditional weaving villages.
Mekong River
Mekong River
DON KHONG
This island is located about 3-4 hours from Pakse ($7 each).We spent 4 days here but 2 is probably enough. The highlight of the time there was a 45 km bike ride around the island before breakfast. We stayed at an upscale hotel for ($40/night) and met 2 great guys from Australia.
DON DET
This island is best reached from Don Khong by a one and a half hour boat ride. The scenery is exceptional and on an adjacent island Don Kone we saw the largest waterfall in South East Asia. These waterfalls are the reason that shipping does not occur on the Mekong as they a
Make navigation impossible. We had the remarkable experience and good luck to see the Irrawatty River Dolphins (only 100 left in the world)while we were on a boat excursion on the Mekong River. There is so much environmental damage being done to this country and this helps explain why plant and animal life is disappearing. That issue is too complex to get into here. The island is a backpackers favorite.
We treated ourselves to borderline luxury at the Inthira Hotel. It was a wonderful base to explore the UNESCO site of Wat Phou - a pre-Angkorian Temple complex. The best way to explore the area is by bike and that is what we did. It was a great preparatory experience for our visit to Angkor Wat in Cambodia. The restoration work for the this site is being done by French, italian and Indian archeologists. Millions are being spent with many more millions required. The climb to the top terrace is dedicated to the god Shiva is well worth the effort as it provides outstanding views of the entire area.
We are now in Siem Reap on November 28, 2011 more on that in the next blog. Sooner or later we will learn to put pictures on the blog. Our daughter-in-law is helping us do the right now. However, we have mastered putting pictures on Facebook so you can join us there.
Trip at a glance
Weather - hot, hot, hot and sunny - mid 30s celsius
Hotels - Pakse Hotel ($40)- excellent, villa Muong Khong Hotel ($40)- excellent, Little Eden B&B ($44)- very good but no breakfast included and Inthira Hotel $(44)- excellent
Costs - first 30 days - $115/day, second 30 days - $133.26/day and overall for 62 days of travel inclusive of everything - $124.17. Keep in mind we are not choking nickels. We are in the mid range under $50 for accommodation and we have opted to fly sometimes rather than take buses. What we are saying is you could do it more cheaply.
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