Sao Darly

We left Champasak Hospital and went home so I can get some rest. I was all bundled up in a hammock underneath Tou Yar Nou Khao’s house with enough medication to fight off the fever. After getting through with the hot and cold flashes it was time to hit the road again. Our Jumbo driver from this morning also lives in Ban Houaylao and he came by check and make sure we arrived home okay. He made an apology for not being able to pick us up and invited us to go to Ban Nonghoy for their Boun Suang Huer or Boat Racing Festival and to make a stop at Wat Chom Phet on the way back.

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After a short nap I was told my Aao is back and ready to take me back to Pakse. I said goodbye to everyone and got in the truck and we headed toward Pakse at 3:45 PM. It was pouring so hard when we drove by Ban Muangkao and the sky was flashing everywhere. Below are the photos taken at 4:22 PM as we were driving on Lao-Nippon Bridge aka Pakse Bridge into Pakse.

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Another day of more stories about my two months adventure in Laos. It was October 17, 2008 and my 12th day in Laos. I woke up early as usual with not much sleep and was not feeling well at all. It was a humid morning and the temperature kept rising and was predicted to be about 40 degree Celsius that day. I packed a couple of outfits and trip to Muang Phonethong.

By 8:00 AM I went next door for breakfast. Aunt Phone had a craving for tum green banana so she made that to add to the left-over. I only ate a banana and a cup of tea and we headed out to Houaylao Elementary School first before going to the hospital to visit Grand-Mama and say goodbye to the relatives since I won’t be seeing them for a couple of days.

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Ban Phonsikhay named as Ban Wattanatham of Champasack Province.

part 2
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Laos is the top destination in Asia for ecotourism. There is plenty to do at the World Heritage Town of Luang Prabang as well as Wat Phu in Champassak province. Check out the two promotional clips from the Lao National Tourism Administration. You just might want to head down to the land of a million elephants.

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For the majority of the people in Laos there is no such thing as taking a vacation. Most of my relatives (the poor ones) have never been anywhere beyond their town or province. If they are fortunate enough to have relatives outside of Laos that would often visit them, then they have a chance to go to places they have only heard about or seen on TV.

After Bay’s engagement party, her finance took everyone out on the town. This waterfall in Pakse is one of the spots they went to. The name of this waterfall is Huay Xe (if I read the sign correctly) and one of the places I didn’t get a chance to visit during my stay in Laos last year. This waterfall is simple and many people like to take a shower underneath it. It is not as grand or as spectacular as Khone Phapheng, Lipi, Tad Fane, or Tad Paxuam but it is a place where many locals would go to for a family picnic with green papaya salad, BBQ chicken, and sticky rice. Mo (pictures above) told me that no one should take a shower there and he would never do it again himself. The reason? Well, the water might be clear but near the source on higher ground there are pig farms. Guess where the farmers dump the waste? Down with the water of course.

For my relatives in Vientiane that are well to do they often take vacation outside of Laos. For a quick vacation they would go to Thailand so they can enjoy the sun at the beach or shop until they drop. For a longer vacation they would go to the USA and visit relatives and then go to New York or go to Europe like Paris or London. Just like anywhere in the world, when you are poor, you keep busy trying to find enough food to eat. When you have enough money at a certain level then vacation is a luxury that you can afford.

The storm is coming and you can’t out run it or find a place to hide. You just have to stand up and weather the storm. Who knows there might be a beautiful rainbow at the end of a rain.

After my visit to Champasak Palace Hotel, I went back to Wat Louang for the second time. The first time I was there with my parents was in the late afternoon. We were there for less than 10 minutes since it was busy with other tourists. My parents also were in a hurry to go to the evening market so I didn’t get a chance to take my time and walk around.

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During our stay in Pakse we often went to Ban Thahin Neua for the evening market. It is smaller than the other evening market in town but very closer to my cousin’s house. This town is along the main road to the new morning Pakse market and to get out of Pakse. It is also the only place I have found to have a bung (pond) with phak thob. It reminds me of a town that I used to live in Vientiane as a little kid.

After we came back from Pakse Market, we finished packing and called for a Tuk Tuk to take us to the bus station. We wanted to get there early so we can choose a suitable bus. Since we were not taking the VIP bus back to Vientiane, we had to pick one that is not yet full of passengers and goods. After some selecting my aunts decided on a bus that was not full of goods on top. Unlike the VIP bus, the economy bus is loaded with sticky rice bags inside the bus and animals and more bags of rice on top.

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