Si Phan Don

.Also known as 4,000 Islands,Si Phan Don marks the the southern end of Laos and the border with Cambodia and is the place where The Mighty Mekong river is at its most serene and also it's most ferocious.

I found on arrival at Pakse after a frustrating six hour bus trip from Savannakhet,that in half an hour a mini bus was leaving for Don Kong,the largest of the 4,000 islands,it meant another three hours of travel but the promise of an anticipated destination at the end of a long day won out over a transit rest stop at Pakse.So with the last light of the day disappearing and after probably the last ferry crossing of the day my mini bus dropped me outside a guesthouse on Don Kong.

At the last possible moment the following day I tagged along with a Chinese tour group of seven for an epic day tour of the islands.The day was overcast and untypical  grey as we boarded a long tail boat at the guesthouse.A two hour cruise through islands big and small brought us to Don Khone which along with its neighbor Don Det are the two most tourist populated islands.The two islands are connected by an old French railway bridge,Det is the choice of the younger, party loving crowd and Khone by the older quieter culture.Both being veritable townships of cheaper guesthouses and restaurants.

On disembarking the boat we set off on a five kilometer bicycle ride along the track which was once the railway to the far end of Don Khone,and indeed to the far end of Laos.Here we board a smaller boat for the short crossing to Cambodia where for an entrance fee of three dollars,no passports,no questions, we were allowed ashore.We are here in hope of a sighting of the very rare and endangered freshwater Irrawaddy dolphin,a small species of grey/ blue animal,  less than one hundred in mumber,and thought to have been trapped in this very small environment at some time in history.Once a sighting has been made we return to our boats and head towards that spot,where we drift around in the hope of a closer encounter and hooray it happens.They are fast and cute and too illusive for the photographic skills of yours truly but is was magical and each new breach drew shrieks of delight from my fellow travelers.

All too soon we return to our parked bicycles and we pedal off in the direction whence we came but divert to the Somphamit waterfalls said to be the biggest in SE Asia,the roar and violence are in direct contrast to the serenity of our previous location,I am almost mesmerized by a large bird,a crane or perhaps stork perched in the midst of the falls looking for its next meal.

We return to the township for lunch and the heavens open,it pours with rain relentlessly for a couple of hours before easing enough for us to splash our bikes through the muddy puddles and return to our original boat. Heading for Nakasang,the small mainland port that serves as the ferry terminal for Don Det and Don Khone here  we disembark into a minibus for the trip to the Khong Phapheng Falls which are perhaps even more impressive than Somphamit.

Returning to our boat and resuming our journey in the deepening gloom of nightfall and the cold drizzling rain driving uncomfortably in on us,I am grateful to my new Chinese  friends who share umbrellas and take pity on the unprepared ferang from Australia.

Arriving,finally back at the guesthouse a couple of LaoLao cocktails soon warm me up after a big day out.

Si Phan Don.

The boat and fellow passengers.

Old French bridge between Don Khone and Don Det.

Cambodia.

Cambodia and the Dolphin habitat behind me.

Irrawaddy Dolphin.

Cute blurry dolphin.

Back on the bikes.

Somphamit Falls.

At Khone Phan Pheng.

Homeward bound.

Tham Kong Lor

The purpose behind my traveling to this rather off the beaten track destination was to visit the not so famous cave here.There were plenty of compensations for the journey,the meandering road through the  karsts was a scenic wonderland and the bus terminates at the rural Lao village of Kong Lor where the locals live as they have always lived,tilling the land,tending the crops surviving another day.They also run a few basic guesthouses for us tourists to sleep in before and after visits to the cave and to my great delight they unaffectedly provide a window into rural  day to day Lao life.

It's a straight forward walk of a kilometer to the river bank and the entrance to the cave where you pay your entrance fee and your boatman and hire a headlight.From here another short walk over the bamboo bridge and and down into the mouth of the cave,which almost unbelievably remained undiscovered until 1995.The boats,long narrow skiffs powered by a long tail motor, crewed by a bowman and and skillful driver whisk you straight into the pitch blackness at high speed and it becomes immediately apparent why life jackets are provided.Often during the nearly 8 kilometer journey it is necessary to disembark to assist in pushing and manhandling the boat over extreme shallows and through rapids.With no warning you go from high speed to a sudden, grating stop as the boat hits the pebble bottom.In fairness to my two young  companions,Jonas and Dennis from Germany,I have to admit I was  sometimes allowed to remain in the boat during these manoevres ,perhaps in recognition of my being more hindrance than help or in deference to my advancing years.

There is is also a place to leave the boat and walk through an eerily lighted area of some of the best cave formations I have ever seen.In parts this magnificent tunnel  cave through the base of a mountain is so high the torches beam disappear in the inkiness and so wide as to be almost a lake.The hazards are numerous,other boats,partially submerged rocks,low ceilings and jagged projections.At some point I lost my flashlight,whilst adjusting my camera and perhaps like nighttime mountain journeys it becomes a blessing that you can't see.

At the far side of the cave it is possible to go ashore for a drink and snack from the riverside huts the enterprising locals run.There is a village not far from here of great interest to anthropologists because of its isolation and it is possible to do Homestay here.

After a refreshing drink,in my case a beer to steel my nerves for the return journey we reembark for the second leg of the adventure which was as exciting as the first.

Jonas and Dennis were on a tight timeline and if possible did not want to spend a second night in the village of KongLor,so by virtue of two long and painful Tuktuk rides and one propitious encounter with a pair of rogues delivering new cars to Pakse we were able to make it to Savannakhet at about 9 that night.

Kong Lor.

Guesthouse.

Sunset at KongLor.

Mouth of Tham Kong Lor.

Refloating the boat.

The other side.

Disinterested.

Return voyage.

Home.

Vientiane

Vientiane has been described as the most laid back capital city anywhere,I find I can't better that description.It has graceful buildings of typical French Indo Chinese colonial style and a few wide boulevards leading to the Vientiana monument, a giant arc de triumph which is slowly decaying but serves as a useful viewpoint and landmark.

The tourist precinct is an easily walked few blocks from the promenade along the Mekong,hotels,guesthouses,restaurants and bars sit side by side with massage parlours and travel agents.Tuktuk drivers tout for business,though most everywhere of interest is comfortably walked or cycled.If it were not for the ubiquitous Republic of Lao and accompanying hammer and sickle flags one would not be aware this is a communist state,the police and military presence is low key all over the city,indeed the country.The one giveaway is the grandeur of the state ministries that people's republics seem to favor.

I made a point of visiting the COPE visitor centre which is within the large rehabilitation complex and has an heartbreaking exhibition of interview videos,photos and film of the ongoing carnage from the UXOs.This international volunteer organization do a fantastic job of providing orthotics,prosthetics  and rehab for mine and cluster bomb victims as well as information for those seeking it.

Like the worthy MAG people who actually coordinate and train the the disposal teams they are made up of  mostly British and southern hemisphere personnel.

Did I mention the USA,no,that is because they have already  provided the  2.5 million tons of ordnance to make possible this ongoing  multi generational do gooder enterprise.

All together now "the home of the free and the land of the brave".

Graceful Vientiane building.

My dinner cooking.

Street scene.

Monument.

Cluster bomb exhibit.

Vang Vieng

Vang Vieng had its reputation built on wild partying by western youth,in it's original incarnation it was little more than a dirt airstrip for warplanes,and now it is rather a lovely little town with heaps of adventure activities,laid back bars and restaurants and a backdrop of high scenic jungle covered karsts and a fast flowing river.It bears little resemblance to the real Laos,but undeniably it is Fun.

The casualty rate from drunken youth mixing water sports and high rope swings and zip lines into a shallow and boulder strewn river with high octane local cocktails resulted in many fatalities and permanent injury and forced the authorities to crack down.Now the riverside bars have been limited to three with the chief of police owning number 2.

I limited my adventure to observation mostly,not being up for rock climbing,white water kayaking,mountain biking or tubing.A sunset balloon ride and a boat trip up river,and even with a skilled local boatman we still hit rocks.was about all I could manage.

Followed by some research into local cocktails,It was a hell of a place to have to face ones old age.

Up,up and away.

Vang Vieng.

Backdrop to Vang Vieng.

Oops!

The prettiest balloon.

Exuberant tuber

Fishing.

Karsts

No handrails.

Kayakers.

Riverside bar.

Tham Piu Cave,Craters and 100 uses for UXO's.

The second day at Phonesavanh,(most people leave having seen the Jars,)I and my guide set off for more sombre sightseeing.At a point where the Ho Chi Minh trail became multiple tracks crossing  open ground there is a large paddock left pretty much as it was,except for the work done by the UXO clearance teams,photos do not do justice to the sight,what's missing is the third dimension of depth.Huge B52,500lb bomb craters just a few meters apart march in series across the land,like the malevolent footsteps of a mythical monster,just a small legacy of the millions of tonnes of ordnance dropped courtesy of Uncle Sam.

Resourceful Hmong tribe villagers find multiple uses for disarmed bombs and they are known to do their own dismantling to salvage the explosives to clear tree stumps for cultivation purposes,this often of course ends in tears for the survivors.

Most distressing by far though is the beautiful,peaceful idyllic Than Piu Cave,set in the mountain at the end of a valley,a mountain stream tumbling though the jungle and hundreds of colorful butterflies fluttering among the wildflowers.As far from war and conflict as is possible until one starts to see the blue metal flags marking the spots where  374 villagers are buried,the men ,women and children who used the cave as a bomb shelter until a US warplane having failed twice with bombs fired a rocket into the mouth of the cave.A mistake maybe,collateral damage, perhaps enemy soldiers or arms where the target?

The horrible brain numbing truth is that at that point in America's secret war in Laos,anything and everything was a target,they bombed temples,schools,hospitals,villages,farms and animals,cows and water buffalo.Having narrowly survived the two bomb attacks the village chief set off on a reconnaissance to find a safer cave for his people to  shelter in,on his return he found not a single survivor.I have no doubt the pilot is a well decorated war hero.

I doubt I will ever again hear the stirring words of The Star Spangled Banner without puking.

Bomb craters.

Fence posts.

Fireplace.

House stumps.

Than Piu Cave.

The result of the Bomb attack.

Inside looking out.

Cave mouth.

The Memorial.