Pakse and the Thakhek loop – 21st to the 25th May

Leaving Don Det with Jon he brought us to the smallish city of Pakse, due north (as south would take you back to Cambodia). Once there we checked into this stunning hostel. One of the nicest places I’ve stayed, super cheap but they also just really looked after you. I had some laundry done, I gave it to them at 3 and by 7 it was folded and on my bed. I think that service might have cost me $1 per kilo. They even folden the towels into swans etc

We rented a couple of scooters to do some exploring. We ended up picking up a straggler who had a few hours to kill before her bus. We drove to a few of the sights around town and some of the markets. We saw a cool big golden buddha among other bits. The next day we drove one of the bikes to some nearby waterfalls which were good to see – with some fun climbs to get there. Pakse was a nice place, but only really a stepping stone for onward travel.

From Pakse our trip took us to the even smaller town of Thakhek. Thakhek is home to the Thakhek loop which as far as I can tell is the only reason people visit. My first job there was to find somewhere to rent a couple of motorbikes. I tried two places, the first seems all good and reasonably priced. The second was run by a German guy. I asked if he had any bikes to rent and he asked if I had driven before. Which I had, including a challenging drive around north Vietnam. He then proceeds to simply and bluntly tell me it’s a suicide mission for me (those were his exact words) but when pressed he couldn’t really tell me why. Weird vibes from that guy – we didn’t rent a bike from him. Perhaps I misunderstood his German charm.

I did find my favourite cafe perhaps ever. It was an airconned, dutch style building, of course overlooking the river. The ambience was peaceful, with soft piano music and fun but minimal decoration. I spent about 6 hrs in there one day (from 12 to 6), I think I had 4 cups of tea and two cookies for a total of £3. And Yorkshire tea no less! I have no idea where they got that from, but having left the heaven of Don Det a good cuppa was a welcome relief from the transition to the real world. 

The next day we found a different bike rental place which was even cheaper. I had a read through the paperwork and it stated that in the event of any damage to the bike we would be liable for the full cost of the bike (rather than the repair costs). I wasn’t having that, and asked what the wording meant exactly as it was slightly broken english. The lady just crossed it out and that was the paperwork sorted. Our hostel had a mural map of the loop, so we took a photo of that to guide us and set off.

The first day was a stunning drive, surrounded by towering mountains and gorgeous scenery. The following days were much the same. Along the way we visited caves, waterfalls, and any viewpoints we passed. Pretty quickly at some of the stops we were meeting the same people.

We met a group of two Frenchies and a French-Canadian whom we hung out with a fair bit.

One night we stayed at the very social Sabaidee hostel (Sabaidee translating to hello in Lao). We arrived, had a quick shower, and joined the ongoing BBQ. Everyone was drinking and eating, it was a lovely evening.

One very cool part of the loop was the Kong Lor Cave. This cave housed an underground river, which was only discovered a short(ish) time ago – the last couple hundred years. However, the explorers who first traversed the cave discovered the river runs through a mountain and connects two towns. Reducing journey time from days to hours – which is pretty cool.

We took a return boat trip through the cave, boarding a long thin boat with a flat bottom. Head torches were provided and we sat back and soaked into the enormousness of the cave. The journey through went against the current. At serval points Jon and I had to hop out, so the driver could get the boat up shallow fast flowing rapids – almost mini-waterfalls.

We loved the cave. I’m not normally a cave person, most of them are the same. But this one was cool. There was an option to take our bikes through the cave on the boat. Some fellow travellers ahead of of us did, so we got to the see the boat drivers get the boat with the bike up the final largest rapids. In the end it took four men, three pulling and one pushing. Initially just the three drivers tried it, but eventually the bike driver/owner waded in also to lend a hand. This was after the drivers almost lost both the bike and the boat getting the boat stuck while rapidly taking on water. I was standing on dry landing filming providing no help.

After the cave we opted not to finish the loop and instead cut back on ourselves. Completing more of a C-shape route rather than a proper loop. Overall it was 3 days of open road, a mate and stunning scenery. So we had a blast.

The boat drivers almost losing a boat and bike to the water

A nice spot for dinner in Thakhek