Experience 6: From Lao to Cambodia
After our adventures in the remote village Muang Ngoi we relaxed a couple of days in Luang Prabang. The food is great in Luang Prabang. Lous favourite is the Indian food. Robs favourite is the whole grilled fish on the food market. From Luang Prabang we took a sleeping bus to Vientiane. We couldn’t believe our eyes: two lines of bunks! We are very lucky that we are relatively small, so we fit exactly in the small beds.
Vientiane also has its excellent food, however Lous didn’t enjoy all of it. The poor girl did spend the whole night on the toilet. Fortunately the hotel was OK (Lao Heritage Hotel), so she could recover in order to travel to the south of Lao, to Pakse.
In Pakse our friends Pat and Janey were waiting for us again and we rented a scooter to visit the Khmer ruins from Wat Phu. On our way back, we visited a beautiful new Buddha. At this place we were the attraction and locals were photographing us instead of the other way around.
After Pakse, the four of us went further down to Don Khone, one of the Four Thousand Islands, near the Cambodian border. We biked, watched waterfalls and Irrawadee dolphins. Above all we enjoyed the hospitality of the Lao people. The smiles you get are genuine and the carelessly and happiness that they beam are worthwhile a visit.
Border crossing was an adventure due to the fact that we did not listen to Marlous, so our passports were traveling with the wrong bus. Lesson learned: never trust your passport to anyone else but yourselves.
In the meanwhile we are in Siem Reap, after we did a great Jungle Trekking in the Virachey National Park, near the friendly city Ban Lung. Click here to open a youtube video we made.
We are exited about the Ankor Ruins that we are going to explore as from tomorrow.
Greetings,
Marlous and Rob