Pakse

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Pakse is a small town that serves as a transport hub for southern Laos.  It is the home a few bus stations, the only airport in the region and not much else.  Before we arrived in Laos we had been trying to arrange a zip-lining trek in the jungle through a company called Green Discovery.   The trek was really expensive but Green Discovery offers large discounts for larger groups.  I had been emailing and calling for a few weeks trying to see if anyone else had booked, but by the time week got there nobody had booked yet.  So we stopped by the office in Pakse to put our name on the list and I left my local Laos Cell number so they call me if anyone else was interested.

Then we went to the bus station and jumped on a very interesting local bus or “super tuk tuk” heading towards Ban Nakasang in Four Thousand Islands. There were two rows on either side with a bench in the middle and we had to wait until bus full.  Little piggies rode with us in bamboo cages. There was enough room for about 12 adults, yet they crammed 25 people onboard.  At the last minute, we met Danielle and Or, from Israel who were meeting their friends in Si Phan Don (Four Thousand Islands).  The ride was quite a trip. A young boy facing us humored us along the way. We suddenly stopped and about 20 women came running up to bus with chickens and squirrels on sticks as well as whole smashed grilled bananas. They also offered us cool drinks. We tried the banana. Sitting across from us was a grandma with her grandchildren, and a whole black grill of teeth. Not sure if they were rotten or made that way out of tradition. Suddenly the bus screeched to a halt. Ladies who collected fare sitting up front hopped out and driver ran around to passenger side with a stick. There was so much commotion but we had no idea what was going on. Everyone was talking loud or laughing. Or hopped out and noticed a caterpillar like bug and pointed out the driver who jumped back. All we could figure is that maybe it was poisonous. For the rest of the drive, the driver looked around frantically in his cab. The women crammed in the back with us.

Then the sky started to look even cloudier than when we left. A few passengers had gotten off and they pulled the bags of the falang (“foreigners”) inside the cab. Then it started to pour. Not drizzle, but sheets of rain. Most transportation has a tarp on top and tarp on side to roll down, not this one. So we got drenched as it came splashing in the sides. Our backs were soaked as well as our feet and arms. The ride was about three hours and we had quite the adventure.

The four of us were lost to get dropped off at the bus terminal. Not knowing where to go, they kind of just pointed us down a street. We wandered around 5 minutes until we started to see water. Danielle tried to negotiate a cheaper fare for us, but there was only one boat and it was late in the day. We paid our 20k kip per person and got a boat ride. We decided to tag along with Danielle and Or and their friends and went to Don Det Island.

 

+Gallery
  • Our Room Decoration in Pakse.
  • Loading up on Supplies in Pakse
  • Looks Great but it's the meal that God Mandy Sick
  • Old Laition Man Getting Soaked in the Storm
  • Smashed Chickens on Sticks for Sale in Laos
  • Lil Piggie on the Super Tuk-Tuk
  • Super Tuk-Tuk to 4K Islands!
  • Piglets in a Basket in Laos
  • Pigs in Baskets
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Posted: June 21, 2012

Author: Adam and Amanda

Category: Asia, Blog, Continents, Laos

+1 Comment
  1. [...] lives.  Amanda and I had not planned on going to Israel on this trip but just before departing, two Israelis were thrown onto the same Super Tuk-Tuk minibus as us in Laos.  We then went to stay at the same part of the 4,000 Islands with them and their friends.  And [...]

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