Destination known and looking for jobs!: Pakse, Laos (March 16-March 20)

We took a long boat ride back to Si Phan Don to catch the bus to Pakse. Although, we had to say goodbye to Don Det, wqe didn’t yet have to say goodbye to Geraldine and Jaci. They caught the same bus as us to Pakse and we ended up staying at the same guesthouse. These girls were such fun and so glad that we got the chance to travel with them for a little bit. I fully intend to crash their flat in London one day and hope that someday they make it across the Atlantic to visit. The girls left the next morning for their travel adventures, and I will admit I was a little bummed without them.

The travels must go on and Jeff rented another motor scooter. We drove out to the Champasak Province and took a car ferry across the Mekong. From there we drove to Wat Phu Champasak which is one of Laos most important archaeological sites. It was built in the 6^th century and might have been the blueprint for Angkor Wat and the other Khmer temples in Cambodia. The temple complex is built into a hillside and is divided into lower and upper parts that are joined by steep, steep stone staircases. The temples were originally dedicated Hindu gods, but at some point was converted into a Buddhist temple . It was a beautiful temple and from the upper level there were some magnificent views of the Laotian countryside.

The following day, we drove the scooter out to the Bolaven Plateau. Here we saw several impressive waterfalls. We stayed in a little village that night by the Tat Lo waterfall. Jeff had fun swimming in the river with the local children. The next morning we hopped back on the scooter and went to the Tat Meelook waterfall and the Tat Fan waterfall before heading back into Pakse. We returned our motor scooter and booked our next bus to Tha Khaek were our next adventure awaited us.