3-Day Scooter Tour of Bolaven Plateau

17 - 21 January 2015

DAY 1

The next morning we slept in, had breakfast, and then picked up our scooters and a map of the Bolaven Plateau around noon.  Looking at the hand drawn map we will be lucky if we don't get lost!

The plan is to do the loop clockwise and stop at a few of the waterfalls pointed out on the map.  The goal for day 1 is to make it to Tad Lo only 50 miles away...thus our ability to sleep in.

We headed east out of Pakse and then turned north looking for Mr. Vieng Organic Organic Homestay.  This was in the tour guide as a place to stop for a coffee brewed from the beans picked right here in the Bolaven Plateau. We don't drink coffee, but we thought we would stop for a snack.  But, before we knew it we hit the town of Bane Lao Ngam and knew when we looked at the map that we passed the place.  

Oh well...next stop is our overnight town of Tad Lo.  According to the map we should make a right...well...somewhere.  We saw a possible right turn and stopped in front of a sign put up just for us...tourists.  I don't know why I didn't take a picture, but here is one I found on the internet:

With such a nice sign you would think that we wouldn't get lost...but we did.  We decided that the turn we were on wasn't the right right turn, so we went back to the main road and continued north looking for the next right turn.  When we found that turn there was another sign and a bunch of kids.  I said "Tad Lo?" and pointed and they all nodded, so we headed up the dirt road looking for the town.  Alas, the road didn't lead to a town of Tad Lo...it led to the waterfall Tad Lo:

Beautiful Tad Lo Waterfall.

After a nice break, it was back to the main road where we headed south, back the way we came, and back to the right turn we didn't think was the right turn and continued on that road that turned to a dirt road that turned back to a paved road and finally into a village.  Here is where we found our accommodations for the night overlooking a river and the waterfall Tad Hang:

View of our accommodations from the other side of the river. We are staying in the 2-story building.

Ah...there is the waterfall...beyond the bridge.

View from our building on the balcony restaurant. The waterfall is to the far left.

View looking downriver.

Just as good as the view was the dinner I ordered.  I ordered fried fish in chili sauce and was expecting pieces of  fish in sauce, but this is what was served:

Dinner!

Believe me...it tasted as good as it looks!  This place was beautiful and inexpensive.  Our room cost 90,000 Kip ($11.25 US).  We did have the option of a 50,000 Kip ($6.25 US) bungalow, but it had an outside shared bathroom and no shower.  We thought we made the right decision until people stayed on the balcony drinking till midnight right outside our door and then people were up at 6:00 AM ordering breakfast.  I guess everything can't be perfect.

Total Miles Day 1: 50 miles

DAY 2

We woke up a bit tired, but we got up and decided to walk to the Tad Hang waterfall just upriver before breakfast:

Tad Hang Waterfall

We also walked down the road a bit and found Tim's Guesthouse along with some pigs crossing the road:

Tim Guesthouse

After breakfast we hit the road. Today's plan is to ride another 50 miles to Sekong and spend the night there.  Here is what the scenery is like during this ride:

Taking a break in Thateng

We are doing good.  From the stop in Thateng it should be less than 30 miles to Sekong.  We should get there with plenty of time to relax.  We entered Sekong and it didn't look like much.  The travel guide mentioned a place on the other side of town to stay in so we headed that way...except we didn't see any place so we kept of riding. New plan...there is a guesthouse about 35 miles from here.

At this point of the trip the roads are supposed to get worse.  So far we have been on nicely paved roads, but here the map mentions that this road we are turning right onto is under construction.  We have been dreaded this part of the trip since we started the loop..now here we go.

Of course, after all the worrying the road wasn't too bad.  Yes, it was under construction and there were some areas of unpaved roads, but nothing that was too bad.  About 11 miles after the turn I spotted a small sign that said waterfall, so we stopped and checked it out.  It happened to be Nam Tok Katamtok Waterfall.  A 330 foot tall fall that is one of Laos' highest.

Nam Tok Katamtok Waterfall

Now it should be only 8 miles to the guesthouse, so we got back on the scooters and continued east looking for our overnight stop, which we found, which had no vacancy.  The inn-keep told us that it was only 25 miles to Paksong and we should continue to there.  So...back on the bikes and on to Paksong where we finally reached before dark.  We found a guesthouse ($11 US)  that looked OK with the only issue being a karaoke bar across the street that was kind of loud, but we figured we could turn up the TV and deal with it.  We checked in and headed to the restaurant next to the karaoke bar, had some soup since it was actually chilly up here on the plateau which ranges between 3,280 to 4,430 feet above sea level, then headed back to our room.  We turned on the TV to drown the awful karaoke, only there wasn't any channel in English so we had to try to sleep with the karaoke going.  Luckily with the long ride we did we were pretty tired, so it didn't keep us up.

Bikes parked in front of Paksong hotel.

Total Miles Day 2:  111 miles
Total Miles completed:  161 miles

DAY 3

We were now only 33 miles to Pakse, where we started the loop.  So we decided to head back there, get a hotel room, drop off our bags, and head south to Wat Phou, a temple ruin dating back to the 5th century.  So, we continued east until I saw another waterfall sign, so we followed the signs and wound up at Tad Gneuang Waterfall.  This one had an admission fee ($1.25 US each) and was a bit more touristy, but it was worth the visit:

After Tad Gneuang we rode the rest of the way to Pakse where we dropped off our bags and headed south to Wat Phou and some more beautiful roads and scenery:

After 30 miles from Pakse we made it to Wat Phou.  We were worried that after spending time in Siem Reap, Cambodia seeing Angkor Wat and other amazing ruins that Wat Phou would be a disappointment, but it wasn't.  The setting was spectacular making Wat Phou a highlight of Laos.

The processional causeway

Stairs to the upper level lined with Plumeria trees, the Lao national tree.

Heading to the upper level.

Upper level sanctuary.

Elephant Rock

Middle level.

Dvarapala statue on the middle level.

One more steep staircase to the upper level.

View from the upper level.

Walking back down. I love this pathway!

Yes that is a communist flag. Laos is a communist country.

After an awesome visit we headed back to Pakse, turned in our bikes, bought bus tickets to Savannakhet for tomorrow, ate dinner, and headed back to the hotel for our last night in Pakse...or so we thought.

Total Miles Day 3:  93 miles
Total Miles completed:  254 miles

The next morning Tim was not feeling well and after he "lost" last nights dinner I knew we were stuck in Pakse for another 2 days.  So now we are skipping Savannakhet and heading to Tha Khaek.  Luckily the guy I bought the bus ticket from understood and switched the day and destination of the ticket with no problem.

So...two days later we are now heading North to Tha Khaek to rent scooters and head to some amazing caves.  But first we have to survive a 7-8 hour public bus ride that should be quite an experiance.