321 ADVENTURE THRU THAILAND, LAOS AND CAMBODIA (4-16 January 2016), Day 4 - Blissful Day

Crossing on a narrow bridge requires some good manners and patience

Tractors are a typical mode of transport in Laos

These houses are a common sight in the outskirts of Laos

Village folks at Bolaven Plateau

Kids as young as nine riding on scooters

Development is coming to Laos

Morning view from the balcony

Less volume of water but still as majestic

Breakfast by the Falls

The LTF team

Cows coming down the hills to graze

Saise Resort, good food, good stay

Uttayan Bajiang

Bamboo Bridge

Dipping at Tad Pasuam

Can't get enough of this bridge

Tad Pasuam

Tad Pasuam, view from the Bamboo bridge

Tad Lo

Elephants bathing at Tad Lo is a common sight

Stepping out on a balcony to the sight of a majestic waterfalls is not an everyday event. It is a humbling experience. You start to appreciate life by itself and thank your Creator for this opportunity.

We see Tad Lo in a different light. While yesterday's view was of dusk and night, this morning we see the approach of a new day.

While the Falls is still magnificent, this morning we see smaller walls of water. As explained by Celia, they close the water gates to flood the dams upriver. This inadvertently reduces the mass of water at Tad Lo.

2 couples from the Netherlands were already gearing up to leave Saise. With them are 2 Gudereit SXR touring bikes from Germany. These bikes uses Rohloff hubs which houses 14 gears. No derailleur means not having to worry about it bending during a fall. The Gates carbon drive belt system by Gates Zahnreiman  on the bikes were fascinating. It removes the need for chain, chain rings and sprockets. No chains means not having to worry about lubing the bike.

The 4 riders were escorted by one of the couple's son and his girlfriend on scooter! They ride ahead to recce for hotels and food stops. Sounds like a very safe arrangement.

Celia surprised everyone with her early morning rise. Most days she is willing to miss breakfast but today she don't want to miss watching the elephants bathe by the river.

We crossed the rickety bamboo bridge. Celia did the iconic LTF jump for the camera. She already did that in pitch darkness, by the edge of Falls, the night before.

Again, she invited Claudine to jump. Again Claudine refused. She is making sure she get home in one piece.

Everyone got to Tad Lo Lodge with no sight of elephants bathing. Bush master VT spotted their droppings. In fact, the early risers, Ian and Anne had seen one of them from afar much earlier. VT and Claudine too!

Bath time over or not, Celia went up the lodge. Much later, one came by, perhaps for a second bath, perhaps ordered by Celia! His mahout sat on his back. The gentle giant carefully edged from the rocks to the waters.

They work like a team! He dunked his body with his mahout balanced on his back. Up and down, up and down!

It was more a performance for us than anything else. But we were delighted! Just as quickly, it was all over. His mahout called out in Laos and with that he walked slowly out to the river bank, this time, dunking his bright yellow poop into the river. One, two, three, four....yup, that's about it!

We followed our 47 year old friend. As we moved towards the restaurant, 3 teenaged monks were receiving alms in the form of food from the staff. The food were placed in the big metal pots they carried with them in their arms. Blessings in exchange for food.

There were two elephants at Tad Lo Lodge that day but the mahout kept the smaller one at bay.
We bought bananas at 5000 kips per comb to feed our gentle friend.

When we were done, we gave his mahout a small tip. He shared his secret with us. He learns English from a Laos-English dictionary which he proudly showed us!

This time, we walked out through the main entrance of Tad Lo Lodge to the sight of cows coming down the hill to graze. Alvin and Claudine ran ahead to take photos. Not long after they reached the road, few cars and scooters came by. The commotion and honking confused the poor cows. They started invading Tad Lo Lodge. A man on scooter, probably the herder came looking despaired! Instead, we tried to look innocent and quietly left him in his quandary.

We walked down the hill to many rustic guesthouses. It seems like "hot shower" is most attractive to backpackers here.

We saw some pigs feeding by the roadside.

We came by an old bombshell, now used as a table top altar.

We passed Tad Lo Computer Education Center and school library. They were housed in two separate wooden houses on stilts.

We came back to the river. We spotted a young girl doing laundry under the bridge. She walked away when she noticed us trying to photograph her.

We crossed the long wooden bridge back to Saise. Then we started a celebratory breakfast. 25000 kips for Pad Thai or pork fried rice, 10,000 kips for tea or coffee, 40,000 kips for an American breakfast served with baguette, butter and jam, 2 eggs, 2 puny sausages, fruits, tea or coffee. The food at Saise is always satisfactory.

After breakfast, we headed out to Tad Pasuam. Minutes into our ride, goats crossed our path. Then later, 2 pigs!

We rode along the unruly green bushes and wild daisies.

We crossed 10 bridges in total! We transversed some rivers, while some were just mere streams and one was dry in this winter season.

We passed by some stalls selling papayas. Few farmers were wheeling out their papayas the size of a fully grown man's thigh, for sale.

We passed by tapioca farms. We tailed a pick up truck loaded with tapioca roots near a dusty village. Here the roads are being expanded. Perhaps, development is encroaching as we will witness in our later days in Laos.

We climbed a small slope and passed a rubber plantation.

After crossing our tenth bridge, we turned left into Tad Pasuam. Entrance fee was 10,000 kips per pax, scooter parking 5000 kips per bike. We went down to the river for a dip. The water was cold so it took awhile to actually immerse oneself.

The river was not deep enough to swim. Naturally, after awhile we became cold and had to get out. Colin then realized he lost one of his hearing aid. It must have dropped out when he retrieved his phone to take photos.

We spent almost an half hour combing through the bushes but at the end, we called it off! We can only give thanks that only one was lost and not two!!!

Uttayan Bajiang is an ecological resort located at Tad Pasuam. We walked past stalls selling pan fried nuts cooked in woodfire. The locals called out, "almonds" but they were not, though tasty. 5000 kips for 2 handfuls.

After passing by the stalls, we came upon a sturdy wooden bridge. From here, the breathtaking sights of the Falls begins! Wimol Kijbamrung in his written introduction of Uttayan Bajiang describes how he placed stones to create retaining walls in the Falls. This explains the columns we see by the Falls and along the river.

Crossing the wooden bridge, we came upon the resort's restaurant. It serves a decent fare of fried rice and basil pork with rice priced at 25,000 kips per dish, a can of Coke 6,000 kips, a highly recommended fruit juice blend called Golden Egg priced at 10,000 kips.

While we wait for our food, we tried out the traditional bridge built entirely of bamboo. It creaks at every step and move we make! This bridge runs parallel to the sturdy wooden one and led us back to the stalls selling "almonds"! A tip box was placed at one end, with a note for 1000 kips. Unlike the ugly Trolls that guards the bridges, this one was manned by a young smiley Laotian.

While we were mesmerized by the beauty that is Uttayan Bajiang, it is sad to know Wimol never got to see his finished work. He was struck by malaria induced coma and lost his sight! Such is the tragedies of life.

It would seem that the ride is like a loop. We rode back to the fork road where we had bananas the previous day, only coming back on a different route.

We passed Dao coffee factory.

We came back to the roadside stalls of blacksmiths. The rhythmic sound of hammer hitting on metals pierced the air. Farming tools were displayed for sale.

We came back to the rows of mats woven from mengkuang leaves aka screw pine leaves. These are sold as construction materials, used as walls for houses.

We came back to the stalls selling baskets made from rattan and mengkuang leaves.

We reached Pakse.

A slight congestion on the road, we saw the urban kids on their home run. Most were picked up by utility vehicles. A practical and popular choice of transport in this part of the world!

We dropped off our scooters and were suprised the little boy we met at Tad Lo Lodge with the elephant was there too. His parents were dropping off their scooters too! And so were another young couple! We guess scootering in the Bolaven Plateau is the popular choice of travel, what more no driver's license or proper helmets are required!

We returned to Pakse Hotel to a nice homecoming. Our bags were still there waiting for us!

Alvin arranged for us to meet at the rooftop for a sundowner. We got a beautiful rooftop view of the town and witnessed the passing of the day. However beautiful the day was, Claudine did not let her guard down when the bill came. Many items on the bill defers from what is written on the menu!!!!

We left the rooftop and headed straight for dinner. Just opposite Ms Noy, a few doors away from Friendship supermarket is an Indian restaurant. A pleasant surprise to know the owner is from Malaysia! His fare is similar to the Malaysian mamak stalls! When we left, he bid us, "Terima kasih, selamat jalan!"

While some of us headed back to Pakse Hotel, Celia and Alvin went for a body rub down! Papa Mike was seen carrying a stash of mackerel in chili oil bought from Friendship supermarket, all ready for Day 6, A Test of one's Resolves!!!

321 ADVENTURE THRU THAILAND, LAOS AND CAMBODIA (4-16 January 2016), Day 3 - Vroom! Vroom!! Vroom!!!

Tad Fane

Tad Lo by night 

Tad Lo the next morning

On the bridge to Saise Resort

Evening activities by the river

Recumbent bikes modified for child seating

Pakse Hotel

Selection of automatic and manual bikes

Day 3 - Vroom! Vroom!! Vroom!!!

One of the most common dish in the Indochines is fried pork with garlic. The round eye meat is sliced thin, marinated with pepper and fish sauce and deep fried crisps with garlic. Usually served with rice, this dish is one of Celia's favourites!

Now, when Pakse Hotel served fried pork with garlic as one of it's buffet spread, it got whispers of approval. Especially so from VT and Papa Mike who were determined to hoard for the team and themselves!

The buffet spread is basic. Egg station on the left, bread or baguette on the right. Rice, congee, stir-fried veges, fried pork, puny sausages and processed ham sets the centre spread. Local fruit jams, unsalted butter, local fruits, cereals and few cakes decked another table. Complimentary coffee, tea and juices.

After breakfast, we checked out of the hotel. This time, we took half our luggage. The other half were left with the concierge for our return the next day....but not before proper documentation and photos were taken!

Settling our luggages, we went out in search of scooters to rent.

Out from Pakse Hotel, we passed the money changer located just opposite the hotel. Most of us had paid a visit there. Talk about strategic locations and synergies...hotel, restaurant and money changer, all within sight of each other!

We turned left when we approached our first junction, and came upon a beautiful neo classic building in bright yellow. This is the old post office.

We walked down the street which intersects with the Main Street aka Route 13, then turned right to Ms Noy, a bike rental company. She does not have any bikes for rent that day!!!

Not falling into hopeless despair, Papa Mike and Alvin left us to scout for more bike rentals. Alvin turned right at the first junction and came back empty handed. Papa turned left but came back fruitful. The shop he found had 6 automatic bikes and 1 manual bike available for rent.

To avoid future litigations, Alvin asked everyone to take detailed photos of their bikes. Even passports left with the rental company as collaterals were photographed as a precautionary method.

Anne and Celia were only too happy to be riding pillion behind their partners. Claudine wanted to ride pillion behind VT but he refused to give her a ride. Spunky Barbara wanted her own ride!

Short of 2 more scooters, we hauled everyone back to Ms Noy as there was another rental shop a few doors away.

Whenever on bicycles, Alvin will break all traffic rules. This time on scooter, he was the perfect angel. Not riding against the flow of traffic, he led the team past Ms Noy, went ahead turn left, go straight, "wait..... you left VT and Claudine behind!!!!"

The couple on the automatic scooter were not going fast enough. At the cross junction, they got left behind! They tried to give chase but an automatic ride does not power up fast enough! They searched for the group but finally decided to get back to the familiar post office and wait to be picked up.

After a few futile SOS calls to Alvin and Celia, they came back for their rescue.

Hurray!!! The lost lambs were found!

Another 2 manual Honda Wave scooters were picked up. Standard procedure, standard rates. 50,000 kips for manual bikes, 70,000 kips for automatic bikes. Rates were for 2 days.

Everyone were roaring to go. It's been an hour!!! Our LTF chief even joked he is retiring soon!!!

Vroom! Vroom!! Vrooooo *hic* *cough******

Barbara was still getting a lesson on manual bikes!!!

Supreme Commander, got off his bike, went back and told Colin to switch bikes with Barbara!

Vrooooooooooooooommmmmmm!!!

Off we went!!!

Within minutes, we made a stop at a petrol kiosk. It seems the bike companies here siphoned all excess petrol from the scooters. All fuel gauge points to the letter "E"!!! Depending on the size of the tanks, we filled up between 20,000 to 25,000 kips worth of fuel.

This time, we actually rode ahead!

We left the town.

We rode past stalls selling baskets and rattan wares.

We rode past Dao Coffee factory.

We came up to a fork road. There were a lot of fruits and food stalls here. We made a stop.

Over at this stop, the Howards tried to buy some bananas but were put off when they were offered a whole tier. Noticing their predicament, Claudine tried to help out. She managed to get a comb at 10,000 kips with hand gestures and simple English.

While the coffee addicts decided to have a coffee break, they soon learnt the way coffee were sold in this part of the world. Tear away a packet of your choice from the train of coffee packets, get your hot water from the stall owner, pay and brew your own cuppa!

Being Gulliver in the land of Liliputians has it's disadvantages. Walking to the table with his coffee, Ian knocked his head against the beam that supports the roof of the stall! Half his coffee went to the ground!

When we were happy with our break, we rode out again. This time the air becomes colder as we ride further away from Pakse! We then realized, the ride has been a gradual slope uphill and we have reached the top of the Bolaven Plateau!!!

We stopped for lunch at Sabaidee Valley. Beautiful roses and hydrangeas decked the resort. Flowers aside, what first caught Papa's attention were the 2 recumbent bikes parked outside.

Nosing around, we found out the French family of 4 and their 2 other friends have been cycling  the past 18 months and has another 5 more months to go! They will clock 10,000 km when they are done! The 2 kids, no more than 8 years old!

We ate generously and were surprised the average cost including drinks is USD 5 per pax. Good food, intermittent wifi, cool weather and beautiful surroundings!

After lunch, we headed up to Tad Fane Resort. It was a short ride from Sabaidee Valley. Entrance fee is 5000 kips per pax, motorcycle parking is 3000 kips. A short 5 minutes walk led to a most beautiful sight. Here, 2 waterfalls converged 120m down the valley. It was breathtakingly gorgeous.

The terrain in the area is rugged. There were no visible paths that led to the falls. Since none of us are Tarzans nor Janes, we soon left Tad Fane.

We did do some swinging just before we left though! We tried out the bamboo hammocks around the resort. Terk though had a hard time getting up!!!

As we rode the bumpy gravel path to the junction, we met out French friends again! Celia was delighted she could take better photos of them! We bid them Bon jour and sped away.

We sped for about 45 minutes.

We passed by unruly green bushes and wild daisies.

We overtook few lorries being loaded with cabbages. It was a throw and catch game.

We crossed 3 streams.

3 pigs crossed our paths....1 black, 1 white and 1 piglet.

A duck quacked as it tried crossing before 9 scooters!!!

Then we saw coffee beans drying on mats.

More pigs!

On quiet roads away from the villages, the roads become less dusty. Houses were mostly built with wood and some uses mats as walls. These mats are woven out of mengkuang leaves, aka screw pine leaves.

When we finally made a stop, Barbara announced she had a wobble. Alvin shared some tips on riding, one of which sounded like it was picked up from Disney Pixar's movie, Cars. "You turn right to go left!" Yes, Doc! We've got it!

Colin and Frank shared a "brotherly" time within everyone's sight! Well....we shall say the dry parched land needed some watering!!!

While he was hung upside down yesterday, Alvin was hauled onto Celia's back today! Another treatment for his back! This prompted Papa Mike and VT to get into a Heavyweight lifting competition. It was a draw between the 2 men!

After the bonding time, we rode again. This time, we rode for almost an hour during which we refueled our scooters. Meanwhile, Papa Mike went off to recce the place.

We finally reached Tad Lo where we will spend the night. Dusk was approaching. It was lovely to see a lot of activities by the wide river. Some villagers were bathing while some were washing by the banks. Wooden houses on stilts spread out along the river.

We stopped at Palamei guesthouse. Papa Mike had prebooked this accomodation for us when the intended abode by the waterfalls were fully booked. Celia who had stayed by the waterfalls on her previous visit was bent on getting a place there. She invited Claudine and VT to do what she termed as "exploring".

They went down a pot holed road, crossed a long wooden bridge and came upon Saise Resort overlooking the most breathtaking waterfalls. Alvin was surprised they had so many rooms available for the night! Either a change of phone numbers or communication breakdown had caused the misunderstanding.

The whole team moved to Saise Resort. We paid 250,000 kips for the presidential suite, large room with princess mosquito net, a coffee table for 4 and a balcony that opens up to the falls! The smaller rooms went for 180,000 kips.

That night, we had a wonderful dinner by the waterfalls under the canopy of a few large trees.
Dinner was 710,000 kip for fried pork ribs, curry beef, ginger chicken, egg omelette and mix vegetables. We finished dinner with tea and coffee.

When some of us decided to move nearer to the falls illuminated by spot lights, VT spotted a leaf bug. KC picked it up and together, they posed for us.

It was yet another starry night!

Our journey to Tad Lo was 120 km. We were ready for bed! But before bed, we met another couple on the rickety bamboo bridge. They had just finished dinner at Tad Lo Lodge and were full of complains about their services.

All of us slept well listening to the gushing water of the falls. Besides, our conscience were clear. We had sent Papa Mike and Frank back to Palamei Resort to settle an amicable sum of 150,000 kips for cancellation of rooms.