Thakhek

Although Savannakhet was our first stop in Laos this was for all of 12 hours, we arrived around 6pm on our sardine bus and then come 6am the following morning we were on a tuk-tuk back to the bus station to board another bus. Thankfully this one was a little more comfortable, aircon and no boxes just seats to sit on. We were heading for the small town of Thakhek, about 4 hours up the road and still on the banks of the Mekong River. Laos isn’t like other south east Asian countries, it doesn’t have that manic feel to it, its all a bit more laid back and chilled – probably to do with the fact that the whole country only has a population of around 7 million compared to say just Bangkok which has over 9! Roads are quiet, no one seems to be in a hurry and everything is on a small scale – well apart from the scenery which is stunning! Silhouettes of mountains are off in the distance, rural villages full of ramshackled little houses pop out of nowhere then disappear again just as quickly, dusty farmland is all round you with all but the road running through it and water buffalo walking down the middle of it! Wandering through the streets of Thakhek all seemed a million miles away from anywhere we’d been recently whilst still feeling vaguely familiar! We’d come to Thakhek to hire mopeds and embark on a 4 day loop out into the Lao countryside so as soon as we arrived in town we hunted out some good bikes (from what we have heard the roads are a bit bumpy so good bikes are essential!) and a map of the area (not as good, a photo copy of someones handdrawn attempt of a map!), with that sorted the rest of the day was just spent exploring town. First we went down to the riverfront and looked for some lunch – lots of wierd things on offer, bbq rodent looking things or roasted crickets all served up on a stick for a handy lunchtime snack…erm no ta, might pass! Next place had more simple offerings, sticky rice (no idea what makes it sticky though and probably best to keep it that way, ignorance is bliss and all that) and fried veg, sounds much better. The rest of the day we just wandered the very hot streets of this nice but fairly empty town. Ohh that’s the other thing about Laos, it seems a lot hotter here!