Day 2 of our journey touring around Pakse was awesome. We started the day nice and early (8am) with over-cooked scrambled eggs and mediocre office which was included in our hotel rate. We are currently staying at the Champasak Palace Hotel Palace Hotel which I highly recommended (apart from the breakie). I would even go as far as saying it’s one of the best value hotels I’ve ever stayed in.
Our mission for today was to visit as many of the 4 nearby waterfalls as time (and rain) would allow us to visit around The Bolaven Plateau. The Bolaven Plateau is located on the bottom of an ancient volcano which is surrounded by mountains and lush rain forest.
On our way to Pha Suam Waterfall we stopped off for some brunch consisting of BBQ fish, Papaya salad and brown sticky rice.
The Pha Suam Waterfall which was one of the most beautiful waterfalls I’ve ever visited. Lot’s of photo opportunities to be had here. Just as the waterfalls were wowing me, so did the Parrot that was located in the restaurant. It was talking – just like a human. This is the first time I’d seen a Parrot that could say words very crisp and clear… I was blown away. Good fun.
We then made our way over to Tat Cham Pee Natural Waterfall while passing through hundreds of Coffee plantations. As soon as we arrived the rain started coming down real hard, so we decided to wait for the rain to stop and set our selves up under a cave with a great view of the waterfall. We were all alone. It was perfect.
I wasn’t in any hurry to return so it made a good opportunity to just sit back and relax for an hour or so until the rain stopped. The waterfall was really nice, with smoke spraying up from hitting water. It was paradise.
As we began our trek back to the motorbike, my mind was focused on the 3km dirt track that now surely like one big slush puppy. And it was. I fell of the bike twice, luckily at only snail pace speeds, so I was actually crying out with laughter rather than in pain while sliding all over the place in the think wet mud.
At this stage it was just starting to get dark and while driving on the main highway back to the hotel, it started raining again. The rain really did sting when it hit my face and forearms, so we decided to stop in a little hut where there were 10 or so people in the young twenties. 4 bottles of Beer Lao were shared, and a lot of laughs were followed.
All in all, a great day exploring lush rain forests, picture-perfect waterfalls, driving through mountains and of course, exchanging conversations with the very friendly Lao locals.
Amazing scenery. Great pics.