Motobike Diaries – In the Land of Waterfalls: a Tour around the Bolaven Plateau

Day One: Pakse to Ban Khoua Set

Distance: 90km

Waterfall Count: 3

Price of accommodation in Tad Lo Village: 10,000 kip

Today I drove a motobike for the first time. I've ridden them before, but never drove one. It was an experience. And it's a proper manual motobike, not some simple automatic scooter. :) I was the slowest thing on the highway ridding out of town. Once I cleared the city though, I was much more comfortable, less possibility for casualties. :) I stopped a few times to consult my map and directions. One of my start up afterwards was just a little jerky, oops. I'm glad there was nothing in my way to hit.

The first waterfall of the day was in Utayan Bajiang Champasak, an 'eco-resort.' There were tree house bungalows you can stay in, a restaurant over looking the falls and a 'museum village,' where local families live and tourists are free to walk around and observe 'local daily life.' It was all a bit surreal. The falls, Phaxouam Cliff however, were fabulous, as was the bamboo suspension bridge crossing the river. :)  

Phaxaouam Cliff Falls

 I continued on up Route 20, climbing into the Bolaven Plateau, cruising through small villages, acres of corn fields and spectacular views of the 'mountains.' I had to stop twice to take shelter from the rain. The first time I huddled under an unused roadside stall. Getting my bike back up the embankment and onto the road was a chore, bikes are heavy!! I discovered that if you put it into gear, it's a lot easier. I hadn't driven more than a kilometre or two when it started to rain again. This time I joined a couple of kids under a shelter at the gas station. :)

I found accommodation in the village without too much trouble. 10,000 kip a night for a mattress on the floor in a room with 6 other mattresses. It's not the Ritz, but it's also $1.25. And the food in the restaurant below is delicious, and just as cheap.

Accommodation for the night

The second two waterfalls for the day were Tat Hang and Tat Lo. Picturesque and fantastic. :) And I saw some elephants.    

Tat Lo

Tat Hang

Day Two: Tad Lo Village to Sekong

Distance: 143km

Waterfall Count: 2

Price of accommodation in Sekong: 30,000 kip

My prowess with the motobike grows. Today I drove with a passenger on the back!! Going straight doesn't, change, it's the turns that are harder; with 150+ pounds the balance isn't the same. :P I did alright, until I turned onto a mud track. We crashed. I'm sure it will be the talk of the village for days to come. Neither of us was harmed and we came away from it laughing. It could have been worse. :)

The first waterfall of the day was on the same river as Tat Hang and Tat Lo. Tat Suong was phenomenal. A cascade falling 100+ meters into a turquoise pool. I had a grand time rock hopping across the boulders and marvelling at all the holes in the rocks. After enjoying the view from the bottom of the falls, we got back on the bike and rode to the top of the falls. The view.......I felt like I was on top of the world, the Bolaven Plateau at our feet. The cliff just ends and there's no barrier, no railing, nothing to prevent you from jumping over. No man made obstructions to soil the view. :)

Tat Suong

 I could've sat there for ages, but I had a long ride ahead of me. The 80 odd km between Tad Low and Sekong were one picturesque view after another. Small rural villages, cows, goats, dogs, pigs and kids on the road, rolling hills, vibrant green fields, fluffy white clouds. It went a long way to keep me occupied while I drove, but eventually but butt started to feel the seat and finally I arrived in Sekong. It's a pretty small town without too much to boast of. I found a place to stay and some lunch before heading out to the next falls on my list.

Tat Faek wasn't nearly as impressive as Tad Suong, but it was still pretty, and completely deserted. I did see three other bikes, but no people. The falls were at the end of a dirt road, some 2km from the main highway, so they're not the biggest tourist draw. I didn't make it back to town before the rains came. It poured, I got soaking wet, and I successfully drove in the rain!!  

Tat Faek

 Mud, passenger and rain. Not bad for my second day on a bike. :)

Day Three: Sekong to Paxsong

Distance Travelled: 103km

Waterfall Count: 4

Price of accommodation in Paxsong: 50,000 kip

Oh what a day. I never thought I'd say this in Laos, but holy fucking god I was COLD. I was shivering so much that it shook my bike. I had to either bite my tongue or clench my jaws to keep my teeth from chattering (and to think, earlier I was worried about getting sun burnt). I was wet, tired, hungry and still kilometers from Paxsong. This is how I got there:

I started out early from Sekong, hoping to beat the rain on my way to Paxsong (HA!). I saw one small falls on my way out of town, Tat Se Noi. Locally it's known as 'waterfall of the heads' owing to a WWII episode in which Japanese soldiers decapitated a number of Laos soldiers and tossed their heads into the falls. Ech! I didn't see any floating heads, but I did see the COOLEST ant colony ever!!!! There was this long stream of ants marching down a tree, across a low concrete ledge and up another tree 3 feet away. They were fascinating to watch!!   

Tat Se Noi

ANTS!!

 30km down the road I came to a junction. When you've only ridden a motobike for two days, and you come to an intersection where the sign says 'Paxsong - 71km,' pointing in the direction of a road that in the dry season could arguably be called 'dirt' but now, during the wet season, is 71km of mud, you should definitely take the 'mud' road. (Who doesn't love a good adventure?) Thus my 7.5hr journey though mud, mud, mud and more mud began. I still can't believe I actually made it through in one piece. I'd hardly gone more than 5 minutes down the 'mud' road (slipping a few times, but yet to actually fall), when I came to my first mud pit. The mud was at least a foot deep, and the only way onward was through the sludge. I quickly learned that it's easier to push the bike if you put it in gear and let it do some of the work. :P I'm sure I was quite the sight for the locals in the stuck lorry.

My first meeting with MUD!

 The rest of the day progressed in a similar manner. There would be stretches of smooth, almost pleasant dirt road (watch out for the pot-holes), and then there would be a lake of mud. The watery mud puddles were like minefields, I never knew how deep the were. I went though one, thinking it was just a shallow puddle....it was deep enough to get my ankles wet and made something on the bike sizzle and steam. Oops. I push and pulled the bike through calf deep mud, hauled it back up when it fell over and generally got the best workout in ages! My mantra for the day became 'I am as cool as a cucumber, when the bike starts to swerve, don't tense up, just go with it.'

The whole reason I'd taken this road was a) I didn't want to back track on my way to Paxsong and b) Lonely Planet said there were two falls worth seeing. The directions in the book were hardly helpful. :P At the point where there was meant to be 'a 25m-long trail leading back off to the left and out of the jungle appears this spectacular drop,' there was nothing but hillside. However, 100m further down the road, on the RIGHT-hand side, there was an amazing falls!!! Maybe they just got their rights and lefts mixed up. Further on, through more mud, I came to a falls that wasn't in the book. Score! :)  

Nam Tok Katamtok

Sekatamtok Falls

 And just past these falls was the HUGEST lake of mud yet. On the other end there was a stuck lorry, and 8-9 guys trying to un-stick it, with rocks and logs and man-pushing power. I made it about halfway through before I got stuck myself. The bike was so deep in mud that it stood up on its own. :P I turned it off and took a rest. It was only 11am. After watching the guys for a bit I gave my bike another try. I managed to get it out of the hole it was in, and into another one, directly in the way of the lorry. Three of the guys nicely came over and pulled it out for me. At this point, I was covered in mud from foot to waist, barefoot, because there's no point in wearing shoes in the mud, and exhausted. And I still had umpteen kilometres to go. Thankfully, that was the worst of the mud and the rest 'mud lakes' were small puddles in comparison.

Up, up, up I climbed, onto the Bolaven Plateau. It was gorgeous! And totally worth every inch of mud I trekked though. The only thing for miles and miles was green, green, greeeeeeeeeeeeeeen!!!! And a few small huts. :) It's a different life the people up here live. So different from anything you or I would know.

I thought I'd had enough falls for the day, but then I saw a sign, 'Tat Arang – 2,000m.' (Why didn't they just say 2km???) Anyway, the track was slippery and I learned that if you're in the rut, it's easier to just stay in the rut, rather than try and move into the middle of the track. There was a house at the end of the 2km, apparently you can do a home-stay there if you want. I left my bike and hiked the 300m to the falls. It was a lovely, if slippery walk, and compared to the two massive falls I saw earlier in the day, this one was just a pip-squeak. But still pretty, as any waterfall is wont to be. :)  

Tat Arang

I was meant to pay 5,000 kip (~70 cents) to the guy at the house, for parking, but when I got back to my bike he wasn't anywhere to be seen, and it was starting to rain. I didn't want to stick around, so I left. Karma, as we know, is a bitch. On the way back to the main road, I slipped and fell, the bike landing on top of my leg. However, I'd hadn't been going more than 5km/hr. so the worst that happened was I fell into a muddy puddle. And as the rain had become a torrential downpour, I wasn't too concerned.

On and on and on I went. 71km has never been to far. Because of the high elevation, and the fact that I was soaking, my body temperature started to drop. (I know, who's stupid enough NOT to bring a raincoat). Thankfully, I'd returned to civilization, and I was able to take cover in a small sundry shop. The whole family was watching some Laos sit-com, but the arrival of a drenched, single, white girl was enough to turn their heads. While I waited for the rain to abate (or at least lessen) I munched on some biscuits they had for sale, the only food I'd eaten since breakfast, so many hours before. Eventually, the downpour became a trickle and I ventured out. I was still wet though, and soon started to shiver. I pulled over, dug some dry clothes out and hid behind a bush to change. I was only slightly warmer, but at least I wasn't wet, for long. Of course, not 10 minutes later, it starts to rain again. Three more times I sought shelter in small shops, trying my best to keep dry. And still, Paxsong was kilometers away. At least the road had improved and I could move a bit faster. The mud was gone, but swerving around potholes was almost more than my shivering self could handle. I never thought I'd be this cold in Laos. I had to constantly tell myself to concentrate on the road, watch out for the pot holes and try not to think about how cold you are. :P

I finally, FINALLY rolled into town around 4pm and checked into the first guesthouse I found. Although it was 50,000 kip (~$6.25), they had HOT water and I was about ready to pass out from exhaustion. I stripped and took the best hot shower EVER. When I came out, I realized I'd left all my dry clothes in the compartment of the bike, so I slipped between the sheets butt-naked and promptly fell asleep. Three hours later I woke, starving. I ventured out to find some dinner and had the best hot soup and cup of hot-chocolate, which went a long way and warming me up. Then it was back to the room, where I slept like the dead for the rest of the night.

What a day!

Day Three: Paxsong to Pakse

Distance travelled: 55km

Waterfall Count: 2

Price of accommodation in Pakse: 30,000 kip

Compared to the day before, day three was a walk in the park. Paxsong is known for it's coffee, so I found a place with a 'coffee' sign out front and went it. I think I had what you'd call 'espresso,' small cup, no milk, really strong. It was interesting to note that the effects of espresso felt similar to being drunk. I'm sure it didn't help that I was drinking it on an empty stomach. :P I knew I wouldn’t be able to drive like this, so I quickly filled my stomach with food, hoping it would help absorb the caffeine. :) I saw only two falls on day three, and neither took much of an adventure to get to, though both were impressive cataracts. Tat Yuang is 40m tall and Tat Fan tumbles more than 120m down. 

Tat Yuang

Tat Fan

With the falls behind me, I headed down, down, down, off the plateau and back to Pakse, hot showers, internet and the promise of a meal that doesn’t consist of noodle soup. :)

Total distance travelled: 390km
Total waterfalls seen: 11

Thus ends my adventures around the Bolaven Plateau, but not my time with the motobike.  Tomorrow I'm headed to Champasak and the ancient Khmer temple there.   

Only five more days till I fly to Nepal!!!