August 26, 2007

Champasek (LAOS)

Crossing into Laos and Climbing a Khmer Temple at Champasek

As much as Jo and I wanted to rest this morning, we knew there was too much to be done for us to idly waste time. We were planning to cross the border into Laos (pronounced with the 's'), and then travel south to the town of Champasek where we could sleep on the river and see more Khmer ruins. With this itinerary in mind and absolutely no idea how we were going to make it all happen we set off early for the Ubon Ratchathani bus station. We found a 9:30am departure for the Laos border town of Pakse and booked ourselves a seat. In the mean time, we both sat down to a plate of fried rice and chicken with hot Thai coffee. Whenever I catch myself eating something like fried rice for breakfast I start worrying that perhaps I am becoming too Asian.

At the border crossing, Jo picked up a Laos visa for less than half what I paid in Hanoi (another thing I hated about Vietnam were the inflated prices). It was a startling contrast to go from Thailand to Laos because travel is absurdly easy in Thailand while it was obvious southern Laos has hardly changed in the last 50 years. The worst part was the sweltering heat which had both of us dripping sweat in no time at all.

When we got off the bus in Pakse we quickly changed money and hopped on a sawngthaew (cheap public transport) for part of the journey to Champasek. We were dropped off at a ferry boat crossing where we climbed aboard amid a swarm of locals - both of us were praying the ferry wouldn't sink. While I went around taking photos Jo took a liking to a small girl selling packs of bubble gum. We bought a pack from her and gave her a stick; the look on her face was priceless. Jo decided to give her a headband as well, and the girl could not possibly have been beaming any more brightly.

After we crossed to the other side of the Mekong river we hopped on a motorbike with a small trailer attached. We rode this to the center of Champasek, which was no more than a collection of seven wooden buildings - three of which were guest houses. We were pleasantly surprised by the absence of any real activity in the town and after booking a cheap room on the river we continued on toward the Khmer ruins.

At the entrance to the ruins was an impressive museum containing priceless artifacts that were expertly compiled and documented by UNESCO. At this point, Jo and I are well-familiarized with the different styles of Khmer architecture and sculpture, but we both noticed significant differences between what we saw in  Laos and Cambodia (such as a focus on a mythical animal called the naga and a stronger Buddhist influence).

The temples were located on an imposing hill looking out over the Laos lowlands and the might Mekong River. It was stiff climbing upward as we ascended tier after tier (I believe there were nine such tiers in total). As always, our hard work was rewarded as the views were amazing and the preservation work ensured that some phenomenal carvings remained intact.

By the time we arrived back out our guest house for the night we were both utterly exhausted. We ate a quick dinner and drank a couple bottles of Beer Laos before calling it a night. Looking back, I don't know how we managed to do it, but only two days ago we were leaving Siem Reap to begin this crazy adventure.