There were many options and transportation approaches when leaving Luang Prabang that we debated for a few days. We had heard that Vang Vieng was a bit touristy/backpackerish, albeit still very beautiful, so planned to skip it. We could have visited Vientiane, which there have been mixed reviews on, but this would have required a 10+ hour overnight bus ride. And then another 10+ hour bus ride to get to Pakse after Vientiane. Long bus rides are just not for us anymore, especially at night with the road conditions and driving methods over here in Southeast Asia. Therefore, we chose to bypass Vientiane and fly from Luang Prabang to Pakse, Laos on Lao Airlines. The only downside was the hit that the flights would take to our budget, but we decided it was worth it.
We arrived about 1.5 hours ahead of our flight time (10:40 am). The check in at the airport was easy – we did have to check our larger backpacks because carry-on weight is limited to 7 kg (we’ve found that to be consistent across SE Asia). The plane was small and there were only four seats in each row (two and two configuration), so we were very comfortable. They even served us a small snack – fried chicken or fish sandwiches and a cake roll with soda, coffee, and tea. Even with the terrifying landing (it was very windy), we definitely made the right decision by flying. Once at the airport, we haggled with a taxi driver to get a ride to our hotel (ended on 50,000 kips but probably should have haggled harder for 30,000 kips).
Our hotel in Pakse was the InTouch Riverside Hotel. Since it was the early afternoon, we were able to check right in. Patrick took a nap, and I headed up to the rooftop pool. It would have been amazing (views looking out over the Mekong River), but it was still very windy. Regardless, I was able to enjoy the sun for a bit. Patrick joined me a little later and we watched the sunset from the rooftop before heading to town for dinner. First, we checked the nearby night market, but it didn’t look like there were many prepared food options, so we kept walking. We ended up at a small restaurant which served pretty good food. Unfortunately, we realized that we were located near some of the bigger hotels, so the prices were higher than normal, but not too bad.
The next morning, we enjoyed breakfast at the hotel (nice spread of the usual items, noodle soup, drunken noodles, fired eggs, sausage, fruit, bread, coffee/tea/juice). Shortly thereafter, we went to check out the motorbike rental situation in town. Our initial draw to Pakse, Laos was that there is a well-known motorbike loop on the nearby Bolaven Plateau to see waterfalls, coffee plantations, and small villages. The loop can take anywhere from 2-5 days depending on your riding speed, how many sights you want to stop at, and if you choose a smaller or larger loop (150-300 km). We have never ridden motorbikes, so we have been hesitant to try them. We read that a rental company, Ms. Noy’s, provides a quick lesson and detailed information about the loops, so we went there first. The class was at 6 pm every day and you can join and then choose to rent or not rent after trying. That seemed like a good idea, so we signed up for the class. In the meantime, we looked into our other options for exploring the Bolaven Plateau. As always, there are tour companies that offer a 1-day Bolaven Plateau tour (four waterfalls, a coffee/tea plantation visit, and a village visit). The cheapest we found was 250,000 kip/person if only two people joined the tour (200,000 kip if more than two people). We also looked into renting a car, but there are no small cars available in Pakse, so the cheapeast is $60/day. Neither of those two other options sounded great to us – the former being a typical tourist package that we like to avoid and the second being too expensive.
At this point, Patrick was itching to find out if we could realistically ride motorbikes or if we were just kidding ourselves. So, he rented a motorbike from the hotel (LaoGo) for the day ($13). They delivered it about 5 minutes later. It was a rough start (took us about 10 minutes to figure out how to start the bike and open the seat for gas), but Patrick took it for a spin down the street a few times (our street was not very busy thankfully). They always rent motorbikes with just enough gas to get you to the gas station, so Patrick had to fill it up as well. At this point, he was just riding it alone without me on the back to get used to it. Eventually, I decided to try as well, although I was very hesitant. It was actually very fun! After riding around for a little bit, we took a break and went up to the rooftop pool. It was still very windy today, so we didn’t last long. Since we still had the bike until around 6 pm, we figured we’d take it out for a spin. This time Patrick drove with me on the back, and we headed towards the Dao Heuang Market to check it out. Surprisingly, the ride went fine and we both survived! We walked around the market through the vegetable and meats areas before riding back to the hotel. Typical with SE Asia markets, it was very congested with motorbikes/dogs/people. It would be interesting to actually go shopping with a local and see how they haggle and select items. Since we were able to practice our motorbike skills with the rented motorbike, we skipped the class at Ms. Noy’s.
There is a cinema in Pakse that plays American movies and every so often, they play them in English. When we had looked at the schedule yesterday, movies were only being played in Thai and Lao, but today they had just released Ford v. Ferrari and it was scheduled in English at 6 pm. The cinema is located in the Friendship Mall, and having returned our motorbike, we were stuck with the 30-minute walk. When we arrived, we attempted to buy tickets at the booth but kept being pointed in the opposite direction (language barrier), so we thought it was sold out. Finally, someone who spoke English explained what was going on. Turns out the Pakse Ford was sponsoring the opening night and paying for all tickets, popcorn, and soda! What great luck! I think we were the only people that spoke English in the entire theater (Lao subtitles). It was nice to have a “Western” moment. Everything shuts down early in Pakse, so by the time we got back to the hotel around 9 pm, there wasn’t much open. We had grabbed some food before the movie, but Patrick got some pork from a cart on the walk home as well.
Even though we had both enjoyed the motorbiking in Pakse, we didn’t think it would be wise for us to venture out on a multi-day trip, so we made the tough decision to pass on the Bolaven Loop. Instead we found a small homestay/hotel between Pakse and Champasak along the Mekong River (Wopakok Hotel). It was only about a 30-minute taxi ride to the, which was good because Patrick’s second dinner of pork after the movie last night was causing some digestive issues. He spent most of the day lying down, so I had a little bit of time to myself. The hotel grounds are lovely, so I enjoyed reading in the hammocks, looking out of the Mekong. Not a bad afternoon at all (for me at least). By the time dinner rolled around, Patrick was feeling a little better. Since the hotel is somewhat isolated (at least when you have no means of transportation), we ate our meals at the hotel, which were delicious. Our favorite was the fish with tamarind sauce!
The Wopakok Hotel is owned by Sean (originally from Ireland) and Naly (originally from Champasak). After spending a few days/nights with them (Sean joined us for dinner every night), we learned more about their hotel and lives. Sean had many stories to tell as he has done quite a bit of traveling in his lifetime. Over the last 9 years or so, Sean has been constructing the hotel and buildings on the property. He does all of the woodworking himself! Currently they are working on a staff house and a few bungalows for guests. The bungalows will be a great option if you want a private bathroom – currently guests share two toilets and two showers between 6 rooms (and it also appeared that the staff used the showers as well). It’s been open for about 2 years now, but the restaurant is what makes a majority of their profits, being very popular with the locals. They have covered tables you can sit at or they will put out a mat in the grass with a small table. Sean and Naly also have two young boys who, aside from school, hang around the hotel and are more than willing to entertain the guests. If you decide to visit Wopakok, be ready for discussions on superheroes and videogames, and potentially a foot race or two.
Locals eating at the Wopakok restaurant 
New bungalows being built at Wopakok 
Beautiful views from Wopakok
Champasak is best known for the ancient Khmer Temple (Wat Phu), which we wanted to visit. Since we are well out of town, there isn’t much traffic on the roads, so we felt like we could make the trip on motorbike. We rented the motorbikes from Naly for 60,000 kip each (two since we both wanted to drive) and set off! It was about a 45-minute drive to Wat Phu (granted we were not driving very fast) on a nicely paved road. Probably the easiest conditions we could have asked for. The only hiccup on the entire ride was when a snake somehow made its way onto Patrick’s motorbike handlebars! He thought it was a rope at first and went to grab it, when he realized its true identity and quickly threw it off. Fortunately, I was far enough behind that it didn’t hit me; I just saw it wiggle away off the road. Parking at Wat Phu was 5,000 kip/bike and entrance fees were 50,000 kip/person. The entrance fee included a golf cart ride to the base of the ruins. The ruins were built into the hill, so a bit of stair climbing is necessary, but the views were excellent! Some of the sites within the temple complex included two large ponds, two pavilion ruins, ancient wat with Buddha statue, spring at the top of the hill, and Buddha foot, elephant, and crocodile/snake carvings. We enjoyed walking around the complex for a couple hours in the beautiful sunny weather. Especially since the crowds were very minimal.
After our visit, we motorbiked back to our hotel. We drove through the town of Champasak since we had considered staying in a hotel there. We are glad we didn’t though, because there isn’t much to the town and our hotel is located on a great plot of land with views of the river. For the last 10-minutes or so of our ride back to the hotel, the winds picked up, and I could really feel it pushing me on the bike! Thankfully it wasn’t too long in the wind, but the experience made me thankful that we skipped the longer ride on the Bolaven Plateau. Our short trip to Wat Phu was plenty to curb our motorbike craving.
We had initially planned on heading to the 4,000 Islands the next day, but neither of us were ready to leave yet, so we stayed an extra day/night. We spent the extra day relaxing in the hammocks, catching up on some blogging, and reading. Not to mention, the boys were both here since it was Saturday (no school), so we spent some time playing with them. Naly booked our bus to the 4,000 Islands for Sunday and drove us into town the next morning bright and early to catch it.
We also ended up staying another night in Pakse after our trip to the 4,000 Islands (post upcoming) to catch a flight from Pakse to Siem Reap, Cambodia! Overall, we enjoyed our time in Pakse and Champasak, although in another world, we would have loved to do the Bolaven Plateau loop.
