Let's go get lost anywhere in S.E.A.

The best way to explore cities, towns and villages of SE Asia is definitely to rent a moto and drive off the beaten path. I think we rode a moto (a scooter) in 12 different places (Sihanoukville, Kampot, Kep, Chau Doc, Nha Trang, Hue, Savannakhet, Pakse, Thakek, Vientiane, Vang Vieng and Ayutthaya) and everytime we found something we would've not found otherwise.

Although us two are quite big, at least compared to Asians, the motos usually carried both of us beautifully. I don't think we ever paid much more than 8 USD per 24 hrs for the rental. Boyfriend drove really safely, and I learned to be the additional rear view mirror as well as map reader at the back. The only unfortunate moto incident that we had to deal with was me burning my leg on the hot exhaust pipe of our moto in Chau Doc, which has left me a birth-mark like splodge. Funnily enough, I didn't burn it whilst riding the moto, but whilst standing next to it and reaching for a water bottle!

Hue by moto

So the last properly written post covers most of Hue, but after writing all that we did some more exploring on a moto for two days. On a night out, we had met some European expats, who gave us few tips where to go outside the usual touristy attractions. So in addition to driving around the Citadel and getting lost to a rural temple area not marked to any maps, we knew to drive across a scaringly narrow single-file moto bridge, get a blind massage and also visit an abandoned water park.

Moto traffic in Hue was quite busy, but it was surprisingly easy to ride in it. The speed was quite slow and people happily gave way if you needed to turn.

One of the temples in the rural temple area north of Citadel. To get here we followed a narrow lane amongst the fields and suddenly there was a temple after a temple, so we kept going until we hit a bigger road.

This water park had been being built around a lake, and parts of it had already been opened for public. Unfortunately, a couple of Vietnamese people drowned, probably because most of them cannot swim, and the owners became convinced that the water park is cursed. So they stopped building it, but there still is a guy at the gate collecting entrance fees, as there are some pieces of art to see, the lake to enjoy, and a huge building that looks like dragon. We climbed up to the dragon's mouth for the views and down to the tail to realise it contained an aquarium with all the fish still in there!

Savannakhet by moto

After Hue we took a bus to Savannakhet in Laos, as our Vietnamese visa ran out. The bus journey took 10 hours and we sat with huge sacks of rice at our feet, but the roads were good enough and the seats reasonably sized. Savannakhet, the second largest city of Laos, was quite boring. I fully understand why not many travellers stop there, and I think it would be impossible to get anything much out of the place without a moto. So on our only full day in Savannakhet, we rented a moto and drove to see the temple of That Inheng 15 km out of city.

The old temple of That Inheng. 

A row of Buddhas at That Inheng.

Village life - girls coming from school.

Village life - women in traditional Lao skirts in the temple area. The broom that one of the women is carrying was typical to Thailand, Cambodia and Laos; amazingly light but sweeps the sand off wooden floors perfectly.

Village life - a tractor. A lot of the country roads were in pristine condition with very little traffic. As a big change to Vietnam, there weren't hordes of motos but a number of new Hiluxes on the road.

Pakse and Champasak by moto (and minivan)

I wasn't expecting the bus journey down to Pakse to be long, as it would be only 200 km on reasonably good road, but it took around six hours. For me went down as one of the most annoying bus journeys on record, just because how slow, hot and frustrating it was. Boyfriend was ok with it, maybe it was just me having a down day.

Pakse already had much more to offer. The city had more alive feel to it than the sleepy Savannakhet. The city is laid out in a confluence of two rivers, offering beautiful riverside views. We enjoyed quite a few delicious dinners at the Panorama restaurant on the roof of Pakse Hotel, and that offered 360 degree views over the city. It was especially pretty during the sunset and almost daunting with an upcoming storm. We also warmly recommended the place for both Western and Lao dishes!

Views from the Panorama restaurant.

Once again, we rented a moto also in Pakse, and this moto seemed a lot nicer than some of the previous ones. However, after 5 kms it stopped and refused to start again. Awkwardly, we got the moto back to town and had a friendly Lao man to help us - we had left the choke on! Oh well!

So we took the Friendship bridge to the west bank and the brand new and empty road all the way to Champasak (35 km) and pre-Angorian temple area of Vat Phou. The road took us through beautiful farm areas - one side we had the Mekong river and some mountains on the other. Vat Phou was definitely worth seeing. Much smaller than most other World Heritage temple areas, but prettily laid out by a mountain and with large trees. However, the highlight for me was the moto ride in the beautiful scenery.

Brand new road to Champasak and the beautiful views.

Same road, on the way back. We encountered maybe ten cars during the 35 km we drove on the road.

Row of linga-statues leading to Vat Phou. Vat Phou is situated in front of a linga-like mountain making the place especially holy. Also, a holy spring flows near the temple, and the water was directed to a linga statue at the shrine, making the temple one of a kind.

The central staircase was beautifully bordered by trees.

Vat Phou from the top. There two sanctuaries were currently under heavy renovation. The large pools also date back to the days of Khmer empire. 


The two sanctuaries from closer up. There is an elevated walkway to south (not really visible in the photo, but to the left from here), supposedly leading all the way to Angkor Wat.

As the driving distance was quite long this time, Boyfriend was rather worried about sunburn to his arms and covered up with my cardigan and a scarf. Still, the sun was so intense that backs of his hands managed to burn already on the way to Champasak, and we had to buy him gloves.

Trying to drive a moto without sunburn!

We did one day trip to the surroundings of Pakse with a group in a minivan without English-speaking guide. We visited coffee and tea farms, about half a dozen different waterfalls, and minority village where they build funeral coffins to each family member in advance as the death rate from malaria is so high. Prior to the visit to the village our driver took us to a local market and tried to explain with very broken English that we should buy presents to the village. We figured that they'd rather receive useful things so we buy soap, toothpaste, salt, etc. However, when we arrived to the village, there was twenty kids in a row with their hands sticking out. No introductions, just the kids wanting whatever we've got to give them, and the older people sitting under their stilted houses in the shade, observing. It was probably one of the most awkward situations ever, handing soap and salt to five-year-olds, and then walking around their village without anyone guiding us through. We all felt humiliated and used, and felt that the way how the tour was organised was not helpful to either the tourist or the villagers. We realised that what we wanted was sharing, not staring.

The tallest waterfalls in all of SE Asia!

The welcome committee of the minority village is approaching. 

I just realised this from the photo - they obviously make enough money to afford satellite-tv.

All photos (c) Boyfriend. As always, click to enlarge!