Pakse - Elephant Rides, Vat Phou, Mekong + Tat Fane + Tad Lo Waterfalls

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I flew into Pakse from Vientiane. My new guide was waiting for me. We drove around the Bolaven Plateau, visiting a couple of villages and a couple of waterfalls. We stayed for two nights at the Kingfisher Lodge in Ban Kiet Ngong.

After that we drove further south to Don Khone for a visit of the Mekong Falls.

The next day we drove back to Pakse and then down the Mekong River on the other side to Vat Phou, a Khmer Temple that was started before Angkor Wat.

All pictures are © Dr. Günther Eichhorn, unless otherwise noted.

Bolaven Plateau

The Bolaven Plateau was one of the most heavily bombed areas of Laos during the Việt Nam War. There is still a large problem with Unexploded Ordnance (UXO).

The main economic forces in the plateau are agriculture (coffee, tea, and rubber production). Tourism is also becoming an important economic factor in this area.

Every family cultivates some coffee trees and sells the coffee beans to the major coffee producers. The coffee trees live for about 20 years. They produce beans after about 3 years of planting. The coffee harvest is from November through June. Coffee is Laos' fifth largest export product.

There are three varieties of coffee trees grown in Laos, robusta, arabica, and liberica.

Robusta is grown at altitudes above 500 m (1,640 ft). It is harvested from February through April. The robusta trees are taller trees.

Arabica is grown at altitudes above 800 m (2,620 ft). The trees are shorter than the robusta trees. They are harvested from November through January.

Liberica is a much rarer variety. It is harvested from March through July.

Tad Fane waterfall. (1098k)

Tad Lo Waterfall. (1001k)

Coffee tree. (805k)

Drying coffee beans. (1372k)

Cassava stalks, ready for planting. This type of cassava is used for animal feed. (1274k)

Cassava field (Manihot esculenta, german: Maniok, french: Manioc). (1372k)

Ban Kiet Ngong

Ban Kiet Ngong is a small village southeast of Pakse. It is next to a large swamp area. The Kingfisher Lodge in Ban Kiet Ngong is a nice lodge. I stayed there for a couple of nights. I went on a full day elephant excursion. It was interesting, but I didn't see any wildlife. I guess that there is really nothing left.

The local people use the trees for construction. They go into the forest with their tractors and cut fallen trees into boards. They stay out there for 2-6 weeks, camping in the forest. My guide told me that they use only trees that fell down naturally. The ones that I saw were indeed not cut down, but broken, but I am not sure whether that is always true.

The lodge building in which I stayed. The tower on the left holds the water tank that is heated by solar power. (1145k)

Porch of my lodge building with hammock. (1100k)

Carp in the little pool in the lodge. (725k)

Temple in Ban Kiet Ngong. (908k)

One of the elephants grazing in the swamp. The elephants are let free in the afternoon. They are free to roam the swamp and return the next morning. (935k)

Our mahout preparing the saddle on the elephant. (1337k)

Our mahout leading the elephant. (1352k)

Sometime the mahout had to walk through the brook. (1194k)

Sometimes we had to go through fairly thick brush. (1.5M)

Close-up of my elephant. I had to walk up the tree trunk to be able to get back on the elephant. (1084k)

Forest with logging road. (1464k)

Logging camp. (1330k)

Locals working in the forest with their tractors. (1247k)

Remnants of a tree that was cut up into boards for building construction. (1.5M)

Fallow rice fields. They harvest rice only once per year. The huts are used by the field workers during planting and harvesting of the rice. (998k)

4000 Islands

Large Buddha statue with the Dhyana Mudra on a mountain across from Don Khone. (747k)

Local temple on Don Som. (1128k)

Local temple on Don Som. (1114k)

Cemetery at a local temple on Don Som. (1065k)

The national flower of Laos, Dok Champa (Plumeria alba, german: Westindische Frangipani, french: Fleur des temples). (706k)

Champasak

Temple in Champasak. (856k)

Temple in Champasak. (962k)

Temple in Champasak. (807k)

Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus, german: Jackfruchtbaum, french: Jacquier). (1.6M)

Planting a second crop of rice. (1065k)

Vat Phou

The area of Wat was originally inhabited by the Cham people. In the 5^th century CE, the Khmer moved into the area. The first buildings in Vat Phou come from the 5^th century. The majority of the buildings are from 10^th to 12^th century. The buildings are built from volcanic rock, brick, and sandstone.

Vat Phou belonged to the Khmer empire, centered on Angkor Wat. Originally, it was a Hindu temple. The area converted to Buddhism in the 14^th century. However, there is still worship of the Hindu gods present.

Vat Phou and Associated Ancient Settlements within the Champasak Cultural Landscape was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001.

You can find more information on the Wikipedia page for Vat Phou

View over Vat Phou. (1292k)

Central avenue of Vat Phou, flanked by Dok Champa (Plumeria alba, german: Westindische Frangipani, french: Fleur des temples), the national flower of Laos. (1079k)

Central avenue of Vat Phou, flanked by Dok Champa (Plumeria alba, german: Westindische Frangipani, french: Fleur des temples), the national flower of Laos. (1431k)