Thakhek to Champasak
And a bigger scale. You can see we’re tracking the river. We think it’s cool that we’ve followed it off-and-on since northern Yunnan. It’s extraordinary and we love it
Otherwise, it’s been a dry, dusty ride down. But we stopped at this small lake
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Very hot, low humidity so not so bad
Mekong alluvial flats. Must be an incredible sight in rainy season
To our destination, an amazing spot for Christmas
The day after arriving we head off on Lucinda to Wat Phu (or Vat Phou) past this lake
Our first Khmer Temple and it’s almost beyond belief. The site is chosen because (out of sight here) a mountain top peaks in the shape of a linga, a phallus shape. So lingas line the avenue to the beginning of a climb. It’s fantastic. Worth a read, the wiki link
The first set of steps
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For some reason we don’t take more photos through the various levels. But way at the top, on a large ledge, is a stunning 11th century sanctuary
The 900 year-old reliefs sheltered under doorways.
Shiva!
Just a little higher is a cliff
Under the cliff a trough runs water into stone container bathing a small linga under the water. This is the original feature of the Wat
Small sticks are placed under overhangs, supporting the vast mass above as a reminder of something
A few hundred feet away, a young couple pray to Shiva
The view down. My pictures do no justice to the beauty and impact of this place
Back to the town of Champasak. A lovely small town
School’s out
But generally the Laos pedal under umbrellas. Not only for protection against the sun, but also protection against darkening. In SE Asia, the whiter the skin, in their eyes, the more attractive
We’re going to be in our place for a while, so we spend a fair bit of time out on the river. This is our usual boat. No, we never use the chairs
Shelves cut into the riverbank for planting in dry season
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Our swimming spot
The only ‘beach’ for miles apparently. We park right on the point
Teams of snails race along the waterline upstream quickly, for snails. Who knows why
Unable to find out what this creature is. We saw him twice
Further along our beach
Night on the river
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My Billabong shirt, gone
Then one morning, my friend went into town on her scooter. Soon after I had a call from the front desk, she was on the phone. She was lying at the side of the road and had hit a cow.
After a fast rescue, the hospital 30 k’s away. A hairline crack in a shoulder bone, a nasty slice up her arm. They were fast, efficient but the equipment was a little desperate. For pain killers they give us take-away morphine, which we thought was a plus
Our plans on hold, we spent a week here in Champasak, until the day my visa expired, which took away any margin of error.
The Christmas Lucinda shot
