Jungle and Canoeing

From Vientiane we headed south, almost to the Cambodian border, to Pakse in Champasak province. Although, to be fair, the resort we stayed at was about 1.5 hours further south. The trip included a very rough dirt road for the last 30 minutes, which we got to know quite well over the next few days as we got out and about... The place we had chosen to stay (Kingfisher Eco Lodge) was on the edge of a wetland, which in turn was at the edge of the Xe-Pian National Biodiversity Conservation Area. We found ourselves housed in a bungalow built over the top of the water (at least at the end of the wet season), and we were the sole occupants of the entire place for most of our stay. This did put the pressure on when we went for meals to have the two waitresses, the waiter/guide who spoke English, the manager and the driver/general handyman all waiting for us.

There were a selection of activities to chose from and we picked a day long jungle trek with a local villager, which finished in a visit to an old temple. The day started out a little drizzly, but dried up pretty quickly, and the walk through the edge of the national park was a fascinating experience. Our local guide showed us a huge variety of different plants and described their uses (through our trusty guide/translator, Wong), which included taste testing a range of different edible plants. He also had a wicked sense of humour, cutting a branch of a plant whose sap is used to help prevent/treat malaria and giving us a taste. It was outrageously bitter, leaving a taste in our mouths for hours. After grinning at us he shared that they mix it with hot water and honey to drink - which makes a lot more sense! We also were able to sample water from a water vine that he cut open - this was much more palatable, and a key source of hydration in the dry season when walking through the jungle.

We happened upon a couple of (small) snakes, one of which hunts worms, as well as coming across a trap that hadn't been checked, but contained a big, dead lion snake. The locals hunt them for food, and so our guide took the snake, beheaded it and stuffed the rest in his backpack to take back to the village for dinner. It had only been slightly nibbled on by some freaky looking centipede... All-in-all the trek was great, and we were able to add mud from Lao jungle to the decent layer of Cambodia jungle mud from previously. We spent some time afterwards looking for scrubbing brushes that would allow us to clean the boots before returning to Australia.

The trek finished at an old temple call Vat Phou Asa, which is located on a hill overlooking the wetlands and above Ban Kiet Ngong, the village close to the resort. It is an ancient Buddhist temple, although little remains apart from some overgrown ruins and a stupa, as well as 108 stone pillars which defined the boundary of the precinct. It was also once used as a fortress in the area. It was a spectacular end to the hike, with great views over the wetlands and including a place to remount elephants - up until recently one of the attractions was an elephant ride up the hill to see the ruins. At the edge of the site, under a small ledge on the side of the hill, is a Buddhist shrine the remains a place of worship for the local people. 

Another small tour was canoeing over the wetlands early in the morning in wooden canoes, poled around by some men from the local village. It was really spectacular, although James spent the first half of the ride clutching for dear life to the sides of the narrow canoe feeling like he was about to be tipped out. After a rest stop halfway, a couple of seat adjustments made the balance less precarious... We were treated to spectacular views over the mirror flat water, and saw some of the local birds and a couple of local villagers trying their luck with fishing. Gillian was quite taken with the water buffalo, swimming around and eating the plants.