Laos Chaos

After the really nerve-wracking bus ride with the Bus Company Bahala we stood in the evening in the almost completely sunken sun on a small pier on the Mekong. And suddenly everything was so calm and peaceful. A wonderful feeling. We then drove in complete darkness over the Mekong with a small motorized fishing boat. Our destination Don Det, a small island on the river. The area is called 4,000 Islands because there are countless small mainly uninhabited islands in this area. Some 'islands' are actually just small mounds of earth. Don Det is a small backpacker paradise, there are countless cabins and hostels, restaurants and bars and many, many hammocks. Time seems to stand still here and everything seems totally peaceful. For those who still find all of this too much, you also have the opportunity to try the dishes from the 'Happy Menu' page in the bars. From joints to magic mushroom omelettes, to opium cocktails, they have everything here. So you also meet some dropouts who have had a bit too much of everything. On the first evening we ended up in a bar that was run by three guys, one of whom was incredibly nervous and fidgety and had to scratch himself in his underwear the whole time. Whatever he had taken, it was definitely the wrong thing. But he was so attentive, interrupted his scratching and squeezed the limes for our rum and cola with his hands right in front of our eyes into our glasses.
After a short search, we found a nice bungalow with a private bathroom for only $5 per night. Since there are actually no cars on Don Det, it is ideal for exploring by bike. So we rented three rusty bicycles without gears and explored the island. Every evening we enjoyed the fascinating sunset over the Mekong. Those were really wonderful plays of colors!

One day we went on a canoe trip and paddled along the Mekong for a whole day. It was pretty exhausting but beautiful. Towards evening, we even saw the endangered Irrawaddy dolphins jumping through the water. The Irrawaddy dolphins fall victim to the pollutants and dynamite fishermen of the Mekong, they are not intentionally killed (since the Laotians even believe that some of their ancestors are reborn in the dolphins) but due to negligence. At the end of the tour, we were taken to a really impressive waterfall on the loading platform of a truck, then we continued to the pier and paddled back to our island.

After a few very relaxed and decelerated days, we drove without any further incidents by bus to Pakse. This was our starting point for a multi-day motorcycle trip through the Bolaven Plateau.
On the internet, we did some research in advance for a reputable motorcycle rental, as it often happens in Laos that tourists have to pay outrageous prices for stolen and broken motorcycles, and since the rental companies always keep the passport, there is little room for negotiation. We found the rental from Miss Noy, a Laotian and a Belgian. Here we were even insured and also received a detailed description of the route and training on things to pay attention to, all for just under €10 rent per vehicle/day. The rental was very popular and we had to wait a day to get three motorcycles. On our waiting day, we borrowed two scooters from the hotel, visited the local market, a temple with a huge Buddha statue, and drove about 40 KM into the countryside through small villages and past rice fields. Everything seemed calm and beautiful, Laos is also known as the most decelerated country in Southeast Asia, and this was confirmed to us on this day. In the evening, we had dinner at a Korean, where there were actually only reheated instant soups. This Korean cuisine is not that complicated. Thommy's (according to the menu, hot noodles) were served cold, after a few bites, he decided to have them heated. It is not clear whether it was because of the cold or hot noodles, but the coming night was not so relaxed for Thommy anymore. The next morning, we got our 120cc bikes and off we went on the tour. For those who are wondering why only Thomas has a motorcycle license... In Laos, you don't need a driver's license, so you often come across 10-year-old kids who wave cheerfully at you with their even younger siblings on board.
After a short time through the stressful city traffic, the route led us through the relaxed surroundings of the city. The road became emptier and the settlements fewer. Everything was calm and relaxed again. Riding the motorcycle was super fun. At noon, we took a short break at a hut that at least looked like a restaurant with a lot of imagination. The noodle soup was super delicious and the communication with hand and foot and Laotian phrases from the travel guide (which no one understood) was very nice and cordial.
Since Thommy didn't feel well and urgently needed a longer break, we drove a few kilometers further to a coffee plantation with a nice little restaurant including homestay. We enjoyed deliciously fair organic coffee and relaxed in the hammock. Unfortunately, Thommy felt worse and had to visit the toilet a few times. Maybe the cold noodles from the Korean were still in him...

Nevertheless, we still had to drive a few more kilometers, our destination was Tad Lo, a small backpacker village. After a short search, we found a cheap and simple accommodation. Optically, it was beautiful, amid a garden were airy huts and there were two real toilets for everyone. The bed consisted of an ultra-thin mat placed on a wooden box and was so incredibly hard that you could feel every bone.
Unfortunately, Thommy had a very unpleasant night, still the Korean.... The next morning, Thommy felt a little better and we continued driving. After about 20 KM, we noticed that we left our travel guide in the hostel. So we drove back, our tank was almost empty, but since there was a power outage, we couldn't get gas at any gas station. Fortunately, the travel guide was still there and by now there was electricity again and we could refuel. The sun was already giving us a hard time and that even though we hadn't really gotten very far yet... At noon, we took a break at a market in the highlands, where it was a lot cooler and more pleasant. We ate some dry cookies, the only edible thing we found. We continued through the beautiful landscape with a fresh breeze in our noses. Nina drove a bit too fast through a pothole and the travel guide ended up on the side of the road, we turned around after a short time and searched together on the side of the road, but we just couldn't find it anymore... Apparently, it didn't want to stay with us anymore and hopefully it will serve the finder well... We drove to a waterfall over a long bumpy road and treated ourselves to some rest. The guys were afraid to swim because there is a myth about a penis fish at this waterfall...
On the way back on the bumpy road, Thommy's tire went flat, fortunately, we found a farmhouse in the middle of nowhere that also repairs motorcycles. After some negotiations with hand gestures and a friendly smile, the elderly gentleman started repairing.
In the evening, we found a room in Sakong, a slightly larger city in the Bolaven Plateau, also here hardly any Western tourists and no one who speaks English. We then looked for a restaurant and ended up in a barbecue restaurant that offered offal, pig ears, pig tails, and other delicacies. When we realized that there was nothing else to eat there, we were able to say goodbye with the excuse that we are vegetarians. After a short search, we found a karaoke restaurant with very helpful staff and ordered vegetables, fries, and chicken with the help of Google photos. The chicken looked somehow different than we had imagined and Thommy, who was still very weak, could hardly eat...

The next morning, we decided to drive directly back to Pakse, as Thommy was at the end of his tether. We drove all day through the beautiful high plateau and through many very simple and poor villages. Many people live there in very simple and dirty huts without running water. Whenever we stopped somewhere to buy a soda, we were often looked at critically and reluctantly served only after clear and friendly inquiries. Unfortunately, we can't quite explain why. Are the people in Laos fearful, critical, unsure, averse to strangers, or are they simply unmotivated and succumbing to their lack of prospects? This experience made us somewhat puzzled and sad. On the other hand, how hospitable are we in Germany, we also have the open-minded friendly and the fearful, critical people...
Back in Pakse, we returned the scooter and even got almost fully reimbursed for the new tire!
Since Thommy was still not feeling well the next day and we were slowly getting seriously worried, we visited the hospital in Pakse. According to internet research, the only medical care in Pakse that meets Western standards. We were a bit shocked...the nurses were sitting on the floor eating, everything was dirty and chaotic, and an English-speaking doctor was nowhere to be seen. The nurses maneuvered Thommy onto a stretcher and took his blood, then he received a bill and a prescription. Even after several patient inquiries, we couldn't find out the diagnosis or what they did with the blood. We settled for the medicine and left again. In the meantime, two severely injured people were brought in on the platform of a tuk-tuk, and the tuk-tuk driver was negotiating loudly with the clinic staff who would cover the cost of the trip. A child was crying and screaming because it was supposed to get an injection, in the hallway, an elderly man was vomiting several times... all of this was a bit too much for our spoiled Western minds.
On the same evening, Nina also had a fever and chills, followed by diarrhea... So we spent several days in Pakse in a hotel room in bed and hoped for improvement. Unfortunately, it did not come. We didn't want to go back to the hospital, there was no doctor to be found, and the German Foreign Office advises against pharmacies in Laos (expired, improperly stored, and counterfeit drugs from China). Nina's condition got worse and worse, so we decided to drive back to Thailand and found a hospital with English-speaking staff just past the border.
Unfortunately, we had to leave Laos much earlier than planned and didn't see everything we wanted to see. A small consolation is that almost all the tourists we talked to in Laos had problems with the food and their stomachs. Even today, 5 weeks after it's all over, we still don't know if we want to go back again. Maybe the stomach just needs a little more time...

Conclusion Laos:
Like Cambodia, Laos is also a very poor country. Currently, about 1 million tourists visit the country every year, which is comparatively little compared to neighboring countries. The medical care is miserable and simply unaffordable or too far away for many locals. In general, one should never leave the roads in Laos, as there are still about 80 million unexploded ordnances in the ground, a leftover from the American Vietnam War 40 years ago. On this topic, there is also an interesting report in the SZ see: https://www.sueddeutsche.de/wissen/blindgaenger-in-laos-genug-bomben-fuer-jahre-1.2349738

The people are sometimes very friendly and curious towards strangers. Children wave almost everywhere and are ecstatic when you wave back. In some regions, the locals are skeptical and seem unfriendly.
Life in Laos is very relaxed and everything is very slow. The complete opposite of our life in the Western world. The landscape is breathtakingly beautiful and we could have certainly discovered many beautiful spots in Laos.