I kind of messed up with this post and the Paksong post. I didn't realize that I stayed in Paksong for 2 nights. I was tempted to use this post as an excuse to pin Pakse to my map, but I still don't have a single photo of that city and I'd hate to make a Pakse tour post without a single picture of the place. Tad Yuang Waterfall, on the other hand, I do have photos of.
On this day of my ride, I took a trip to some of the waterfalls close to Paksong. Then I returned to my hotel for the night. After that I returned to Pakse and I have a tale of woe to share about my time there. These will be my last photos of Laos from this trip.
A few kilometers down the road from Paksong is Tad Yuang Waterfall. The entrance to the park is extraordinarily pretty with a lot of nice landscaping and traditional looking buildings.
When you walk to the waterfall, you arrive at the top of the falls and have to walk down to see the fall itself.
There are several falls and these ones were pretty impressive.
There was a lake below the falls that you can swim in. It looked cool, but I didn't bring my swimsuit.
A tourist area was set up by the falls. It looked like a fun place. The way the buildings were arranged, it reminded me of a summer camp. There are cabins that you can rent for spending the night at the falls.
It looked like it would be fun place to stay.
At the edge of the river, there were lots of benches and picnic areas.
The jungle was dense and lush. It reminded me of a scene out of Jurassic Park.
Overall, Tad Yuang Waterfall was pretty cool. I think it would be a great place to spend the night. It looked like they had restaurants and other amenities for visitors.
Back at Paksong I went out to find a restaurant for dinner. I found this pond with a closed restaurant on the water. It was a cool, empty area to explore and take photos of.
I found a place nearby to have dinner at. I started off with some beer. At this place, they used pink toilet paper for napkins.
When my chicken arrived, I instantly made some new friends. Two dogs arrived and joined me at my table. They didn't beg or try to get my attention. They just sat there patiently hoping for scraps.
These good boys definitely got some scraps from me.
After dinner, I took a few more photos before returning to my room.
This is one of my favorite photos from Laos. It's also one of my last photos from Laos. After another night in Paksong, I returned to Pakse.
In Pakse, I went to return my scooter and pick up my backpack, but the only person who had a key to the room where backpacks were kept was gone. They said the guy with the key was gone for the weekend! It asked them to call a locksmith, but they just looked at me funny. They wanted their bike back, but I told them that I was keeping it because I needed it to pick up my bag and take it to my hotel. They didn't like that one bit, but I didn't like being stuck in this city one bit so it was a fair trade in my opinion.
I came back the next day and the guy still wasn't there. I was pretty pissed about it. Pakse wasn't too bad of a place to kill time, but I didn't like being forced to stay there. Eventually the person with the key to the bag room returned and I was able to get my bag. They tried to charge me for the extra days that I kept the bike, but I simply refused to pay it. They would have had their bike back on time if they hadn't screwed up.
I bought a ticket for a bus to Cambodia the next day. At the bus place, they said someone would come by my hotel and pick me up. I spent the next morning killing time in the lobby of the hotel. After an hour or two passed, I walked down to where I bought the bus ticket and they said that I would have to take tomorrow's bus because they forgot about me. LOL. I told them not to pick me up, I would be there in the morning for the bus.
All in all I spent 3-4 extra days in Pakse. As I said, it's actually not a bad place to kill time. There are a few places that serve western food and the local food places were really good. My hotel was cheap and comfortable. I was also able to get my clothes washed for cheap.
The next day I got on the bus and headed south to the border! I hope you'll join me tomorrow as I begin a thoroughly enjoyable tour of Cambodia. I really loved my time in Cambodia. Laos wasn't bad by any means, but Cambodia was about 50 times better. The people, food, attractions, hotels, just about everything was better in Cambodia.