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| The gorgeous Laos mountains |
After jumping off the Stray Asia tour in Vientiane, we were happy to jump back on the tour bus about 4 days later. This time, we jumped on for the remainder of our time in Laos as this bus was to take us to Pakse where we would then cross the border into Cambodia on our own.
I will say that this bus brought a whole new tour guide crew and the best travelers ever. We really lucked out this time around.
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| Sleepy, but beautiful, Kong Lor |
We made the journey from Vientiane to Kong Lor. The travel time took about 6 hours total but the drive was absolutely beautiful. We stopped, like we normally would, every two hours for bathroom breaks and food, and made it to Kong Lor at around 3 pm.
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| Our guesthouse for the next two days |
Kong Lor doesn't have too many people that live there. In fact, the village itself is completely off the beaten track. It's almost completely isolated, aside from a handful of tourists, and snack dab in the middle of a valley. There is only one road in to Kong Lor and the same road takes you out as well. Buses come by, occasionally, as there is a major site to see, but the village itself is self-contained and seems to function very well whether the tourists came by or not. It's a sleepy village which relies solely on farming and they farm everything from rice to tobacco. They also have no streetlamps or even a paved road. Needless to say, it was a breathtaking change of pace from the chaotic busyness of Vientiane.
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| No night is complete without BeerLao, Rice Wine and LaoLao |
As a group, we decided to stay in Kong Lor for two nights. All of us were drawn in to this sleepy town and loved the change of pace. Our first night, we all explored the "town", taking pictures and drinking cheep Beer Lao and Lao Lao Whiskey. Some of us got really drunk and others took pictures of those who were really drunk. Either way, we bonded as a group and had a great time.
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| Our drinking hole for the evening |
The next morning, we explored Kong Lor Cave.....
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| And the fattest water buffalo in Kong Lor |
Yay to your hammer pants Christina!!! They look so comfy, I think B and I need to find some when we go shopping on Saturday!!! I can't believe we are coming THIS YEAR to Bali.... all of a sudden feels really close now that it's 2014 whoop whoop!!! Love to you both, miss you xoxo Carm.
ReplyDeleteYou are so right, Carm! Totally looking for hammer pants!!
ReplyDeleteThat's one big water buffalo! What a cool little spot! I can't wait to hear about the cave and your fellow travelers!! xo
Hi Christina and Allen,
ReplyDeleteLooks like you had an awesome time Straying with us, thanks for writing up your experience! :)
That is definitely the chubbiest water buffalo I've ever seen! Haha. Gorgeous pic of the Laos mountains too.
Our ultimate Laos pass for anyone that is interested is the Dtui Noy:
http://www.straytravel.asia/passes-and-tours/hop-on-hop-off/dtui-noy/
It’s two weeks of ‘off the beaten track’ adventure and will take you from Northern Laos right to the 4000 islands in Southern Laos.
We also offer an adventure from Luang Prabang to explore the mysterious ‘Plain of Jars’, visit some intriguing local villages, experience life in the communist caves and visit a wildlife conservation area for Indochinese tigers. http://www.straytravel.asia/passes-and-tours/stray-adventures/laos-caves-and-tiger/
Our hop-on, hop-off travel route also goes through Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Myanmar: http://www.straytravel.asia/deals/
Cheers!
The Stray Crew