Hey!

We arrived in Pakse yesterday morning after a very long bus ride from Vientiane.

We dragged our feet into to a few guesthouses,one that was great but had a ridicoulous resident myna bird that we didn't find cute,especially at that time in the morning.

Pakse is very much a sleepy,town & unfortunatly;not too pretty either.

The place we did find was fine & seemed very popular with the locals for breakfast. We thought it wouldn't be a good idea to go to sleep,so arranged for a tuk-tuk driver to take us to the the Bolaven Plateau- famous for coffee plantations,bike & elephant treks and many waterfalls!

After our amazing waterfall experience in Luang Prabang we were definatly up for some more, so we hopped in a tuk-tuk and joined by Natasha, a nice,Dutch Sociology student on her term break - travelling on her one.very brave.

The first waterfall we arrived at wasn't at all one designed for swimming in,contantry to our tuk-tuk drivers insistances.

Not only was it huge,the biggest we've seen so far but it was the other side of a valley and there primarily to be looked at from afar.

It was amazing and we got some really good shots but,we couldn't help being a bit disappointed A:because we thought we'd be duped again and B:because it was hot & we really fancied a swim!

The second waterfall was much better and appeared to be quite a popular attraction.

Down we climbed the steep steps to another very big waterfall,luckily we were very close and enjoyed the spray from the water crashing top to bottom.

We trekked our way back up & determined to get our fix of sun and swimming we found a quaint stream,accompanied with mint-green pools,grassy sides and best of all it was all emerced in sunshine!

We found a nice spot (that wasn't next to cow s***),read and chatted with Natasha before I felt brave enough to get in the freezing cold water. It wasn't as good as Luang Prabang but still thoroughly enjoyable and we're really glad we came.

Finished the day off with an Indian (curry) at the restaurant opposite our hotel. Food was great but the best thing was the entertaining owner who mixed,kneaded cook and flipped pankcakes emphantically giving the odd look over his shoulders to ensure all were watching his magic.Laura loved it!

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