The final leg of our motorbike loop took us over the Bolaven Plateau, which we'd circled around the north side of on days one and two. And what a ride it was! Spoilt by flat, asphalt roads up to this point, we expected no different all the way back to Pakse, and with an early 8am start and under two hundred kilometres to cover, I was thinking we might even be back there for a late lunch. Oh no, not a chance. At the point we turned off the main road to climb up onto the plateau, the dirt road began, and over the course of the following four hours I reckon I made fast-track progress from beginner to expert motorbike rider (well, in Laos terms, perhaps up to lower intermediate, but there was definitely substantial improvement!). It was exhilarating and exhausting, and after a while felt like being in a giant, virtual reality computer game, as the terrain kept changing, time and again, and getting progressively more difficult. Level one: bumpy section; level two: steep section; level three: tight bends; level four: all of the above; level five: the ridiculously steep section with tight bends at top and bottom; level six: higher speed mixed terrain with traffic; level seven: narrow, sandy, off-road section (the main road was being rebuilt); level eight... and each time I thought the end was in sight, and for a moment relaxed, a new challenge presented itself! Until finally, after the four hours, we felt the beautifully smooth relief of asphalt under tyre again. Made it, and neither of us with a single fall (although Matt proclaimed to have come very close on two occasions!), just two very tense passengers and a set of filthy, dust-covered faces.

The fun and challenge of the ride aside, however, our efforts also earned us the greatest prizes. On the way up, two spectacular waterfalls, both with gushing water plummeting over a hundred metres. The first one I don't know the name of, but the second was the mighty and revered Nam Tok Katamtok, allegedly the highest in Laos. Then on the descent back to Pakse, two more, the better known and arguably equally spectacular Tat Fan, measured at a hundred and twenty metres high, and the more accessible and very picturesque Tat Yuang. If you're a fan of waterfalls, definitely take a look at the pictures when I finally upload them sometime in May!

Incidentally, between waterfall visits, we stopped for coffee on top of the Bolaven Plateau, the product for which it's known, and it was the strongest coffee I have ever tasted! So much so, it was more syrup-like than liquid. Paula couldn't even keep it down in the end, the combination of uber-strength coffee and the tension from the long, adrenalin pumping motorbike climb proving too much for her stomach. I also felt abdominal stirrings, but fortunately not quite so much to bring it back up. Delicious, though, so no regrets!

And we finally rolled back into Pakse, for a second time, just as dusk was approaching, for more, well deserved, curry and Beerlaos. Motorbike adventure over, and to be honest, a bus was quite an attractive prospect for the next leg!