Tha Kaeke - Tuesday 30th October

After making a casual enquiry and agreement in passing the previous evening, we probably weren't that surprised to see a tuktuk patiently waiting outside our guesthouse at 5am, ready to take us to the bus station - the experience is the exact opposite of trying to get hold of a taxi at 2am on a Saturday night/Sunday morning in Wolverhampton!

As we have experienced previously, everyone in the vicinity of the bus station seems to have a near-psychic ability to know where we are heading, and we and our belongings are bundled onto the right bus within seconds - and then after six hours, bundled off again, seemingly in the middle of nowhere, when we arrive at Tha Kaeke - nods and smiles aplenty.

We'd planned to have a look around Tha Kaeke, but essentially there wasn't much to see unless we had our own transport, and we were only using this as a convenient stop off on the way down to Pakse. Plus, there was heavy rain from about 5 minutes after we got there for the rest of the evening, so we took the executive decision to have a nice long nap instead... two hours later we woke in the dark to a power cut that, along with the rain, lasted the rest of the night... we ended up having an unintentionally romantic candlelit dinner of chicken and noodles in the outdoor (but covered) guesthouse restaurant and retiring for the evening, ready for the next leg of our journey to Pakse, via Savannaket, the next morning....

That evening Dave Couldn't sleep so apparently he decided to write about his feelings towards The Lonely Planet Guide Book. I have no idea why!!!

The Lonely Planet
To anyone who has travelled, this small intersection will probably not be a surprise. I would even go as far as to say that you will probably read it and think something along the likes of "Has he only just worked that one out", or something along similar lines but marginally less polite. But, for anyone who has not 'used' the lonely planet guide book, or 'the Bible' as i now tend to refer to it, then hopefully you will find these next few paragraphs mildly interesting and maybe a bit amusing.

Don't get me wrong, I have purchased lonely planet books before going away before. I always did find it informative about the places I already knew I was going to, and I enjoyed reading the interesting details of the 'exciting bus journey' to the place my plane had just landed. However, over the space of a couple of months it has grown past being a book with nice pictures, to be a trusted companion on our travels. Even as far as a good friend who always has reliable advice and guidance, only normally obtained by years of local exploration on country roads and completely missing all the main sights in that area. I have to rely on my friend as like many others I don't have the time, and especially not the resources to wander around a country for 6 months.

And now as we trek into un-chartered Cambodian territory I find myself suddenly propelled into the 'let's try going there' section of the travelling masses. I feel this to be a big move from my previous "that's where we've got to go" position employed so many times before. Who was there to help us make that transition? Who gave us support and guidance? Yes... that little (or in some cases big and definitely heavy) blue book. Who do you think gave us all the options up front, explained the how's, why's & what's, on getting your inexperienced and unconfident arses to that amazing cave or waterfall? Again, if you haven't guessed, the lonely planet was there to help.

OK, it does have a few downsides. I am trying to to give an objective view of my little travelling advice friend. It can be a little behind the times. We are not talking to the extent of the retro fashion industry, which, lets face it, was so the 90's. But, unless you have a second mortgage lined up it can be expensive to spend the odd 250,000 kip or other random currency on a nice uncreased shiny friend for every country you even think about visiting.

To avoid this out pouring of scarce resources the slightly sorry and dog eared copies from 2 or 3 years ago may seem like a good idea. Generally it is, but don't forget this could lead to a few minor problems while being far from home. It may be difficult to convince your new found travelling buddies that it was the previous owner of the book that ringed, highlighted and starred the 'go go bars' section in the sights and activities listings. And explaining that you had never heard of the website www.thaibridesRus.com until splashing out 500 Baht on this discount book could be a little tricky. Don't forget the locals either. Things could get a little frosty as you try bargain down the Tuk Tuk ride to the nearest temple using the book for advice not knowing that thanks to inflation over the last 5 years it is now normal to pay considerably more than the equivalent of 16p for a 2 hour ride up a mountain.

So, you have your bible in hand. You have taken suitable advice (on which it has in abundance), and you head off into the wide world. The slow boat sounds good, the cost is right, and it fits into the 'road less travelled' section. What could be better to impress the folks back home. Stories of solitary exploration in far flung destinations.

Well, before you dream of being the only "Falang" in the vicinity, you'd need to be aware of one final thing. You should know that your little blue Friend is not picky. I would even go as far as to say he definitely gets around. To clarify this I am not casting aspersions on anyones smurf friend and their sleeping habits. I am explaining that the solitude stories you crave may well also be craved by all the other people who bought the lonely planet of wherever you are. So despite the fact that as far as you are aware there are not many other of your drinking friends that will know where Luang Prabang is you are not exactly about to stumble on any undiscovered civilisations.

Having said that he is mainly true to his word and the boat arrives just when 'the book' said it would. Out of the Guest houses he described in more positive terms than "s*** Hole", you will arrive at your chosen destination and all the 100 or so of you crammed on to the 50 seater boat (yes he warned you about that as well), spread neatly between the 3 guest houses at the top of the page.
Despite the downsides I give thanks to my blue friend (No, not the smurf again). Without him by my side I am sure I wouldn't have seen the amazing places I have seen so far.

Now, It should only take 4 hours to get to the dinosaur bones exhibition. It shouldn't cost more than a few Baht. It says so in the book...