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February 19, 2005

A little slice of paradise / Un pedacito de paraíso

Before heading on into Cambodia, we decided to make a pitstop in a small, tiny village in southern Lao, called Tadlo. This remote place, without shops or internet, brought us to a state of relaxation that we had yet to find throughout our whole trip. Appropriately enough, the strap of our only watch broke on the way here so there was no timetable for the next 5 days!

Days drifted by simply and easily here. We would usually wake up at 5:30am to the sound of a few neighbouring cockerals; but that didn't necessarily mean we would get up for the day then. If we felt up to it, we'd venture out for a walk by the banks of the river before it was too hot. When the sun got unbearable, we'd take refuge under some straw shelters to read in our hammocks.

During these long days, we explored a bit of the river banks, bathed under the Tadlo waterfalls and went for an elephant trek. Common sights around the area were the nearby villagers using the river (to fish, wash or cool off), and on one occasion we even got to see a runaway monkey! Another time saw us encountering a whole village chipping in together to build a house. Everyone was helping to weave some stripped bamboo into walls which are placed onto a thick wooden frame on stilts.

We were actually staying in a similarly built hut ourselves (with wicker walls and thatched roof). Behind our bungalow was an excellent restaurant which was run by the same familiy (the Tim's). The owner, Soulideth, and his family (including the dogs) received us with open arms and helped us out with everything we could possibly need.

The restaurant was a nice chilled out spot with some great music and seemed to have quite a high reputation in the area as it was very busy most nights. We shared many conversations and great meals with some other fellow travellers and people working in the area and enjoyed kicking back to the delicious, fresh watermelon and coconut juices.

Of course the time eventually came when we had to leave this paradise. With only a few days remaining on our visa, we had to formulate our next plan of action and continue moving.

**VERSION EN ESPAÑOL**

Antes de dirigirnos a Camboya hicimos una parada en una pequeña localidad al sur de Lao llamada Tadlo. Este remoto lugar sin tiendas o internet nos llevó a un estado de distensión completo, algo que no habíamos conseguido encontrar durante estos 9 meses de viaje.

Curiosamente, el día que llegamos nuestro único reloj se rompió y en los próximos cinco días no tuvimos horario alguno. Así que sin reloj cada mañana nos despertábamos a las 5:30 de la mañana con el cacareo de los gallos y algunas mañanas nos levantábamos a pasear antes de que empezara a hacer demasiado calor. Cuando el sol era ya irresistible nos refugiábamos para leer en las hamacas que había colgadas bajo los techos de paja.

Durante esas cálidas mañanas fuimos a caminar por la orilla del río y nos bañamos bajo las cascadas de Tadlo. Paseamos un par de horas montados en un elefante y en ese mismo paseo vimos como todos los hombres de una aldea remota construían una vivienda, desde las vigas de madera hasta las paredes de mimbre o bambú.

Nos alojamos en un lugar llamado "Tim's Restaurant and Guesthouse" en un bungalow muy similar a la casa que os acabamos de describir. El restaurante estaba detrás de nuestra cabaña y todo el recinto pertenecía a la familia que lo llevaba, la familia Tim.

Allí compartimos conversaciones y deliciosas comidas con la gente con la que habíamos viajado hasta ahí y tomamos jugos frescos de sandía y coco al son de Jazz latino. Soulideth (el propietario del recinto) y su familia (incluyendo los perros) nos recibieron con los brazos abiertos y nos cuidaron durante toda nuestra estancia.

En fin, que llegó la hora de dejar atrás este pedacito de paraíso y no nos queríamos ir. Pero tansolo nos quedaban dos días en el visado y no tuvimos más remedio que despedirnos de todos y dirigirnos hacia la frontera.

Les deseamos toda la suerte del mundo a Soulideth Tim y familia con su restaurante/posada.



by_the_bridge.JPG
First sight of the river / Primeras vistas del río.


neighbours.JPG
The neighbour's house / La casa del vecino


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Local swimming pool / La piscina del pueblo


who_r_u.jpg
Strange looks from locals /
Así nos miraba la gente del pueblo


making_lao_lao.jpg
Neighbour making Lao Lao (rice whiskey) / La vecina haciendo Lao Lao (whiskey de arroz)


falls.JPG
Nearby falls / Una de las cascadas de la zona


nate_chilling.JPG
Nate chills / Nate leyendo


on_the_elephants.JPG
On the elephant / Montados sobre el elefante


villagers_making_home.JPG
Villagers making a home / Aldeanos construyendo una vivienda


E_K_N_C.JPG
Eddie, Kev, Nate & Clay at Tim's Restaurant / Eddie, Kev, Nate & Clay en el restaurante de Tim

Posted by Nate on February 19, 2005 10:25 AM
Category: 13 Lao PDR
Comments

Conor got into the semi-finals against Belvo in Landsdowne Road. They won their last 2 games in Donnybrook. The semis are on the 2nd march, we'll keep you updated.

Posted by: Conor on February 20, 2005 03:07 PM

Congratulations Conor!

We'll be rooting for you next week against Belvo.

Keep us posted,
Kev + Nate

Posted by: Kevin on February 24, 2005 05:17 AM

Could be time to get that hair cut Kev!!

Posted by: BBD on February 25, 2005 10:18 AM

You could be right there Domnal. It's getting a bit shaggy alright...

Once I can get an English/Khymer interpreter to explain to the local hairdressers here in Cambodia what I want done, I''ll be laughing!

Posted by: Kevin on February 26, 2005 11:52 AM

Hola como estáis , espero que bién.
por aquí aparte del frio bastante bién,pasando semana tras semana y esperando vuestro regreso para veros y que me contéis muchas cosas de tantas que estáis viendo y viviendo , de acuerdo .
Un abrazo y hasta otro ratito besos de todos cuantos me rodean chaoooooooooooooooooooooooo.

Posted by: PAPITOMATEU on February 26, 2005 02:16 PM
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