Dusty Roads

Dusty Roads was a name read at the end of each church service back when I was a kid (and a churchgoer). It was read from a long list of names of those we needed to pray for. The name was intriguing. Now, I find I can actually weave it into one of our blog entries about our trip down to The South. So "Dusty Roads" (not sure if that was the spelling) . . . here's to you!

Last weekend Joe and I traveled to Pakse in the very Southern Province of Champasak. The reason I say "traveled" was that it was a combination of taxi, plane, and car. The Pakse airport is closed for construction, so we took a plane to Savannakhet. A driver met us there and drove us the 3-4 hours to Pakse. The drive was pleasant . . . much dry territory, numerous farm animals leisurely walking alongside and occasionally into and across the paved road. Dogs, chickens, pigs, goats, cows, calves, water buffalo  and their calves . . . it seemed to be baby season. Luckily, all that came into harm's way were spared - thank goodness for slow and careful Lao drivers! The landscape was very dusty with plains that might make you  think of Africa a common sight as we neared Pakse.

Upon arrival, we ate at a restaurant called "Pizza Boy". The most memorable thing about our experience was not the pizza, but a gigantic centipede that ran under a nearby table causing two western tourists to spring from their chairs. Not thinking about the potential poison factor, I jumped into photojournalism mode and snapped a pic. You can just barely tell by comparing him/her to the table legs that he/she was about a foot long. No joke! One of the restaurant workers took matters into his hands and whacked it with a broom, breaking it in two. Only one half continued to flip around long after we finished our meal.

Joe's workshops were a hit in spite of the heat that ensued after lunch. Temperatures reached about 100 degrees that day, so heading to the market to take photos lasted only about 30 minutes for me. I ended up spending the rest of the afternoon in the deluxe new Chinese hotel enjoying the A/C. A highlight was a side trip to Wat Phou an ancient Hindu temple - unique to this area. It was hot there too and involved a long bumpy dust-inducing car ride on an unpaved road and a wait for what looked like a home-made car ferry - however, the adventure was well worth it! Looking at the photos afterwards reminded us how exotic it truly was.

The next day we were driven back to Savannakhet where we were to catch the plane back to Vientiane. We decided to stay a night and check out the town. Awfully hard to do, again, when it is so hot. However, at dusk and the next morning at dawn, we meandered around the town checking out the remains of the French Colonial architechture. It is a crumbly town, but with so much potential. Hopefully, one day the government will help rennovate some of the buildings and facilities to make it the next Luang Prabang. But for now, the infrastructure of hotels and restaurants is pretty much non-existant. We did however make it to the Dinosaur Museum with a very enthusiastic guide who took us to the back room where some finds were still encased in dirt and dust - still needing to be cleaned up for display.