Tad Lo is a small stop on a big loop in southern Laos. It's a pretty little village that sits next to a set of waterfalls on the Bolaven Plateu. The Bolaven Plateu Loop isn't as popular as the Thakhek Loop, but I wanted to keep riding and I still had time on my Laotian Visa.
After finishing the Thakhek Loop, I took a bus from Thakhek to Pakse. I have zero photos of Pakse and wasn't overly impressed with that city. It was OK, but apparently not worth taking photos of.
I rented a motorbike and got ready to leave town. I was low on cash and decided to use an ATM before I left town. Unfortunately, the power went out. The power was out everywhere. As far as I know, the whole country had no power. The locals didn't seem very concerned, so I figured the power would be back on in a few hours.
I got on the road and ended up finding a bank that had backup generators and I was able to convert some of my dollars into Kip. It was a weight off my shoulders to have some cash in my pocket. If I remember correctly, the power didn't come back on until well after dark.
Soon after getting on the road, my tire went flat. It happened too many times that I happened to get a flat tire right in front of a tire place. I'm convinced that the tire shops put nails or glass in the roads near their shops.
They repaired the tire and gave me the price. It was something small like $8. I knew it was more than what the locals pay, but that didn't bother me. What did bother me was the mechanic laughing in my face because his boss was ripping me off. Every country on Planet Earth rips off tourists, that's part of being a tourist. I'm fine with that. But laughing in my face like I was an idiot and too stupid to see what was happening really bothered me.
I left the repair shop pissed, but I didn't stay mad for long.
Maybe I did stay pissed because I didn't take any photos until I got checked into a room. It was hard to stay mad at the place that I found. It had farm animals and wagon wheels that made it feel like a place out of the wild west.
The room I rented was next to a big river. After locking up my bike and dropping off my bag, I went out exploring a little bit.
As much as I liked the place that I was staying in, these rooms on the waterfall made me wish I had explored before settling on a room.
These waterfall cabins looked awesome. But I wonder if the water would be too loud after a while. Not that it matters, a night in a loud cabin would have been worth it for the photos.
The area of Tad Lo had a cool, park-feel to it. It seemed like a resort town of sorts.
I spent an hour or two wandering around. Then I went looking for food.
I know I took a picture of this because it was all included in a super cheap price, but I can't remember the price now. It was probably around $2-$3 for the soup, chicken Lap, sticky rice, and beer. It was great!
I returned to my room with a few beers and read my book for a while. I don't remember much else about this place other than it being a good experience.
It was fairly rustic, but it was charming. The next day I got on my scooter and continued on the loop. My first day on the Bolaven Plateu Loop hadn't started out the best, but things got better as I made my way down the road. More about that tomorrow!
