The Great Motorbike Adventure, part II

The camping site was located next to Tad Houa Khon which was especially beautiful just after sunrise when we were the only ones there. It's easy to imagine how beautiful this is during the wet season.

After that it was time to hit the road again. Sometimes there were some minor obstacles...

Our first stop of the day was on Mai Savanh Lao, an organic silk and tea farm. But in the dry season they also grow pepper and these very hip sacha inchi nuts, that are high in protein. We were also offered to taste mulberry and hibiscus.

 Perhaps the most interesting part of the journey was a stop at a Katu tribe village where Mr. Hook welcomed tourists at his home. We had a guided tour around the village and their coffee plantations and then we and two Austrians stayed the night at his homestay. 

Air-conditioning was not needed in our bamboo bungalow. The bungalow was for the guests, but the family slept inside the house. The word "family" also has a much wider meaning among the Katu tribe than among us. For example in Mr. Hooks ca. 60 m² house there lived 34 people. The largest house in the village consisted of 72 people.

The coffee plantation and different stages of the coffee fruit. The ripe fruits were really delicious, though we didn't eat the bean part to avoid staying awake all night.

Coffee here was served in a bamboo cup with a bamboo filter on top

Enjoying the sunset from a nice viewpoint while learning from their way of life form Mr. Hooks younger brother.

Then it was time to make dinner in the kitchen. We helped with the peanut sauce.

After dinner we gathered in the living room and Mr. Hook continued telling us a lot of very interesting things about the Katu tribe and his own life while sharing a waterpipe. They made their own bamboo waterpipes. Everyone in the village smoke. Even children who start at the age of three to keep the bad spirits (and mosquitoes) away.

Then it was time for our last day on the Bolaven Plateau. In the morning we stopped at Tad Lo for yet another waterfall.

And since Lao is famous for its coffee we made one more stop at a coffee plantation to have iced coffee and a rest in the hammock before driving back to Pakse.

Sunset over the Mekong in Pakse.