What can be better to wake up in some small village and being surrounded by animals and local lifestyle. After couple of hours of smooth and easy ride we were ready for the big day: Wat Phou temple was waiting for us.
Some kilometers before Wat Phou Temple you will find some stairs that will lead you to the PhouNgoi Buddha Temple. There will be over 400 stairs but don't be discouraged, the view from the top is definitely worth it!
Once you get to Wat Phu complex, you start your exploration with visiting museum. It houses artefacts of several centuries, such as statues of Shiva, Vishnu and Nandin, as well as Buddhist statues. For general knowledge, Wat Phu translates as “mountain temple” and was built during the late 10th to early 11th century, what makes it older than Angkor’s best known monument, the Angkor Wat, which was built during the first half of the 12th century. Over the following centuries structures were added to the temple until the 14th century when the Angkor empire went into decline. The Wat Phou was a temple dedicated to Shiva, one of the Gods of the Hindu Trimurti. In the 13th century it was converted into a Buddhist monastery. Even nowadays the temple is still a place of worship for local Buddhists. The main sanctuary enshrined the linga, the representation of Shiva. Today the sanctuary contains a much more recent large seated Buddha with three smaller Buddha images in front of it, all dressed in saffron robes.
After the first scientific description on the late 19th and early 20th century there was little scientific activity at the site until the early 1990s. With the Lao-UNESCO projects starting in 1987 and the designation as UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001 archeologic and conservation activities increased heavily
From our experience we can affirm that it can be really tiring visiting this complex in a hot day. So get enough water with you!
Once we’ve done with Wat Phou temple we headed even more to the south continuing driving through wide plateau towards 4000 islands and Cambodia. Of course we couldn’t miss 40 meters high Tad Yuang Waterfall, with its lush jungle and almost meditational atmosphere (when there are not too many tourists).
In order to experience real power of Mekong river we took a small “ferry” to Don Det island, where Li Phi Falls situated. Don Det island used to be a really off the beaten track place only ten years ago. However, since the changes to the tubing scene in Vang Vieng in 2012 which saw the majority of bars closed down, the young party crowd has moved here. So nowadays Don Det is somewhat of a mecca for backpackers. Tourists, mostly in their 20s and 30s, come to this island to party, drink, and relax.
Once you got to the island, its quite easy to find Li Phi Waterfalls, its perfectly marked on all major maps.
After good sightseeing of the waterfalls we even managed to get a boat ride along Mekong river in order to see some dolphins (there are some, driver said) but no luck. This is the most southern point of Laos so there is nothing left for us unless moving Cambodia!