Neither had I, but on looking for a place to see the Great Barrier Reef, it seemed to be the place to go. Being so far south, the impact of Cyclone Debbie and bleaching has missed this spot. This is it - and yes, a large chunk is taken up by the airstrip.
We booked in for three nights in an eco-cabin before Christmas.
I'd heard it was renown for bird life so reminded myself 100 times not to forget my binoculars. It turned out I didn't need them. December is breeding time for these guys and, they're literally everywhere. Some poor unsuspecting tourist had the bacon taken off his plate and breakfast! If you don't care for birds, this isn't the time of year to visit, but apparently, they all disappear in February.
Bird's eye view of the birds
No binoculars required!!!
The real attraction is the snorkelling. We saw a Spotted Eagle Ray (no Mantas, unfortunately), large reef sharks (about 2 metres), a mother of a stingray - perhaps nearly 2 metres across, nestling into the sand, a huge moray eel, a row reef squid that were eye-balling Elle and me in some kind of surreal Mexican stand-off, a massive grouper, trumpet fish, batfish that look like super-sized angel fish and hundreds of others. And each time, we saw turtles! Some as small as a dinner plate but most the size of an occasional table.
A whole row of these guys was just.. so...weird
Eagle Ray - they're big!
More of these than you could point a stick at
It was the egg-laying season for the turtles so a night walk along the beach was less about possibly seeing one and more like how many. They were very busy girls!
Gorgeous sunsets
To quote another guest; "Turtle, crab, sunset - I don't know which way to look!!!"
Hermit crabs aplenty on the beach in the evening
I BYO-ed champagne. They were happy to provide glasses!
If you like a nap when you're on holiday, be warned, the eco-cabins (in fact, I suspect all the cabins) get very hot in the afternoons. There's no aircon, but they do have a ceiling fan - which changes it from being in an oven to being in a fan-forced over. Sass tried napping on the deck out the front, but baby birds kept jumping on her!!
Anyway, if you like a bit of what nature has to offer, I'd recommend it.
Luang Prebang - is it just me or does that seriously sound like a name of a place made up by a 5 year old? Never the less, this is where we spend the next leg our journey.
On arrival in Laos, Geoff and George get waved through (probably because of George's wheelchair) and the girls and I are left to fill in 5 long forms before queueing behind the multitude of tourists, all holding their forms plus passport photos. Hmmm. We have no such photos. I think I missed that detail which I later find in the small print of our itinerary. As it transpires, should you ever happen to be in that part of the world, it's not essential to have a passport photo, you can (thank god!) pay an addition US buck per person and they copy the one in your passport. Phew! So after a long wait fuelling some unnecessary anxiety, we're finally issued with visas and admitted into Laos.
The first evening is magic as we meet up with close friends from Sydney for dinner. Just not enough time, but loved every minute at a fancy-pants restaurant (well, fancy-pants by Laos standards anyway).
The next day, yes, more wats...ahhhh! And that's where the picture of that toilet comes in. E had the worst runny bottom (and we've had lots over our years of travel). She's complaining of feeling sick and of course as you know, my sympathy runs deep so I say for god's sake pull yourself together and get in that van. So she does.
We arrive at the first wat - and she needs to go. Like, right now. We're directed to that toilet. Armed as I traditionally am with a roll of toilet paper and a packet of wet wipes wrapped in a hotel shower cap (yes, that too can be handy in moments like these - happy to explain if necessary -drop me a line) we survive. We get back to the wat...and George needs to go. OMG. Eighteen years old, taller than me by a long shot, unable to even stand on his own - and a filthy squat toilet our only option.
Geoff and I make our way through the building rubble back to that toilet, strip poor G from the waist down, support him from either side, position him over the drop and in that split second, he lets a huge one go. Geoff and I are practically high-fiving each other we're so proud. I don't think I could have felt more satisfied if I'd dropped that myself!!!
Back to the tour....E's feeling like crap (pardon the pun) and George has had enough so Geoff and I and Sass walk to the top of the giggle-inducing Mt Phou Si (pronounced Pussy). I buy Sass three small finches in a bamboo cage to release for good luck. Those birds ain't silly and I suspect they've been caged and released more times that I've had hot dinners!!
Next time.... the strange courting rituals of the Laos hill tribes....
