A round tour in south Laos crossing the Bolaven plateau to and fro and reaching as far as Attapeu, which was right in the center of the Ho Chi Min Trail during the second Indochina war, better known to most of us as the Vietnam war.
Total distance 320 kms of cycling, wereturned from Attapeu to Thateng by local bus.
We did it in 7 stages.
1st: From Pakse to That Fane alt app. 950 m. Beautiful bungalow resort near the That Fane waterfalls. 39 kms, 857 vertical meters.
2nd: To Thateng. A third world little town at alt. 871 mtrs, we had to pass over alt. 1305. app. 400 vertical meters.
3rd: To Tavivan Bungalows at the Hua Khon waterfalls, alt 134 m.  67 kms downhill, except for one little mean climb near the end. First to Sekong, another place that was completely wiped out by American bombs during the early seventies. Visited the office and small exhibition of the UXO-group working in that district. Still clearing the area from uxo (=unexploded ordnance). Very interesting discussions with the friendly staff there. Then some 20 kms more to the little village og Ban Hua Khon, just after a bridge. Some makeshift signs along the road, but after app. 300 mtrs dirt and cobblestones there are the bungalows on the riverside. The rear wall towards the falls is open to rhe falls. A bit shabby but awfully nice. Good restaurant, English speaking owners and plans to renew the bungalows. We felt perfectly happy as it was.
4th: To Attapeu, 55 kms, alt 115.. A dusty wide strechted little town with not much to do. UXO-office, jungle-trekkings posible, as well as boat trips on th Sekong river. A new bridge leads to the Vietnam border.
5th: 8-00 o’clock bus to Thateng. Very slow but nice ride, with lots of stops and loading of baskets to be sold at the Pakse market. From Thateng to That Lo waterfalls, alt. 368. 27 kms,  20 of which dirt road with some steep and tricky downhills. Cover yourself, there is car traffic, so everything will be red from the dust. Or muddy in the rainy season I suppose. Nice guesthouses on the falls, some with perfect bungalows, good restaurants etc.
6th: To Tadxe Peshuan, alt. 89, dist. 55 kms, 366 vert. meters.Very beautiful resort at the falls. Very beautiful and romantic bungalows on the river bank, one in a tree. Pricy (1000 baht), but ok as far as the bungalows are concerned. The restaurant, though very beautiful, had a very limited menu and was way too expensive.
7th: From That Pa Suam (Lao name) to the junction of route 13, app. 25 kms. From there one can go straight on and return to Pakse, we turned south towards Champassak
A very quiet place near Wat Phou, a historic place very importatnt for the Lao.