By telling us your country of residence we are able to provide you with the most relevant travel insurance information.
Please note that not all content is translated or available to residents of all countries. Contact us for full details.
Shares
It was a turn of events that solo travel can routinely throw your way. After exploring the regular hotspots in northern Laos, I decide to break from the tourist trail and make the 400+ mile journey into the southern half of the country. In the absence of night buses, my choice is limited to a 12-hour ride on a local bus, which devolves into a journey from hell. All of the seats are taken by Laotians, so I descend to the storage compartment and fashion together a makeshift seat from air conditioning units and sacks of bread. My mood worsens as the bus doesn’t arrive at Pakse until 3 am; a whopping 6 hours later than expected, and the driver kindly drops me off in the middle of nowhere. I eventually find my hostel, although not too unsurprisingly, it’s closed! My day of burgeoning discomfort reaches a new nadir with the dawning realisation that I must take refuge on the streets. I am desperately tired but unable to sleep rough in this unknown town. I therefore decide to kill some time by exploring my surroundings, in the vain hope that somewhere in this ghost town might still be open. My wandering takes me through an overgrown alley, where I am suddenly confronted by a rather angry and scruffy dog. I am initially unperturbed, having encountered many such animals on my travels, and I keep walking. It follows, and I am startled as it bounds towards me with teeth bared. I instinctively tuck my exposed arms in behind my front backpack and sidle away, avoiding direct eye contact. My mind rapidly evaluates the options: should I run? Not a great idea, as it might cause it to give chase. Call for help? Pointless, as I haven’t seen a soul in hours. Ward it off with an object? Nothing to hand. Shout sternly to show strength? Might provoke it… As the barking becomes increasingly irate, my mind jumps the gun and contemplates where I can get rabies vaccinations in a place like this! I am brought rudely back to my current predicament by the sound of more barking behind me. I turn to find myself encircled by a whole entourage of agitated dogs, teeth bared and growling ominously. Where did they all come from?! Sheer terror pervades my body as seemingly the whole canine community of Pakse converges on my position. I completely freeze, fearing that one wrong move could result in a mauling. I can see no way out of this dire situation and desperately want the ground to just swallow me up! One of the dogs breaks the standoff and leaps up at me. I am grateful for my two backpacks, which provide some buffer between me and my assailants. I am, however, unbalanced by the weight and stagger backwards. This somehow carves out an opening and I need no second invitation! I walk purposefully away, cajoled by dogs snapping away at me from both sides. I am amazed to reach the end of the alley with my skin still firmly attached to my bones! As I round the corner onto the main road, I sprint like my life depends on it! Eventually, I dare to look back and am somewhat bemused to see the dogs lined up in formation across the carriageway, staring me down as I vacate their territory! My heart is practically beating out of my chest so I take some deep breaths, then seek out an alternative route back to the hostel, careful to avoid any more dark alleys. The following morning, I am still shaken as I contemplate how lucky I was to escape unscathed. Down in the doldrums and desperate to get away from this godforsaken town, I change my plans and hire a motorbike to head east to explore the Bolaven Plateau. Leaving all thoughts of angry dogs behind me, I hit the open road on an epic three-day loop which takes in lush coffee plantations, ethnic villages and countless amazing waterfalls, most of which I have completely to myself. Who knew that such a harrowing experience could trigger one of the most unforgettable and inspiring adventures?!