We're now right on the border between Thailand and Laos, by the Mekong river with Laos on the other side.
After we last posted here, we went on to Surin as planned, but then changed our plans a bit. Surin is not a very exciting place, but we had decided to use it both as a stopping point on our way eastwards through Thailand and as an opportunity to get to a couple of supposedly very impressive Khmer temples. When we got to Surin we checked into an extremely basic (but also extremely cheap) hotel and looked around for information about the temples. It looked like it would cost us quite a lot to get there ourselves as well as being rather tricky, there being no public transport all the way there. The tours that took you all the way to the temples were, we decided, outside our price range.
Instead we decided to move straight on the next day across Thailand, hoping to get all the way to the small town of Kong Chiam. This is also not served by public transport, but we were quite keen to make it there if possible. Its main attraction is some nearby 3000- to 4000-year-old cliff paintings. We got a train to Ubon Ratchathani, the eastern end of the train line, then a bus to Phibun. At Phibun we quite quickly managed to find a songthaew (sort of public trucks that operate a bus-like service) going to Kong Chiam.
Having spent well under budget on accommodation for our whole time in Thailand (in general about £2-3 a night), we thought now would be a good time to treat ourselves to something a bit more fancy, especially since Kong Chiam has a few resort-type jobbies with chalets. After ages bouncing between a few of these, we settled on a place with very homely, clean chalets, still just under our daily accommodation budget! We lazed around for what remained of the day and got a much needed early night.
The next day, today, we set about trying to get to the cliff paintings at Pha Taem. There's no public transport, not even songthaews, going there. Without too much difficulty, though, (under an hour of waiting) we managed to hitch on the back of a pick-up truck that was going all the way there! It seems that everybody drives pick-up trucks around here, making up a very large proportion of the vehicles on the road - very handy for hitching. The cliff paintings are in a national park, so we paid our entrance fee and walked the few kilometres into the park to the main tourist centre (most visitors are on tour buses that go all the way in). There we ate the noodle lunch we'd brought with us and set off on the route that takes you around the cliff paintings.
The paintings were fascinating: depictions of animals, people (vaguely), handprints and even rice fields. Unfortunately, it started tipping with rain before we set off and continued for the rest of the day (it's still going now) - I suppose that's what you get for coming during the monsoon. By the time we left the national park, we were completely drenched through, far beyond the point at which it stops bothering you. We were lucky enough to be picked up by another pick-up truck very soon, which took us most of the way home. Just as we got off, another pulled up and took us the rest of the way! We really feel like we're properly adventuring now!
We're now about to get some dinner and then enjoy an evening sheltering from the rain in our very comfortable little chalet. We'll be up tomorrow morning to try to make it to the Lao border and on to Pakse over the other side. We've had an amazing time in Thailand, but we're very much looking forward to Laos!