FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX: Pu Luong: Early Birds, Epic Treks, and Exhaustion

One of the bajillion rice field photos I took

One of the unexpected advantages of my body still running on Sydney time was that there was absolutely no need for an alarm clock to witness the rather glorious 5:15am sunrise. Given there was no point attempting to go back to sleep, I took the opportunity to wander around the resort, capturing a few more photos before breakfast.

Speaking of breakfast, we'd been informed upon check-in that it started at 6:30am. However, the information in our rooms (which, let's be honest, not enough of us actually read) stated 7:00am. About eight of us turned up promptly at 6:30am, eager to fuel up! It was a good opportunity to get to know each other a bit better while we waited. The breakfast itself was quite good. I particularly enjoyed the fresh lime and watermelon juice as well as their Asian offerings – the fried rice and noodles were wonderfully tasty, and there were excellent options like pork-stuffed sticky rice, dumplings, and a dedicated noodle soup station. For those preferring a more Western start to the day, a made-to-order omelette station was also available.

Who needs an alarm clock to enjoy this sunrise?!

From reception, there is no way to avoid either steep inclines or steps to get to the rooms

The entrance to the resort which is about about 30m down a steep hill

Very basic gift shop with products that are not of any great quality

I'm in the NEW WING, room 201 which is the bottom right in the picture

A swing for instagram if one were so inclined

The rice fields just outside our pool area

The breakfast room/restaurant

Dragonfruit here is so sweet!

Sesame balls with bean paste

Looks like this will be breakfast staple for a little while

Today's adventure would be almost entirely on foot, and by the end of the day, my feet had logged a rather impressive 21,000+ steps, all in heat and humidity. Three cheers for me and my feet! It might be easier to provide an outline of the day's itinerary starting with the official description, followed by the reality and thoughts of what actually transpired. To truly capture the essence of the day, it's probably easiest to outline the official itinerary, then compare it with reality and my thoughts of what actually transpired.

"Begin an easy 5km trek through off-road paths to see a palm forest and a local village. We will then reach Bam Village, where you can enjoy stunning rice terraces and a panoramic view of the valley, relax with a herbal foot bath and local tea. Take an easy 2km walk down the valley to see the most beautiful rice terraces at Don Village. Continue to Hieu Village and the Hieu Waterfalls, the most famous waterfalls in Pu Luong Nature Reserve. Enjoy a local “BBQ” lunch. Enjoy swimming in the refreshing waters."

The day started off innocently enough, following a small sealed road from the resort entrance down towards the valley, greeted by lush, green scenery and farmers already at work in the fields. We were lulled into a false sense of complacency as our guide veered off the road onto a dirt track through a dense bamboo forest. Unbeknownst to us, this was the "easy 2km walk down the valley." While it might indeed be easy at a pleasant 20 degrees with no humidity, at 30 degrees with a stifling 95% humidity, and often slippery tracks, with leaves and twigs constantly brushing against your body, it felt closer to a tropical torture session.

My diligent lathering of Aerogard tropical strength (twice before departure!) proved woefully inadequate against the relentless mosquitoes feasting on me. I suspect the rivulets of sweat constantly dripping down my body simply washed it away. Frauke, one of our incredibly friendly and typically hyper-prepared German fellow travel agents, zapped my bites with the equivalent of a mosquito bite taser. This little gadget shot intense bursts of heat onto my skin, supposedly designed to make the bites heal faster without itching. I was game to give it a go. I was meant to suffer 6 seconds of pain per bite but could only tolerate about 3, so I'll let you know tomorrow if it actually worked. I let her zap half my bites in the name of science...

The promised herbal foot bath and local tea never materialized. We also collectively thought we were hiking to the waterfall, but no... we were hiking to the bus to take us to the waterfall, where there was another 800-meter walk to the falls themselves. Once there though, it was absolutely amazing! Surprisingly, there were no crowds, and the water was refreshingly and clean. Lunch was conveniently located right next to the falls, providing a much-needed reprieve from the relentless heat.

The guide added on the next day's morning activities to the afternoon so that we could enjoy the resort tomorrow morning until 1130 when we have to check out.

"Go to Chieng Lau Village - peaceful Thai ethnic village in Pù Luông, known for its iconic water wheels reflect the harmony between local life and nature. Take a 3km walk around Sat Village, where you’ll encounter peaceful countryside scenery and observe the daily working life of the local people. Visit the Cham Stream waterwheels – a unique and traditional irrigation system."

And this, my friends, is where things continued to unravel. By now, a few members of the group were visibly struggling, battling both the sheer physicality of the hike and the oppressive heat and humidity. After the initial trek, we'd already had to pause for ten minutes to allow one member to cool down and recover. A good guide, would have picked up on this and perhaps offered to stick to the original plan of seeing the waterwheels the next morning when temperatures would be cooler. Instead, at 2 PM, in the height of the heat and under the blazing sun, walking around to see the waterwheels felt unpleasant and almost perfunctory. While interesting, everyone's overriding desire was simply to return to the resort.

I understood the guide's rationale for moving things around, but by this point, I was seriously concerned that a couple of group members were close to collapsing from heat exhaustion. Our guide, however, consistently charged ahead without looking back, leaving other members of the group to ensure the stragglers made it. As a minor gripe, the guide also didn't really specify the villages as we passed through them, leaving me with no real idea where I went!

All in all though, I genuinely appreciated the opportunity to witness the raw beauty of the region. I was more than glad to finally reach the hotel for some much-anticipated "free time" in the afternoon. Part of my personal "afternoon activities" involved going through and deleting photos – turns out I really didn't need 16,523 photos of rice paddies. A glorious soak in the hotel pool followed by another long, cold shower finally made me feel human again! Thankfully, dinner was at the hotel restaurant and was a relatively quick affair.

All in all though, I appreciated the opportunity to witness the beauty of the region. I was glad to finally reach the hotel for "free time" in the afternoon. Part of the afternoon activities in my "free time" included going through and deleting photos. I really didn't need 16,523 photos of rice paddies. A glorious soak in the hotel pool followed by another long COLD shower finally made me feel human again! Thankfully dinner was at the hotel restaurant and was a relatively quick affair.