Pakse Tourist Traps

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In front of Xplore-Asia's office in Pakse (Route 13) there's a nice sign providing bus trips to Kratie for 200 000 Kip (24$).

After a phone call, the staff told me that the bus would only go to the border where I'd have to buy another ticket at their office there, for the bus from the border to Kratie.
O.K., I see, no problem. So for now, 100 000 Kip (12$) to the border.
Now I know that others do it for 65 000 Kip, but that's not the point.

At Ban Nakasang, they dropped me off and told me that I'd have to go the rest of the way to the border (17km) with one of the motorbike drivers waiting there. Because all other passengers were heading with the bus to the ferry to Si Phan Don.

So I was standing alone at the border and of course, there's no such thing like an office.
Instead, some guy told me that he was from Xplore-Asia and he knew that I'd come. But he thought, that there would be more passengers and of course, no bus would run just for one person and bla bla bla.
He could offer me a taxi ride to Kratie, but it's a long trip, petrol is expensive and just for one person he cannot do it for under 60$. But I have to pay now, because he's not the driver and bla bla bla. The stupid noob I have been at that time, I paid.

To make it short, it ended up with 7 persons plus a little baby in the Toyota Camry, me together with a khmer lady on the front seat and I think he charged the others as well. I couldn't get out of the car without help, no blood circulation in the legs anymore.

Thank you Xplore-Asia for the relaxed and inexpensive trip!