After Sam Nuea we travelled 100 km west on windy mountain roads, our driver Mr Pim carefully negotiating the potholes, children, chickens and oncoming logging trucks that share the narrow road. We arrived at the park and were taken by tail boat up the narrow Nam ET river to a ranger station and camp in the core of the protected area, home to tigers, leopards, samba deer, birdlife and butterflies. Late that afternoon we carried on upstream to a salt lick where the prints of deer could be identified. After a campfire and delicious dinner cooked by our guides we drifted downstream, spotlighting the forest margins as we went. Only birds were seen. If you see a tiger, we would have had to pay the villagers and extra 1.8 million kip ($NZ300) to encourage them to value LIVE tigers. Back at camp and after a good night sleep we went on an early morning walk through an abandoned village site, all that remained was a few piles of bricks, tamarind trees and a 8m high stupa. The area was the front line in the secret war and the CIA had a helicopter base on a nearby hill. The area around the camp had been swept for UXOs but there were still bomb craters evident, incongruous in the forest setting. Unforgettable trip, untouristy just how we love it.