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Si Phan Don (4 Thousand Islands) is an archipelago of islands where time goes slowly and life is laid back, a wonderful introduction to Laos.
We left Cambodia heading for the most southern tip of Laos, our chosen Island was Don Det where we were told there is more of a packpacker scene. Our first obstacle was the boarder control, most tourists travel to Laos from Thailand or Vietnam so the Cambodia/Laos boarder is quite new. We are getting used to boarder controls charging what they like to give you your visa and so unlike some fellow travellers from our bus we didn't argue the 2 dollar charge to leave Cambodia or the inflated price for our months visa for Laos!
After a short bus ride we were dropped off by the river and sent towards some boats. This is the only way to get around the 4000 islands as there are hardly any cars and no raodways to most of them. A German guy told us he'd be driving our boat to Don Det and ushered about 15 people onto a very small boat reminiscent of a hollowed out log. The "boat" listed from side to side as people made there way on and we all quickly learned that balance was key - see pics. The German guy said he would show us his bungalows on Don Det which were 2.75gbp per night so why not. We realised that they were located on the south of the island and unfortunately we wanted to be on the north so we politely refused and started the half hour treck with backpacks to the north of the island.
Eventually we got to our chosen guesthouse and checked in, our room directly above the Mekong on stilts. After the travelling Matt's first "Beer Laos" was in order and we grabbed some food too. As per the picture our room was a little too quirky here (see pics) so we checked out in the morning and found somewhere else. This is something we are now used to - we'll often book up for one night and then if we find a better (cheaper) alternative we'll move on.
The night we arrived we explored the local area and met some wonderful dutch guys who invited us to play pool and we talked about Laos as they've been here for a month. We played pool till close and the final score was England 6 Holland 0 - more down to Matt's skills than Gem's!!!
The next day we rented a bicycle and went all the way round the island stopping for refreshments at various different bars on the way. Our pick of the stops was a place called King Kong run by a 50 yr old ish scouse called Mini (Everton fan). He plied us with drinks and we chatted for over an hour. He explained that the whole of the Mekong River is clear in the dry season and brown in the wet season due to the sand banks being submerged in the ever rising water in the rainy season. We had just assumed it was dirty like the River Thames in London! Towards the end of our biking adventure we ended up in the same bar as the night before and stayed late having fun times with the dutch once more.
OUr third day in Don Det was Gem's birthday so we went for breakfast by the river and spent the afternoon lazing in a movie bar watching the latest batman film and Forrest Gump! We decided to go back to King Kong's for a nice meal as Mini used to be a chef and the restaurant had great recommendations. We didn't realise that the walk would take us over 30 minutes, it was only 5 minutes on our bike!!! The meal was wonderful but the walk back in time to Skype Gem's Mum and Nana at 8.30 was a scary experience. Pitch black, cobwebs, crickets, the odd Ox or chicken jumping out and only a very small torch to help us navigate the way! It was worth making it back in time though, great to speak with Nana and Mum, not sure Nana could quite believe it. Time for a nightcap then bed as we planned to leave for the small town of Champasak the following morning to see one of Lao's most beautiful sites, Vat Phu.
The 4 Thousand Islands are simply stunning, the scenery of the different islands and the laid back way of the locals is something we will remember forever.
- comments
Supakev Fair play u guys. I so wish i was on hols somewhere