The Last of Laos

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The mornings always started off well with its French influenced breakfasts - So good I started a Baguette-o-Metre. Finishing with the figures of 26 Baguettes in 25 days. This was just one of the Superlatives that Laos produced as a destination.

Laos finished off with the relaxed 4000 islands. A group of islands along the Mekong River. I stayed at Don Det Island, an island with cheap wooden bungalows with hammocks outside for as little as a dollar.

Nothing much is done really except either relax and do nothing or ride a bike along a rocky path through farm fields to Don Khon island where the waterfall & beach is.

The Somphamit Falls are the strongest waterfalls in SE Asia. The water joining together from the numerous islands forming multiple falls. Once they reach the bottom the river makes a left turn to the beach.

A surprisingly sandy beach with a small swimming area. 20m out and you’ll join the rapids of the strong current. There is dolphin watching too but I heard that there isn’t too much to see.

There are no banks and electricity for 4 hours a day. Nights were mostly quiet except for a few people trying really hard to be a hippy backpacker. Mostly nights were over at 1030. Laos’s kip (money) is hard to exchange once out of Laos so if drink couldn’t get rid of it I had to choose food as my money disposal.

At sunset I’d go to this Belgium guy who has a restaurant on the sunset side of the island and cook these brilliant meat dishes with gravy, chips or mashed potato. So that gave the western fix at night. And for lunch it was a local dish with a lady at the waterfall after the beach. So on the last day I ordered my food and ate half of it when I realised that there were ants in my meal. Not just one but a family. She comes over and says “You’ve got very good eyes.” Great call!!

Each meal if it could be done was finished off with the best beer in SE Asia - Beer Lao Dark. The only beer so far that has had a legitimate taste. Similar to the country which so far is the only place this trip where I have felt I have travelled and experiencing another part of the world. Very few places in the world I have finished and said I will be coming back. Laos is one and if I were to become unselfish and volunteer I would choose here. I have missed a few places to encourage me to come back. The Plain of Jars which is where the US dropped their unused bombs. Laos is one of the most bombed countries in the world. There’s Luang Nam Tha and a 7km cave where you can Kayak so Laos offers even more than what I saw. I wouldn’t change a thing of what I saw… As long as I come back in the future. It deserves it.

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Photos

The Money
Only two dyes to print in this country. Took a while to get use to.