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Blogs from Don Det, South, Laos, Asia
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From Kratie in Cambodia to Don Det island in Laos
Published: March 28th 2013Asia » Laos » South » Don Det
March 20th 2013
Our journey from Sihanouk ville to Kratie in the north of Cambodia was one of the worst since we started travelling. Getting bus at 7 am, arriving to Phnom Penh after mid-day was the easy part. We were told to wait for another bus at the bus station but then we were loaded onto a tuk-tuk and driven somewhere else to find out we were getting a mini-van to Kratie. It wouldn't be tragic if the weather in Phnom Penh wasn't sooo hot and sooo humid and we were sitting in the mini-van, squashed liked sardines and had to wait for maybe another 2 hours until they completely loaded the car with boxed, bags with rice, motorbikes and then it took another good few hours to get to our final destination. So when we arrived to ... read more
February 1st 2013
On Don Det, the prices to get into Cambodia are absolutely ridiculous and they know it. Last year you could buy a ticket to Stung Treng for $7, this year it costs $18 and there was absolutely no way we were going to pay that much. We decided to make it up as we went along. After catching a boat from Don Det to the mainland we grabbed a bowl of noodle soup and then decided we would try get to route 13 (the main highway in Laos) then flag down any vehicle going south, hoping they could at least drive us to the border (only about 10 km away). As we walked towards route 13 a motorbike came up beside us with a small family on it. The man asked where we wanted to go ... read more
January 31st 2013
Our guesthouse in Champasak helped us get to Don Det and it was one of the easiest transports we had in a while. We love taking the local bus when we can but it's always a nice treat to have someone else do all the planning for you. A minibus, a boat, a “VIP” bus and another boat later we were on Don Det and it was smaller than we had expected. We were dropped off at a small beach and as soon as we got to the road everything was right in our face: Guesthouses, bars, restaurants, tour companies. It seems rather cluttered until you find the bungalows. The reason the main part of town seems so cluttered is because all the bungalows and restaurants have the better riverside locations. The bungalows are all pretty ... read more
January 10th 2013
Don Det, one of the islands in the Four Thousand Islands. We arrived by bus from Pakse to the main land of 4,000 islands and took a boat across the Mekong river to Don Det. As soon as we arrived to water buffalo swimming in the river and sunbathing on the beach next to people I knew I was going to like this place. we met a fellow traveller on the bus ride down, Cassie, and together went in search for some cheap accommodation, not difficult given Don Det is quite small and its just one pathway that leads all way round the island. We found some little riverside bungalows which were dirt cheap (£3 per night) so me and Pete decided this was the place. We went for an explore of the island on foot ... read more
December 22nd 2012
Rano ma zobudilo curanie uz o 5/00,potom som sa uz len do 8/30 prevaloval. Asi som prechladnuty ked chodim furt curat. Vonku zas ranny ramus,motorky,clny a debilny ludia co pod bungalovom palili trstinu. Pekny smradek teda. O 10/00 spraveny check out, vyplatenie ubytka a smer ranajky. Dal som si klasicky samosy,este boli teple. Pri pristave v jednej restike som chcel bananovy sejk ale nemali. Tak som siel do blizkej restiky na zapadnom pobrezi. Tu ho mali lacnejsi a free wifi. Sadam za stol,hladam obsluhu,nikde nikto,len chlapik co tu opravoval bicykel. Chlapik ma spozoroval ,vytiahol mobil a ubezpecoval ma,ze obsluha je zachvilu tu. Dosla za 20min. To mi nevadilo,lod mi est neodchadzala,wifi slapala na sto percent tak pohodicka. Pri mojom odchode sa sem prisli ubytovat novy ludia,pocuvam,pocuvam a zrazu,sak to je slovencina. Chalan z TT a baba ... read more
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December 21st 2012
Dnes v plane len relax. Rano ma zas zobudil hluk z motorov. Konecne som nasol dobru restiku s free wifi,len ta obsluha. Uz sa veru nad laoskymi lemrami pozastavovat nebudem. Po ranajkach,zbaleniu batohu uz len relax v sieti. Na obed som zistoval info o loope v okoli pakse. Nasiel som jeden trojdnovy a ptom este 5 dnovoy ale tam je vraj tazky teren, dalsie zranenie riskovat teda nechcem a dam ten 3-dnovy. Naisto navstivim aj vang vien a zrejme aj phonsovan. Ale budu to rychlovky. Najksor som chcel dat laos len pohodovym tempom ale uz som po tychto dnoch zrealaxovany az az. Bohuzial v pakse stratim dalsi den len kvoli prespaniu,iba ak by som tam dorazil o 13/00 a hned zobral motorku a siel ale to nepredpokladam. Po obede som si chvilu odpocinul a sie lna ... read more
December 20th 2012
Okolo 5/00 ma zobudil rev lodnych a motorkovych motorov. Furt volado jazdil hore dole. Zaspal som este na 3 hodiny ale stale som sa prebudzal na hluk,ludia pokrikovali,no paradny budicek. Umyl som sa a siel si pozicat bicykel. V ubytku mi stary hovori,ze oni nemaju dobre bicykle,mam ist viac na sever. Tak som siel ,zobral bicykel pri obchode kde kupujem samosi. Cena 10kk,zjednavanie tu nefunguje,no mozno ide ale na to asi nemam talent. Vybral som sa stredom ostrova na druhy ostrov Don Khonk. Pri druhom pristave som zahol doprava a potom siel stale po hlavnej (polnej) az k mostu. Mal byt spoplatneny ale nikde nikto nic nevyberal tak som to prefrcal. Za mostom som odbocil hned doprava,bola tu mini lokomotiva. Tu nastal aj moj prvy problem s bicyklom. Stojan je na zadnom kolese. Ani za boha ... read more
December 19th 2012
Konecne som sa vyspal. O 7/40 som spravil check out,jasne nikto nikde,tak som tam nechal polozeny kluc na stole. Pred ubytkom som cakal na bus. Chytilo ma volanie prirody,nastastie kluc bol este na recepcii tak som ho zobral ,pouzil naposledy wc a vratil sa cakat bus. Meskal len 30.minut. Bol z polovice plny. Vsetko biela osadka,to je tak ked clovek ide na tur.bus.Bol riadne vychladeny,sadol som si dozadu. cesta bola natrasacia,furt ma to vyhadzovalo do vzduchu take kvalitne cesty su tu ,sama jama. Spomenul som si na thajcov,ti by tu grcali nonstop.Mala zastavka na pispauzu,tu som neabsolvoval,trocha som sa len ohrial vonku a potom nazad do chladnicky. Okolita krajina bola riadne vysusena,vsade palmy a kravy. Vypadalo to fajnovo. Prva vykladka ludi bola na ostrov Don Khong,tu vystupila polovica ludi. Potom uz len 30km a boli sme ... read more
October 27th 2012
Woensdag 24 oktober 2012 – naar Pakse Vlucht zonder problemen per ATR 72 van Luang Prabang naar Pakse. De 'Taxi' counter in de luchthaven van Pakse is een echte 'rip-off'! Er wordt, zonder blikken of blozen 80.000 LAK pp gevraagd voor een ritje van amper 10 minuten! Een Tuk-tuk doe de job voor 25.000 LAK pp. Als je als 'backpacker' wordt geïdentificeerd en geen precies guesthouse voor hebt, wordt je, 'by default', naar het Sabaidy2 Guest House gevoerd. Het lokale mekka van de rugzaktrekkers. Een 'dorm bed' en gemeenschappelijk sanitair vind je er nog voor 30.000 LAK, maar er zijn hier ook inmiddels wat duurdere kamers bij. Even de kamer gaan bekijken. Plots slaakt het meisje die ons begeleid een ijzige gil! (zingen:) “E... read more
October 14th 2012
It was a pleasant 1.5h boat ride from Don Khong to Don Det, but upon arrival I did wonder why I made the trip. I'd read that Don Det had become a bit of a backpacker backwater, with noisy bars lining a narrow lane, packed with over-enthusiastic young backpacker falangs. And while rather quiet when I arrived, the muddy, poorly-maintained path leading to the guesthouses sure made for a poor first impression. Having said that, the calming walk along the "sunrise" side southwards, flanked by the Mekong on one side and unending verdant padi fields on the other, reminded me of why Don Det was once thought of as a traveller's haven. Originally a well-kept secret for those looking for a real, tranquil retreat from the rest of Laos (though I wonder why one would need ... read more
