Blogs from Don Det, South, Laos, Asia - page 11

The 4000 islands are a group of small islands situated on a wide area of the Mekong River in the far south of Laos close to the Cambodian border. I don't think there are actually 4000 of them but there cerainly a lot, most of them are just tiny patches of land in the middle of the river but there are three larger principle islands which have been developed to cater for tourists. We got a boat out to Don Det, the island we had decided to call home. The island had a string of bunglaows and restaurants along its east and west sides and we found a nice little place with a balcony over looking ther river. The scenery was not as dramatic as that of the riverside villages further north but it was still ... read more

Kip it Riel We hebben de overgang van Cambodja naar laos goed verteerd... Opgestaan om vijf, brommers op naar het gebied waar de dolfijnen zwemmen, boot in en een uurtje dobberen in alle stilte op de Mekong. De kapitein liet ons in ware gondelier stijl meedrijven met de stroming en gaf ons meerdere malen de kans dolfijnen te zien adem-happen. ven wat geluid en een verschijning aan het oppervlak en weer onder. De autofocus van de camera en de ochtendlijke reflexen van de bediener geven een mager resultaat. Weer een beeld dat we niet zullen kunnen delen (zoals zovele). Het was de moeite al was het maar om het ontwaken van de bevolking mee te maken; vuurtjes worden opgestart of aangewakkerd, jongentje plassen de helling af, kleren worden van de wasdraad genomen en aangetrokken, banden worden ... read more

Spet sva jedla sticky rice in pila hot chocolate in pineapple shake za zajtrk pri najini mami, kjer sva spala prvi dan. Potem pa do Khan Phapheng slapov - po svoje, ne s turo. Zastopala sva en colnic do Ban Nakasanga za 15k, od tam pa sva po dilanju in kaksnih prehojenih 500m ujagala moto (jap, trije na skuterju! - kar je po azijsko v bistvui waste of space, ker bi lahko gor spravili vsaj se dva potnika) za tistih slabih 10km do slapov - cena je bila 20k za oba. Slap naju je kostal 10k na osebo. Gre za najmocnejsi slap v vsej JV Aziji, najmocnejsi glede volumna. Poleg naju si je to cudo, ki vsako sekundo butne se pa jos voade v Kambodzo, ogledovala cela horda tajskih turistov. Zraven je seveda resort, ki ima ... read more

"In Laos deve esserci una regola non scritta per cui piu'ci si inoltra nel sud del paese, piu'l atmosfera si fa'rilassata; poi, proprio quando la vostra pressione arteriosa sembra aver toccato il minimo, finalente si arriva a Si Phan Don, letteralmente questo nome sgnifica 4mila isole e le poche che riuscirete a visitare in questo pittoresco tratto del Mekong sono cosi'fresche e riposanti che correrete il rischio di trascorrere tutto il vostro tempo a dondolari su un 'amaca. Durante la stagione dlle pioggie questo tratto del mekong raggiunge una larghezza di 14 km, la massima dl su percorso di 4350 km dall'altopiano tibetano al mar Cinese Meridionale. Nei mesi secchi il fiume si ritira, lasciando affiorare centinaia di isole e isolotti. Le piu'grandi sono abitate tutto l'anno e offrono l'affascinante opportunita' d entrare in contatto con ... read more

Saturday 17th Up early for the journey to Laos. Five of us were waiting at the guesthouse for the same minibus to Laos. When the battered old vehicle arrived it appeared initially to be already full but our rucksacks were roped on top and we squeezed in only to be told we still had one more to pick up. Jen and I ended up sharing one seat and it was incredibly uncomfortable. The seat in front was broken and fell back against our knees. We each had only one cheek supported and my other was wedged on a lever which threatened me with an unpleasant injury every time we hit a bump. Fortunately the road is fairly new and therefore reasonably smooth. Of course there was no aircon but at least the windows opened. It was ... read more