Blogs from Don Det, South, Laos, Asia - page 8

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Asia » Laos » South » Don Det December 5th 2010

Firstly, sorry for not posting for ages, the main reason for this is that when you are paying £2.50 a night for a bungalow on an Island on the Mekong River, free (or any) internet is rather scarce, but more about that later. When we last posted we were off to Laos, and given some of the things we had read about the bus journey were a tadge nervous. However it does show that a little research can make the journey a lot easier. We managed to buy a ticket on a decent bus that goes all the way to Savannakhet from Hue rather than dumping you at the border. It was helped by the fact that there were only about 8 people on a 28 seater (and no chickens). Passing through the countryside in Laos ... read more
The town square
The drum tower
Local Bus

Asia » Laos » South » Don Det September 10th 2010

I have been in Laos for almost a week now and have enjoyed every minute! This country is stunning. I crossed into Laos in the south after spending 10 hours on a bus from Phnom Penh we crossed the border and because it was Sunday apparently that meant that the 'Stamp Fee' on either side of the border was increased from $1 to $2, therefore costing me an additional $4 on top of the visa cost of $35. What can you hey, you can't really blame the guys for wanting to make some cash on the side! To be honest though it wasn't much of a border crossing, just a wooden hut and a manual boom gate essentially. First stop for me was the 4000 Islands - Don Det to be exact. Unfortunately the storm that ... read more
Local kids having a ball playing marbles
Waterfall on Don Kone
Gorgeous view from Tea Plantation

Asia » Laos » South » Don Det August 29th 2010

Our first day on the island was pretty cool. We rented mountain bikes and spent the whole day exploring two of the many islands, Don Det and Don Kon. It was a clear warm sunny day which we were very lucky to have. The day before we got there it rained hard for twelve hours, the previous few days before that were more of the same also. The scenery along the Mekong River looked awesome cycling through acres of rice paddocks, lush green palm trees, river rapids, bamboo huts and so much more. Canada, playing the old man as usual, just moaned the whole day and wanted to go back half way. Cecilia’s chain broke and then it started raining. We were about eight kilometers away from home when the rain started and the roads were ... read more

Asia » Laos » South » Don Det August 10th 2010

In the last few days I have just returned from a sojourn to southern Laos, and after hiding in my room during this time I am ready for some timely blogging. Anyway despite the ever increasing Laos tourist rip-offs and the notorious border scams, it was wonderful to be in such beautiful rural zones that were so clean and unpolluted, and the best and last find, the nearly car-less island of Don Khong in Si Phan Don. For me and my cycling habits this was great, no worries and high speeds, as I take in great scenery and pristine environment. The locals seemed fascinated with my gear and general presentation, half super high-tech and half bumpkin like them. I mostly had nice interactions and frequent greetings on the road, with the exception of some kids in ... read more
New Laos hat
Don Dhet my veranda
Sunset Don Dhet

Asia » Laos » South » Don Det August 1st 2010

Firstly, a big thank you for all your messages and emails. It is really nice to hear from people back home with updates etc. Please keep the gossip coming (Ellie’s request) as it is seriously lacking here.... well I don’t have a clue what they’re saying anyway. Please keep the sporting updates coming (Steve’s request). Also a quick apology for the absence of video clips this time - we have two we would like to show you but there is a problem uploading them to the blog. We will try and get them on asap though. Here’s what we’ve been up to..... So, after three days, the hospital was still refusing to release Ellie’s passport, and we were desperate to leave Chiang Mai and get on with the fun. In the end we decided to go ... read more
In the 'taxi' with Cilia and Eloi
Laos bbq
Dinner with the French lot, LP

Asia » Laos » South » Don Det July 1st 2010

In the southernmost tip of Laos, the Mekong contains 4000s islands and several huge waterfalls. Dana and I spent a week on one of these islands, and quickly adapted to the island life. We met an Australian guy on our 5th day there and he said to me “I can tell you guys have been here for awhile as you’re talking and moving so slowly. You know, they way people do who live on islands.” Wow, and that coming from an Australian. And me? I’m such a fast talker and generally fast paced person… what has happened to me? Our main activity was hammocking, but we also went tubing, white-water kayaking, biked to several waterfalls, fished, and of course partied. Laos is the land of kittens. Every establishment we entered had at least 3 little ones ... read more
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Asia » Laos » South » Don Det May 8th 2010

Surprisingly I didn't sleep too bad on the bus and at 6.30am we pulled into Pakse bus station. In true traveling fashion, we didn't have a clue if we were staying on this bus or changing buses for the journey down to Don Det. Everyone got off the bus so after a few minutes we wandered off and were told to sit in the waiting area for a new bus. We saw a few guys who we had been separated from the night before and sat down waiting until 7.30am to roll around. Suddenly from feeling fine, I came over all dizzy and had to run to the toilet as I felt really sick. I found my way back to Bon and sat back down feeling slightly better, only for that feeling to return again a ... read more
View from our terrace
Kayaking trip
The smaller waterfall

Asia » Laos » South » Don Det May 3rd 2010

Don Det Now for this part of the blog i can pretty much summarize what we did in a short paragraph; We chilled, chilled some more and drunk some whiskey which was not much more expensive than water at a pound a bottle and then played some cards and chilled and chatted some more. Don Det is an amazing place which has the ability to draw in travelers who only plan to make a short stop and end up staying a week. Everyone one the island is so laid back that they are in fact most of the time horizontal with only short spates of upright as a consequence of venturing out for samosas, more booze or perhaps to vary restaurants. We did at one point rent bikes and cycle down to a waterfall at ... read more
Visiting the buddhist caves
Fire Limbo in Vang Vieng
Bus journey

Asia » Laos » South » Don Det April 4th 2010

We Finally made it to Phonsavan after a few more curves in the road...so far we’ve yet to see a straight stretch of road, but none of us got sick....a few locals jump on with supplies of empty plastic bags, eeeee!!! Finally recovering from my food poisoning, we booked a tour for the following day to see the very mysterious Plaines of Jars. In many parts of Laos there are unfortunate areas that during the Indochina wars got bombed. Within these areas they’ve found lots of unexploded ordinates (UXO). While trying to clear the area they excavated and discovered what appear to be massive Jars. Unable of course to explain for certain why they’re there, so yet again another mystery as to how and why approximately 3 different sites in the area. One can only imagine ... read more
Lao Lao whisky?!
Buddha park in Vientiane
Hungry?

Asia » Laos » South » Don Det April 1st 2010

We arrived in Vientiane and had to go to the local International Hospital as Holly's leg had taken a turn for the worse (what a wolly!). Turns out only rest would make it better so we treated ourselves to a posh hotel with TV and Holly got some HBO and MTV therapy while Dee went out to explore the capital city. There isn't a great deal to explore here compared to other capital cities so we didn't stay long. We took an overnight bus to Pakxe, a big town right in the south of Laos and did more relaxing in another nice hotel until Holly had recovered. Eventually the leg was on the mend so we took a minibus further south to the beautiful 4000 Islands area known as Si Phan Don and a boat to ... read more
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