New Years in a fantastic spot

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Other than having a bus that was literally falling apart - dropping stuff on our heads as we chugged down the road, the drive down was surprisingly dull. We settled into a row of bungalows that faced some dry rice field, providing some nice ambiance once the moon was up and the cows moved in. Nicholas, Peter, Lam Jo and I did a whole lot of nothing in keeping with the Islands culture, and this was only interrupted by a ill-fated attempt at doing a Canoe trip to go around Don Det. We went downstream at first, thinking that this was a blast, and then tied up, had something to drink at a riverfront guesthouse, went swimming with some young Buddhist monks, saw some water buffolo cooling off, and were just having the best of times until it came time to paddle upstream. Wow, the Mekong has a strong pull. What a challenge. Lam and I went about 50 feet in 10 minutes, decided to throw the hat in and paid a powerboat driver $1.50 to pull us back to our guesthouse. Nicholas was more determined, and he spent the next 4 hours battling to get back to the guesthouse. Gotta hand it to him for determination. Peter went with him, and they capsized once, loosing cigarettes and money. So, other than the personal achievement, I think we came out even. New Years eve amounted to a bunch of us counting down at another guesthouse, and then I woke up almost face to face with Nicholas ( we had decided to share, bringing the per person cost down to 0.50 per person the first night and 0.75 after moving over to the riverfront side of the road. Only problem was, these huts only had 1 bed, and big as it may be, it was only 1 bed.) It was a classic New Years moment: here I was, almost face to face with a half-naked 25 year old German who had more than a few beers the night before. Hmm, this year could have started off a little better. Oh well, such is the travelers life! The next day, I was off to Cambodia, leaving behind all my travel companions and temporarily a solo traveler again. I could write more about my time on the Island, but that would be work, and that is contrary to the Islands culture. So, look at the pics, and you get a good idea.

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Photos

With the monks after a swim
we all were swimming, but they didn't want their picture taken unless they had their regular clothes on

Water Buffolo actually in the water
This was actually a treat, first time in Asia the Buffolo were in the right place!