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Published: March 7th 2008
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We left Cambodia the same day that Laos Airlines must have been having a training day for their pilots, there was one part during the landing that we honestly thought that we were going to die but thankfully we touched down in Pakse in Southern Laos and proceeded with the usual 20 stage Visa process which seems to been the norm in South East Asia. Visas Done!! Now after a 2 hour van ride which we have now learnt that 2 hours actually means 5 hours in Laos, we board the boat finally for the last part of the days travel and after all the sore arses, near death plane rides we arrive at what must be the most chilled out place that we have ever visited!!!!!!!!!
Don Det is part of the Si Phan Don (which basically means 4000 Islands) now you may be questioning why a land locked country like Laos has Islands but this is where the mighty Mekong River stretches out to a massive 14 kilometres and within that area there, there is islands all over the place not all are big enough to live on, some are even just trees. But it is still totally stunning!!
Don Det has become a must do on the back packing trail of South East Asia. With no electricity (coming soon thou) the place has a kind of hippy feel to it. Basically anything goes on the Island and after running through a few restaurant menus it’s easy to see that it’s not just anything that goes it’s everything! The word HAPPY has a different meaning to the good folks of the island, Cause for around 5000 kip (50 pence) the will make your meal, drink, smokes and basically anything you want into well let’s just say one mind blowing affair!!! Settled into Mr Mo’s guesthouse our bungalow is right on the river front and it is as basic as they come with a bed and a kinda toilet come shower area which in most countries would of been closed down due to health and safety reasons, still it was good enough for us and it was going to be home for the next 4 nights. We ventured out for a bite to eat and a looky around. Hearing the sound of pool balls being smashed around a pool table we decided to go in and have a game of
pool and upon entering we meet a couple of likely looking lads, Dave was from North of England and Damien was from Australia and we decide that this bar would be the perfect place to have a few drinks and celebrate Shayne’s birthday and man was it one huge night!!!On the island its lights out at 10pm when the generators are turned off so it’s off to bed for everyone as the people of Lao like to go to bed early and then it’s all go at the crack of light..No one sleeps in here GREAT!!!
Waking to the sound of Roosters, Kids running about laughing loudly, and the sound of very loud motors on the back of every boat blasting across the Mekong River we were awake!!. With the little sleep that we got after two giant bugs decided to have a fight in our room we got up had a some breakfast and headed down to the little beach on the top of the island for a bit of well earned relaxation armed with a couple of truck tyre tubes we had our first swim in The Mekong River which was bliss!! After a few hours of looking
at the world through our toes we headed back to the Bungalow and lay in our two hammocks and basically read, slept and chilled out which we must say is about as much as you do here. Over the next few days we hired a couple of bikes and went for a ride around the island and ventured over to the neighbouring island Don Khon where we found some locals taking trips to see the rear Irrawaddy Dolphins which are so rear we didn’t see one but the raging set of rapids known as Li Phi falls where quite spectacular. Riding around in the blistering heat sure was a good way to drain the energy in time for a bit more hammocking!!!
After Barbs and I along with the boys spent half an hour bartering a good price for the 4 of us to get back to Pakse in a so called luxury Minivan we had one last meal together to celebrate our Minivan deal, which I will say the deal was that there is going to be just the four of us, all the legroom possible and a fast trip back to Pakse WRONG AGAIN!!!After a meal a few
more Beer Laos which is very good beer we head off to bed thinking that all is good for tomorrows travels. Up early again we go and have a massive breakfast in Mr Mo’s restaurant .Then when I went to fix up the bill for the last 4 nights’ accommodation a couple of meals, heaps of drinks, it come to a grand total of $37 US dollars!!!! At the meeting point for the boat that is going to take us to the luxury minivan we bump into Dave and he’s sitting there with a duty free shopping bag and that’s it, asking him where his luggage is he tells me this is it..He left England with his wallet passport and a toothbrush and while at Heathrow he bought a carton of smokes and has used the bag ever since to carry he belongings. Mate you are PURE CLASS!!!Ok so we pile onto this boat that could sink at anytime and make our way to the mainland where we get loaded into our van which is all good, Until 2 minutes up the dusty road the van stops and 2 local people climb in we look all look at each other
and the locals just smile and laugh. Not breaking our comfort zone with the extra passengers we head off for the trip. When we got another 10 minutes up the road the van stops again and the lady driving tells us we stopping for a rest for half an hour..WHAT!!! Well we are in the middle of nowhere with no water in the stinking heat and it seems that we are waiting for people to come up from the Cambodian border and they will be stacking into our van as well half an passes and she tells us that we must go now as it seems there is no more passengers for them to take thank god for that as the 5 hour arse numbing ride back Pakse was Interesting to say the least. Every time the girl driving went to pass anything on the road her mate burst into mad fits of laughter we all just looked at each other had a wee chuckle and went back to praying that time would fly!!!
We finally get to Pakse and say our goodbyes to the boys who are staying one night then heading up to the north of Laos. Barbs
and I book ourselves into the Pakse hotel which at $35 dollars a night is a far cry from the $3 a night we’ve got used too. But after not showering and sleeping with god knows what bugs and insects climbing over you during the night we feel a little luxury is a good bet!!Showering 4 days of dirt, dust and sweet off I set off to get our scooter rental organised for our 3 day southern loop adventure. SLEEP IS BLISS!!!!
Next blog soon!!!
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