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Published: July 31st 2009
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Si Phan Don
On the way over to Don Det... getting closer Hey again everyone!
So I finally made my way out of Cambodia and into Laos, and it's almost as if at the border that everything, except for the temperature of course, has at least ten dimensions of chill more than anywhere else in the world... this place is
relaxed!
Since my last entry I made it through the Northern border of Cambodia and into Laos' southernmost region called Si Phan Don, meaning Four Thousand Islands, because of the number of times the Mekong river breaks up and rejoins throughout this stretch, creating these tiny islands. One them are some of the most laid back communities I have ever seen, just self subsisting villages amongst rice paddys and grazing water buffalo in every direction. Of course some of the villages on these islands have figured out their appeal to the escapist backpacker, which has now resulted in somewhat of an oversaturation of budget bungalows along the river side, but thankfully the appeal hasn't been lost in the process. I chose to stay on Don Det, one of the more popular backpacker spots in the area, though that's still not saying much because it seems even this place has totally retained
Don Det
Rice paddys and water buffalo... is there anything more to life? its charm.
So I never got to meet Mr. Tho, but I did stay at the bungalows named after him, which were little more than just a few huts on the river with hammocks on personal verandas overlooking the water. For the first time this trip I risked not having a fan or private bathroom, but when you're here you have little choice on the matter! Electricity still hasn't hit the island at large, so most places on the island still run on a generator that they operate from sunset until about 10:30.. then it's lights out for everyone and you had to feel sorry for your neighbors who are still a couple kilometers up the road and have to walk home in the pitch dark! One of my favorite activities, if you even want to call it an "activity", was just to kick back in the hammock and wait for the stars to come out, meanwhile watching lizards feasting on all the mosquitos hovering around the light bulb on the veranda. If you ever find yourself in a place where this is all you need to feel satisfied, then only then will you understand how difficult it is
Don Det
Kicking back in the hammock during sunset to leave!
This place really has to be the most relaxed and down to earth spot since Ko Tao on this trip! Everyone is just running at 5 miles per hour here, and even the visitors slow down to match the pace. I don't think the Spanish guy two bungalows down has been out of his hammock for more than a couple of hours both days I was there! With so little going on it seems like everything somehow captures your attention though. The boats going down the water, the ants crawling in and out of the little basket beneath the light bulb collecting the dead burnt mosquitos from the night before (that bulb is like it's own ecosystem!), and even just counting the seconds between hearing various animal noises... okay okay you get the picture!
One lesson learned was that late nights are not advisable in a place like this... because when the sun comes up at 5 in the morning there's far too little hope for you to ever fall asleep again. At that point the entire village is abuzz with morning activity, fishermen chugging on their noisy long tail boats down the river to get
Don Khon
View from Don Det their morning catch, little kids gathering crabs at the shore beneath you and the sound of roosters crowing and water buffalo... making whatever noise they make... will all be enough to keep you up and get you out of bed. Despite all that I still tried in vain to fall back asleep, but in the end it's okay because you can always retreat back to the hammock by the afternoon and it's all gravy again!
So with little else to do around the bungalow area, I rented a bicycle and explored Don Det and Don Khon, the neighboring island. One notable "attraction" here is the old railway and train engine left here from the days of French colonial rule... suprisingly this is the only train line the French ever laid in Laos. Further along, the path led to one of the two waterfalls that can be seen in the area, which wasn't huge, but definitely still very impressive. Then I just biked into the island through the rice pattys, dodging the occasional water buffalo stepping onto the path and the hen and chicks scattering in every direction. I also took some pictures of the pigs here, because like I
Don Khon
Through the canopy on the way to the waterfall... my bike up ahead said before that with so little to do here it's incredibly easy to be amused!
Speaking of pigs... while I was sitting at the internet cafe there at one point I heard one squealing bloody murder, so turning around I saw a guy and his son trying to wrangle the thing up. I couldn't help but wonder if that poor thing was going to end up being dinner that night.... which led me to realize that the chicken I ate the night before probably might not have been dead for that long either! It's these things city folk don't think about until we finally spend some time where the people actually have to raise their own food!
So what else did I do!? Well I read, and then read some more. I even wrote in my journal, which is somewhat rare because I usually just go straight to posting everything here. I guess I might even have had the time to write a short novella or two, but the mosquito light bulb ecosystem proved to be far too distracting for that!
So next stop is Vientiane, where I'll be spending a night or two, depending on how
Don Det
View from the bungalow much there is to do there. Unfortunately I'm now finding myself in kind of a rush to get through Laos and into Thailand to meet back up with Leila next week, so fortunately the bus to Vientiane is an overnighter so I'm not wasting a day again. I do hear that Vientiane is a great restaurant town, though, so this is going to be a great way to break up the trip!
Sabaidee and until next time!
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