Blogs from Don Det, South, Laos, Asia - page 3

Rano ma zobudilo curanie uz o 5/00,potom som sa uz len do 8/30 prevaloval. Asi som prechladnuty ked chodim furt curat. Vonku zas ranny ramus,motorky,clny a debilny ludia co pod bungalovom palili trstinu. Pekny smradek teda. O 10/00 spraveny check out, vyplatenie ubytka a smer ranajky. Dal som si klasicky samosy,este boli teple. Pri pristave v jednej restike som chcel bananovy sejk ale nemali. Tak som siel do blizkej restiky na zapadnom pobrezi. Tu ho mali lacnejsi a free wifi. Sadam za stol,hladam obsluhu,nikde nikto,len chlapik co tu opravoval bicykel. Chlapik ma spozoroval ,vytiahol mobil a ubezpecoval ma,ze obsluha je zachvilu tu. Dosla za 20min. To mi nevadilo,lod mi est neodchadzala,wifi slapala na sto percent tak pohodicka. Pri mojom odchode sa sem prisli ubytovat novy ludia,pocuvam,pocuvam a zrazu,sak to je slovencina. Chalan z TT a baba ... read more

Okolo 5/00 ma zobudil rev lodnych a motorkovych motorov. Furt volado jazdil hore dole. Zaspal som este na 3 hodiny ale stale som sa prebudzal na hluk,ludia pokrikovali,no paradny budicek. Umyl som sa a siel si pozicat bicykel. V ubytku mi stary hovori,ze oni nemaju dobre bicykle,mam ist viac na sever. Tak som siel ,zobral bicykel pri obchode kde kupujem samosi. Cena 10kk,zjednavanie tu nefunguje,no mozno ide ale na to asi nemam talent. Vybral som sa stredom ostrova na druhy ostrov Don Khonk. Pri druhom pristave som zahol doprava a potom siel stale po hlavnej (polnej) az k mostu. Mal byt spoplatneny ale nikde nikto nic nevyberal tak som to prefrcal. Za mostom som odbocil hned doprava,bola tu mini lokomotiva. Tu nastal aj moj prvy problem s bicyklom. Stojan je na zadnom kolese. Ani za boha ... read more

It was a pleasant 1.5h boat ride from Don Khong to Don Det, but upon arrival I did wonder why I made the trip. I'd read that Don Det had become a bit of a backpacker backwater, with noisy bars lining a narrow lane, packed with over-enthusiastic young backpacker falangs. And while rather quiet when I arrived, the muddy, poorly-maintained path leading to the guesthouses sure made for a poor first impression. Having said that, the calming walk along the "sunrise" side southwards, flanked by the Mekong on one side and unending verdant padi fields on the other, reminded me of why Don Det was once thought of as a traveller's haven. Originally a well-kept secret for those looking for a real, tranquil retreat from the rest of Laos (though I wonder why one would need ... read more

We left Thakek after returning the mopeds and got the bus to Pakse in order to get to 4000 islands and DonDet. The only excitement on the bus occured when the tyre exploded, bits coming through the floor and blowing some poor guys flip flops off. It didnt take too long to sort and we slept most of the way until we were thrown off the chairs as the rather enthusiatic driver sped over the bumps in the road. After a brief stop in Pakse in a lovely aircon room we drove further south near to the Loas/Cambodia border and got a boat to the small island of Don Det in the Mekong River. Here we met up with Troy again and were intorduced to Phillippe and Mark who we spent the rest of the day ... read more

Located on the Mekongs widest stretch of the river, the emerald green waters welcomed me to days of relaxation in a hamock outside my own bungalow, next to the river. I could have stayed here for days, lying in my hamock with my beer lao sleeping, reading, watching the river, sweating and getting up every hour to take a shower or jump in the cool water. I went and saw the Khon Phapheng Falls (the largest waterfall in south east asia) and Tat Somphamit falls. I went kayaking and cycled around the island visiting the falls and beaches. At night the town came somewhat alive and people came out of their hamocks to chill on the beach and listen to some music next to the fire. I could have stayed here a few more days but ... read more