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Published: August 25th 2007
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Day 126
At the café we had booked our ticket from we were ushered into a minibus to take us a massive 30 m around the corner to where our second minibus of the day was waiting for us. Transferring our bags to the top of this we got in and waited …. and waited …. and waited. After our driver had filled the extra seats we were off destined for Laos.
After about 4 hours on the road we stopped at Stung Treng and caught a small boat across the river where another minibus was waiting for us. Another hour or so later and we were at the border where we had to change to our fourth bus of the day destined for the 4000 islands and Don Det. Before making it into Laos we had read that there is an unofficial ‘stamping charge’ at each side of this border which can be anything between 1 and 5 US dollars - they must have been in a good mood as we only got charged 1 each for leaving Cambodia and 2 each on the way into Laos!
A bumpy road later and we arrived at Ban Nakasang
on the bank of the Mekong River where it opens out revealing the 4000 islands. Our final boat of the day and we were safely on the island and our first stop in Laos.
Don Det is a wonderful island in the Mekong River. It has no roads, only dirt paths and draws all of its electricity from generators (meaning you only get electric lights between 6:30pm and 10:00pm at night). The island is set up for and draws the majority of its income from tourism with a lot of bungalows on the river front, however it has a really nice charm and friendly local feel to it where you never need to walk far to meet the local farming families.
We checked into our riverside wooden bungalow on stilts, had an early dinner and Mark went to explore the island before we finished the evening off with a couple of beers.
Day 127
We planned to hire some bikes for the day to explore more of our island and the neighbouring island of Don Khon which are connected by a bridge.
After a mammoth wait for our breakfast to arrive (we were told this
was going to be a feature of Laos) we set off cycling down the sunset side of the island passing villages and dodging their chickens, pigs and cows. The scenery was fantastic and we had a wonderfully warm welcome from everyone.
Crossing the bridge onto Don Khon we paid our $1 each and headed for the Li Phi Falls. They were pretty impressive. A raging torrent of white water swelled with the wet season rains you couldn’t help but be impressed by its power. We watched two local children fishing on the opposite bank showing complete disregard for their personal safety before going back to the bridge and the next stage of the days cycling.
Stocking up on water as this was a much bigger loop - we went right through the middle of the island on an old railway line. Luckily the tracks had been taken up but the ground was really rough with stones making it a bit of an uncomfortable ride on our bikes more suited for tarmac cycle ways rather than this off road challenge.
Reaching the end of the island we found a lovely little village where we stopped for a cold
drink before the ride home along the bank of the river. This was to turn out to be more of an adventure than we had ever expected.
A couple of minutes outside of the village the path started to get narrower and narrower, until we were riding down a thin single track being attacked on both sides by the encroaching undergrowth. Not perturbed yet we pushed on. Then we reached our first obstacle. The path disappeared into a gully, with a set of old rail tracks spanning it. Deciding to push on Mark carried and pushed the bikes over until we were able to ride a little further, only to be stopped by a couple of felled trees. Dismounting we once again carried our bikes to the next clear section and pushed on.
It didn’t take long until it was a personal challenge - Mark and Chrissie against the path! Another gully spanned by rail tracks and a couple of felled trees later and we seemed to be winning. We were closing in on the latter part of the journey when we rounded a corner and were faced with our final challenge - a gulley complete with river
and no rail track to help cross, only three rather weak looking bamboo poles wedged into each bank. Testing the poles to see if they would support our weight as well as the bikes, Mark popped the bikes on his shoulders and carried them across. On the last crossing with the final bike we heard an unnerving cracking sound beneath Mark causing him to swear and jump for the opposite bank, just making it.
The rest of the journey back was on much wider paths and much less eventful but we had had a fantastic day exploring the islands.
After a welcome relax in our hammock we went out to Mr B’s for his famous pumpkin burger. We watched the sun set on the balcony and after another long wait we ate. They were amazing and if you ever find yourself on Don Det, you have to try them!
Day 128
Today was a day to relax! We spent the day either eating or reading in our hammocks … What a day!
Not wanting to completely waste the day - we did have a challenge from Jon to find and drink a bottle of our
once favourite Tudor Rose! Unfortunately Tudor Rose sherry is not a native drink in Asia however we did our best to find the closest alternative. Challenge completed (as much as possible).
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