Messing about on the river

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So, yet again I find myself staying in a stilted, hammock-sporting bungalow, but whereas last time I gazed out on to white sand and coral reefs, this time my view consists of a large expanse of muddy water with a few trees sticking up. I am in Don Det, which is part of an archipelahgo in the Mekong at the southern tip of Laos. The island is tiny, and once away from the cluster of buildings around the "port", tourist bungalows are equally interdispersed with local farms, cows patrol the tracks and much of the island is given over to rice paddys. Besides a couple of motorbikes, transport around the island is by bicycle or on foot, makiong it very slow paced and beautifully quiet. Apart from the guesthouses and restaurants, the island sports a couple of internet points, but there is no general store and certainly no souvenier shops. Electricity arrived here last year, and is available between 6-10pm.

Don Det marks the total opposite to most of the places I have visited since leaving India, and the enforced break from the high life will be both good for my health and a relaxing way to end my stay in Asia (although I am planning one last, wild night in Bangkok before flying to New Zealand).

The island appears to be a genuine snapshot of real Lao living - people get on with their lives seemingly oblivious to the tourists staying in their midst. Friendliness is apparent everywhere, and everyone will greet you as you pass - not as an attempt to get you to patronise their restaurant, but simply to say hello.

My first day here coincided with AS level results back home, and my elation at finding an internet cafe with skype quickly turned to frustration as it refused to connect me. I was forced to resort to ringing the UK, and consideable expense, to find out how my sister had done. Luckily, "5 As" doesn't take long to say.

On my second day in Don Det, a group of us who had met on the bus went tubing, which has to be the laziest activity in the world - plonk yourself in an inner tube and float down the river. Ignoring the organised excursions, we decided to hire the tubes ourselves at 5000kip ($0.5) and simply jump into the river adjacent to the island. It was incredibly relaxing, and great fun - standing up, falling in, waving to the longboats and people in the cafes - the only thing missing were the riverside bars which apparently adorn the routes in Vang Vieng. Once in sight of the railway bridge marking the end of the island, we struck out for a convenient jetty, and convinced a man with a boat to ferry us back to the top. Then we did the whole thing over again. With beer. The second time, I threw caution to the winds, packed my camera very securely in my dry bag, and took it with me (wishing all the while that I still had my nikon and could use my housing). Thankfully, no disasters occured, and I have a great photographic record of the trip.

The next day we went white water rafting. The trip started off slowly but picked up speed - the first set of "rapids" were no more than ripples on the surface but we had an exhilerating 10 minutes being tossed about on grade 3+, trying desperately to stay in the boat. Sadly, that was the extent of the "white water" part of the trip, and the rest was spent swimming, drifting along, alighting at the Lao border and being whisked away for a glimpse at South East Asias largest waterfall (in width, not hight, it seems) before being returned to Don Det. Fun, but short lived. I spent the evening in my hammock with a freshly baked baguette and a good book, watching the sun set over the vast Mekong river.

Today is my day for doing nothing, to try and rid myself of the cold I picked up in Sihanoukville (over a week ago and I still feel rotten). Tomorrow I will hire a bike and cycle down to the island across the railway bridge, and on Tuesday I will make my way to Savannakhet. One day there and then Bangkok awaits...

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