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Oh wow what a way to spend our final days in Laos.. the 4000 islands could not have been more perfect unless we'd tried and we were certainly glad we'd saved it for last. The 4000 islands is.. well 4000 islands which are all found in the Mekong, some very small but a few quite big with communities living on them.
We'd caught a jumbo tuk-tuk for the 3 hour ride from Pakse to Ban Nakasang which is the jumping off point for either Don Det or Don Khon and we spent it getting to know Jocelyn on the way who was to be our good friend for our time on the islands.
We'd already decided that we wanted to relax here rather than get high on happy shakes so chose Don Khon as our home for the 4 days, because it's supposed to give the more relaxed Laos experience rather than backpacker nightmare. This could not have been more true so we were really happy we'd chose right. We found a lovely little bamboo hut overlooking the Mekong and settled down for our first afternoon to relax in our hammock and catch up on some reading before enjoying
a lovely but bug infested meal in the evening.
The islands are very very laid back and there isn't lots to do but just enough if you want to go and explore which is what we did for our time there. Transport is by pedal bike so we hired some out some very fetching shopping bikes complete with baskets and headed off to the Li Phi Falls on Don Khon working up a real sweat on the way as it is very very very hot here. The waterfalls are beautiful and well worth the trip but after peddaling so hard we fancied a swim so headed off down the track to find a small beach for a dip to cool off. The water really wasn't that cool though but it helped a little.
Back on the bikes we headed more east to the large beach and the jumping off point to go and see the famous but endangered Irrawady Dolphins which we'd previously seen in Cambodia. This beach is another place for a dip and has a few little restaurants so we chilled out for a while before hooking up with Jocelyn and hiring out a boat and
Dale & Jocelyn on the bikes
This is the road between the 2 islandsdriver to take us to see the dolphins. The boat stopped on a rock at first from where we could see the dolphins but they were quite a way off in the distance and we really wanted to get closer. The boat driver was reluctant to go out any further for fear of straying into Cambodia which is literally just metres away but we managed to pursuade him with promises of an extra dollar and off we paddled for a closer look. From out in the open water we could see the dolphins much better and made out a pod of about 6 that came up for air every few minutes and swam past about 20m from our boat. Despite the fierce sun we stayed here for around an hour just taking in the view, after all these dolphins might not be around for much longer so you have to appreciate these things while you have the opportunity. After a while we were all feeling a bit lightheaded from the heat so had to return to the mainland where we had another dip before heading back for a feed.
On our return to the village we stopped for a
quick beer but soon met back up with Jocelyn who'd joined an impromptu party in the street. We were also invited along after having glasses of Beer Lao pushed into our hands and made to down them! We have no idea what the party was in aid of but there was a big group of locals who'd rigged up a keyboard, speakers and mic in a hut that we think was a garage and they were all drinking and dancing around and it was lots of fun. We were made to drink this very dubious green looking alcholic drink, this was made even worse due to the fact that it was actually luke warm from being held in the guys hands all evening but it seemed like pure alcohol so we thought it couldn't do us that much harm! We drank and boogied the night away until it was all turned off at 10pm and we returned to our room having had one of the best nights we'd had in the last few months.
We had wanted to see the other island of Don Det so rented the bikes out again the following day to make the 5km trip
up there with Jocelyn. The road is very bumpy but it's quite a pretty ride and took around 20 minutes to get there. As soon as we arrived we were glad we'd opted for the 'quieter' island as this one was much more built up and claustrophobic... well when we say built up there were rows of bamboo huts rather than the odd one or two dotted around! There were lots more restaurants on this island but with this came lots more people all milling around in the tiny little alley street that was the main road though the village. We just wanted to make a flying visit so checked our emails for a few minutes on the overpriced internet and left again bound for the relaxation of Don Khon.
When we returned we all decided to explore our island a bit more and travel to the far south along the old unfinished railway across the island.. the only one the French ever built in Laos! The ride started out ok but soon got very difficult as the rocks used as ballast made for a very very bumpy rides, certainly not ideal for shopping bikes with no suspension at
all. After about 1/2 hour of perservering with having our bones rattled we all got off and pushed for the remaining hour or so until we reached the end of what at times seemed like a never ending road.
By the time we got there we'd worked up a huge sweat and used up all our water so the sight of the dolphin cafe got us very excited. When we arrived we also worked out that this village is where the dolphins actually live and we looked out onto the pool in the Mekong we'd been on the previous day to see the dolphins so close up. We enjoyed iced lemon (with no ice as she had none) and lovely spring rolls for lunch before getting our energy back to make the return trip which we were dreading. There is actually a turn off along the way so we hedged our bets and took the turn off in the hope that it would lead to somewhere we knew.. the island really isn't that big so we couldn't go too far. We were in luck as the path we took was much flatter and shaded and took us to the
bigger beach we'd been to the day before so we cycled there to have a dip and cool off before heading home to relax on our terraces and enjoy the stunning setting sun.
On our final day we were keen to leave the relaxation of the islands and take the trip to the biggest waterfall in Laos (by volume), that of Khon Phapheng Waterfall. As this is the biggest waterfall in SE Asia so we thought it had to be worth a look. The trip to get there is very short as it's only just South of Si Phan Don but you have to go by car otherwise you'd go over the falls! so we first took a boat to the mainland before the 3 of us getting taken there in air conditioned comfort.. probably the thing we liked most about the whole trip! The waterfalls are big but we didn't find them that breathtaking so we just spent our time there getting as close as we possibly could without being swept away to our doom! After about an hour there we headed back to the islands for a final day of chilling out in our hammocks and getting
ourselves packed up for our trip back to Cambodia the following day.
When we woke up we were glad we'd chosen this day to leave as it was torrential rain which would not have made for much fun on the islands. We'd been so lucky with the weather having enjoyed pure sunshine under beautiful blue skies for our time there and although it was very very hot the opportunity to cool off in the Mekong made it bearable. These islands really are beautiful and had we had longer on our visa we could definatley have stayed here for a good few days more just enjoying relaxed Laos life but with the rain coming down we boaded our boat to go back to the mainland for our return to the country we'd loved so much the first time around and just hoped it would be just as good again...
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Gavin Bedford
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Great Blog
Going to Laos in February. Really wets the appetite! Cheers