Blogs from Si Phan Don, South, Laos, Asia

There may or may not be 4000 islands dotted around the Mekong in southern Laos. What is certain is that there are an awful lot of them! We stayed on the largest island of the archipelago, Don Khong, which was a tropical paradise and fairy undeveloped. A minibus had brought us all the way from Pakse to a tiny settlement on the bank of the river. There we were handed over to a boatman who safely delivered us to the other side, successfully selling us a day trip in the process! He took us all the way to where we were staying, theurl=http://www.booking.com/hotel/la/mali-guesthouse.html?aid=318615;label=Low_CPA_English_EN_TH_21461894545-TCZB66d_PFY4nG12HSEDLAS99511130065%3Apl%3Ata%3Ap1%3Ap2%3Aac%3Aap1t1%3Aneg%3Afi%3Atidsa-166246061305%3Alp1012729%3Ali%3Adet%3Adm;sid=2f484f802e297fa03f690f097175015d;all_sr_blocks=129619802_91951386_0_0_0;checkin=2017-02-11;checkout=2017-02-12;dest_id=-2666... read more

Si Phan Don or also known as the 4000 islands is situated in the South of Laos near the Cambodian border. In the low rain season you can litterally see these 4000 islands appearing in the Mekong river. There are despite these 4000 islands only three islands where you can stay, which are Don Dhet, Don Khon or Dong Khong. Most of the backpackers are going to Don Dhet, which is famous for its exciting nightlife. However, we decided to go to Don Khon, where you have less hostels and where it is a bit more quiete. We really wanted to relax and enjoy the beauty of the place without having noisy music all the time. We slept in a beautiful little bungalow with a terrace in front of the Mekong. We had a fantastic view ... read more

Laos is a land-locked country and is ironically the home of Four Thousand Islands, an area in the deep south of Laos near the border of Cambodia. Four Thousand Islands are islands in the mighty Mekong River where the river fans out over the vast plains. During the dry season, four thousand islands are exposed by the shallowness of the river. Though l doubt if anyone has actually counted them and l have been unable to find out the significance of the number, four thousand. During the wet season, the Mekong can span out to a width of over 10km. There are two ways to get there, from the south over the Cambodian border, or from the north through Pakse. Pakse is a non-descript town about 10 hrs south of the Laos capital,Vientiane, on a VIP ... read more

The sleeper bus was an experience in itself. I felt as if I was in Harry Potter which made it even better. Thankfully though when we set off the beds were stable and to my knowledge we didn't shrink down and squeeze into tight spots however it wasn't long before we were lulled into a deep sleep so who knows? By morning we had reached Pakse and a bus change was in order however nobody could point us in the right direction so jumping on to the bus heading to Cambodia which was full of Mozzies was our only hope. 2 hours later we had arrived in in Nakasang for our final part of the journey another BOAT and of course like others we had been before this was just as unstable and we were likely ... read more

We started our voyage from Thailand on a ferry, and landed at our Lao destination of Don Det on a boat as well. Again, we are island bound, but this time we are located within the ‘4,000 island’ area of Laos—a scattering of islands in southern Laos amidst the Mekong River. We are on the southern tip of Lao, bordering Cambodia. In France’s conquest of Indo China in the late 1800’s, this area imposed difficulty to trade because of the various waterfalls which stopped ships from continuing the journey north towards China or south towards Vietnam. There are a variety of relics including train tracks and French walls within the river that somehow helped the shipping process. Upon arriving here by boat just around sunset, we were pointed to the ‘sunset’ coast and the ... read more