Blogs from Si Phan Don, South, Laos, Asia - page 7

Back in Vientiane! Moped wieder abgegeben, die Hintern sind wund, die Knie am Ende, aber das Erlebnis...einmalig! Unsere weiteren Plaene: zunaechst Vietnam. Aber wie es nun mal ist... Wenn man reist , trifft man Menschen. Und diese Menschen erzaehlen einem von wunderschoenen Orten, die man unbedingt gesehen haben muss. Diesmal war es eine Taetowiererin aus Deutschland. Und da wir ja beide bekannt sind fuer unsere zuegige Entschlussfreudigkeit, ging es also gleich am naechsten Tag weiter nach Pakse. Wir nahmen einen spektakulaeren Sleeper Bus! Das ist ein Bus mit richtigen Betten, die man sich zu zweit teilt! Saubequem und da wir ueber Nacht gereist sind haben wir tatsaechlich auch unsere Nachtruhe gehabt. Waere unser Bett nicht direkt neben der Toilette gewesen, waer der Trip perfekt gewesen ;o). Und wo fuehrte uns der erste Weg gleich nach unserer ... read more

Since we last wrote, we headed for Si Phan Don (4,000 islands). We spent a couple of days on Don Det, where we hired bicycles out to explore the island. It was an old-school bicyle; Hannah looked like Miss Marble, Ben looked like a plonker! 10 of us clubbed together and bought ourselves a pig! The son of one of the river-hut owners was given a water bottle full of Lao Lao (pretty much moonshine!) and told to go and kill it. Consequently he was hammered from 10am onwards!- The rest of the family weren't far behind! They put the pig on at 10am, and we ate at 7pm, - a fantastic feast! Lots of crackling, stickyrice, the works! It was amazing! Much of the time we just relaxed. On Don Det there's no electricity, ... read more

Not really sure if there is precisely 4 thousand islands, but this place is right at the bottom of Laos where the Mekong River spilts breaks up the land and is one of the places you can see the rare Irrawady Dolphins. After the bus journey from Vientiane we stopped in Pakse for some breakfast, seemed like an alright place but you wouldnt want to spend too long here, more of a base for day trips or a stop over if you have to. From Pakse we negotiated our own minivan which was luxurious until we picked up 3 others near Champasak. There were so many touts selling bus tickets and tuktuk drivers trying to get your business that I was so glad im travelling with a largish group as this could have been scary, ... read more

..Laos is sweet. People here are less pushy than the rest of Asia. But still no escape from the terrible kareoake pop thats infests Asia :( even on a desert island with no electricity they buy generators to play it. Thats dedication man! But yeah this place is beautiful, nothing to do apart from have a happy shake and paddle in the Mekong..... So thats what ima do. Peace out xoxoxo Oh yeh no pictures im sick of buyinh repackaged second hand batteries(no really) that dont last. Ive bought ohh lets say ten packs so far so produces two minutes of power. So You'll have to take my word for it till i get the films developed ((im in barnsley for two months really!))... read more

So from the Capital we caught a bus down to probably my favorite place in Laos, the island of Don Det situated in an area known as Four Thousand Islands. The region gets its name because at this particular point the Mekong river widens and many islands emerge in the middle. Don Det was one of the larger islands in the area. Living on the island, we stayed a week, was like taking a step back in time. There are no roads, only dirt tracks. There is only electricity for 2 hrs a night and there is literally nothing to do. This to some people may sound hellish but it was anything but. While it was an island Don Det had a very different feel to a Thai island, even a relatively undeveloped one such ... read more