Vientiane (capital city) & Si Phon Don (4000 islands)

---

After Luang Prabang, Tory & I took a VIP bus loaded w/ tourists to the capital city of Vientiane. Unfortunately, Vientiane was a bit of a bust. Nothing I did there was worth writing home about but I did flex my purchasing power by supporting a number of local projects & programs. One night Tory & I splurged at a restaurant that helped kids get off the street by training them to be servers & chefs. I also did some shopping at a fair trade silk shop - the only IFAT-liscenced shop in Laos. Tory & I also visited a Nobel Peace Prize co-laureate (1997) program called MAG which works toward removing the some 1.36 million metric tonnes of ordnance (cluster bows, shells, grenades, landminds, etc) that were dropped on Laos b/w 1964 & 1973 by the USA. 30% of these explosives did not detonate and gravely affects the ppl of Laos today since they can't maximize their land for rice fields or other argiculture b/c they'll get blown up. This leads to poverty and forces ppl to seek out the bombs to sell for scrap metal resulting in many deaths and injuries. If you have a moment, please check this site out http://www.maginternational.org/ thanks!

While in Vientiane, I made the decision to stay on in Laos for another week, travelling through the less touristy south instead of going to northern Vietname w/ Tory. I've been craving some "off the beaten track adventure", and that is EXACTLY what I got!

I left Vientiane on an overnight VIP bus to Pakse which is the biggest city in the South. Apparently in Laos - a VIP bus means a double decker bus complete with neon green lighting and big screen kareoke. No joke! Despite all of the noise as well as Lao ppl vomiting (they are VERY BAD travellers), I managed to sleep a bit thanks to some Valium and my ear plugs!

Arriving at 6am in Pakse, I immediately jumped onto another bus, then a boat to get to the tiny island of Don Khon. Here, the Mekong river fans out and surrounds tiny chunks of land creating many, many islands. It is the most beautirul and relaxed place ever and was exactly what I was looking for. I had finally gotten off the beaten track literally and figuratively!

After being dropped off on the island of Don Det, I walked an hour along a dirt foot path and across an old French colonial bridge to the very quiet island of Don Khon. Here, since it was the low season and since there aren't many tourists that come here to begin w/, I was to the sole visitor on this island. It was great!

My two days on the island were spent biking around and generally watching and experiencing life in Laos sans tourists. I biked all the way around the island everyday, surprising the ppl who lived in the handfuls of houses in the middle of the island where no tourists really go... They always looked surprised but also confused as to why this white girl was BIKING along this crazy, rocky jungle path!

The hightlight of my bike rides, was that one afternoon, I randomly biked into a small village where a man offered to take me to see the rare and endangered Irrawaddy dolphins that live in the Mekong Delta. Apparently though, they only like the Cambodian side of the river, so I had to pay $1US to sit on Cambodia's shore to watch them. It was really neat to see - there were only a few and you could only catch glimpses of them as they surfaced. Not Sea World, but I really enjoyed it.

Most afternoons, I lay in my hammock overlooking the Mekong and watched ppl go by in their boats, men fishing from the shore, women bathing in their sarongs, kids splashing and jumping, etc etc. It was a wonderful and relaxing two days!

The only downfall was that there wasn't electricity which was fine, but that meant no fan and let me tell you , it is HOT HOT HOT here! I didn't get a lot of sleep at night which was ok since I made up for it napping under the shade in the afternoons 😊

I left the island at 6am on a public boat taxi filled w/ ppl and fish on their way to the Pakse market. The crowds and the fish stayed with me as I boarded the public 'bus' (which was actually a pick up truck). The next four hours riding back to Pakse, I bumped along, squished b/w a toothless lady chewing tobacco and a man who chain smoked the whole way. OH and of course there were live chickens under the bench I was sitting on and the flapping fish in a plastic bag by my feet. A quite interesting ride!

Anyhoo - now in Pakse, I have a couple of days until I am due to make an appearance in Vietnam. More adventures to follow!

---

Photos

L'Arch de Triomphe
Built in 1969 using cement donated by the USA for the construction of a new airport! hahhah

Wat Si Saket, Vientiane
Vientiane's oldest temple

Me & my only companion for two days (my bike!!)
Doing my daily round of the island of Don Khon on my bike.