Days 10 & 11:4000 Islands: Chill, Chill, Chill....

After trials, tribulations, and a whole lotta bus rides, we were finally on the most popular of the 4000 Islands, Southern Laos' top tourists destination. You might have noticed that we've reached day 10 already, and none of these days involved sleeping in the same town more than 1 night in a row. So we were happy to get the chance to slow down, chill out, and enjoy the culture and sights of a place that we had heard so much about.

Don Det and its neighbor Don Kone (Don means “island” in Lao) are well known for their laid-back atmosphere. The area has become something of a backpacker mecca, especially for those making the trip from Laos to Cambodia. or vice versa. When we arrived off of our 27 hour travel marathon, we were more than ready to test just how chill this place could be. With the Mekong sliding past our bungalow, and hammocks a permanent fixture, things were looking up for us battle-hardened heroes.

If this picture doesnt make you giggle then we have different senses of humor

Our plan was to stay 3 nights (nights 9, 10, and 11) then head back up to Pakse to get our Vietnamese visas done before forging in to the mountains. We planned to spend this time doing nothing in particular, soaking up the good vibes and enjoying the view from our hammocks. We also had heard that the kayaking tours are quite worth the $25 price tag (ouch), both from old friends and our new friend from the truck from Pakse, so we decided we would try it out the last day we were there. Seeing waterfalls, freshwater Irrawaddy Dolphins that live in the river, and mastering the mighty Mekong armed with nothing but a plastic boat and paddles seemed like a good way to spend a day.

Read on to see if it was a good way to spend a day, and see some pictures!

After a day and a half of walking around, hanging out at our bungalow, and frequenting various restaurants around the island, we were ready for some activity. So on the morning of day 11, we joined a group of other tourists and took to the water. Our first leg of the tour was a kayak ride around the Eastern side of the island, at which point we had to come back to dry land, primarily to avoid this...:

that's a lot of water

I'm a good kayaker obviously, but....

Soooo probably for the best we didn't try to take the 'yaks through there. After some looking around we met back up with the boats further down the line, at which point we needed help from a bigger, stronger boat to take us all over to the nearest mainland outpost, which happened to be located in Cambodia.

Cambodian beer: flimsy proof that we actually were in Cambodia

Once there, we ate our lunch, and were able to see the dolphins playing in the water. Dolphins! After lunch, we paddled out to the area where we had seen them surfacing. They were cool, but a bit camera shy (yeah, no dolphin pix... I know... amateur hour), and probably not loving the midday heat at the surface, so we didn't linger too long. From there it was another kayak ride across the river to the Lao mainland, then we loaded everything on to a truck, drove to a huge waterfall, took pictures, drove to the shore again, and paddled our tired, sunburnt selves back to Don Det.

Our Lao friend says goodbye and good luck

Yeah dude, that camera phone will probably capture the immensity of your surroundings

And so our time in the 4000 Islands drew to a close. It was a good time, and while were sad to be leaving such a cool spot, we were pumped for the next phase of Operation: Southern Laos (name pending approval).

The Plan: Leave in the morning for Champasak, a town which boasts an ancient Khemer temple resembling (and in some cases out-dating) those in Siem Reap, Cambodia. (remember this post?). After a night there, get to Pakse in the early morning, get Vietnam visas done, rent motorbikes, and head to the nearby Bolaven Plateau.

How exciting! Don't miss it, there is mighty big twist coming...