Ahhh! Relaxing Don Det - one of 4000 Islands

  Don Det, Lao Peoples Dem Rep
Thursday, March 13, 2008

landing beach of Don Det (taxiing over)

looking out onto Don Det (taxiing over)

So, after a 13 our bus ride: sitting in the very back seat (the bumpiest) which didnt recline and leaked water onto us (it was raining that night) and which caught a flat tire that took 1.5 hours to fix, we finally reached Pakse at 7am. Once we arrived, we were so exausted from the bus ride, that instead of staying in Pakse for the day, we decided to taxi a minivan the remaining 3.5 hours straight to Don Det, an island that is part of the region called "4000 Islands". Fortunately, the minivan had 180 degree recling back seats, so we splept the entire way there.

same buffalo in the same place as always

From the shore, we then took a boat taxi through 4000 islands, about 12 minutes, till we reached Don Det. 4000 Islands is the most southern part in Laos, before you reach Cambodia; and is famous for the rare fresh water Irriwadi dolphin, the largest waterfall by volume in South East Asia, and for simple relaxation.

view from our lanai over the Mekong river

looking down from lanai

this kitty was in a constant state of sleep

view from our lanai- man jumping in the river

To tell you about Don Det: we landed on the northern shore right next to a water buffalo that RARERLY ever left that spot. The island is known for 2 sides (sunset and sunrise), and most of the guesthouses and restaurants are facing the riverbank (all with lanais on the river with hammocks strung everywhere).

view from our lanai over the Mekong river

We found a bungalow on the sunrise side, for only 30000 kip ($3). Our little bungalow was pretty basic (as all are on the island), with just a bed inside; but we had a private lanai with 2 hammocks and a communal deck lined with hammocks to lounge in, if we chose to be social (which we tended to be).

view from our lanai over the Mekong river

The other people that stayed in our little guesthouse were a bunch of boys from Israel (Eliran, Avi, Micha, Jhen, and Garth). Over the week of staying here, we all became good friends, talking about the complications of the relations in the Middle East, our backrounds, insites on the world, and how these guys just finished active duty and what this meant for them. Personally, after studying so much in University about this, it was really good for me to hear what they thought about things, living in it and being faced with it everyd day.... anyways... about Don Det!

our guesthouse

crazy Gecko eating another gecko

All the water is pumped in from the Mekong and sometimes at restaurants, the food tastes like the river... not so nice. Electricity only runs on the island from 6pm to 10 pm every day - and that INCLUDES generators. So, there is nothing to do all day but lay in your hammock, and with it being 37 degrees celcius (about 99 degrees F) and NO FAN, all most people do is lay around in the hammock and stare out onto whatever. At this point in time, this is the hottest temperature that I (nilu) have ever been in, and it really put a toll on me over the days.

our guesthouse

One day, I got heat exaustion: I must have drank over 8 big bottles of water, and had a bunch of small bottles laying around as well, but it wasnt enough.

walking around Don Det

At dinner, I was feeling so out of it: I was tired, EXHAUSTED, and felt like passing out. So, I had to run from the dinner table straight to the place's bathroom and shower myself down (all bathrooms have a hose), and then had to come back to the table SOAKED.

Mathew and Garth helping local with havy bags

That still didnt work, and Mathew took me home to just pass out in the hammock. The heat here at this time is serious!

sunset dinner; Laos BBQ

sunset dinner; Laos BBQ

Anyways, other than that, we LOVE Don Det. There is neat wildlife around, the laundry gets done down at the river (look at pics) and the place is just so easy going, a nice place to be lazy! There ARE some nice places to eat as well (like Laos BBQ!)

view of our laundry being done from our lanai

Enjoy the pics!