4000 Islands

We arrived to the mainland and were all piled into this long wooden boat.. You could see the water through the cracks in the bottom, and the amount of people and backpacks in the boat seemed to make the engine whine. I thought we might begin to descend beneath the Mekong at any moment. The gruelingly slow boat ride ended and we were greeted by an 8 year old kid who pulled us ashore.. Kind of. The boat almost went back into the water as I was trying to get out because it wasn't tied on to anything. It was definitely not the safest disembarking I've ever made off of a boat, and I had all my electronics in my bag which made me even more nervous. We made it to the island, Don Det, which was all that mattered.

There are a number of islands you can visit in the area, Don Khong and Don Det being 2 of the major tourist spots. I tried to count to see if there are actually 4000 islands, but I couldn't decide what counted as an island, there are little green spots of vegetation dotting the river and little islands you can swim to if you can face the current.

Don Det is known as the "backpacker island" as it is cheaper than it's counterparts and has lots of little  basic bungalows, bars, and restaurants that cater to the backpacker budget. We stayed in a small bungalow with a double bed and no ac, but had a nice fan that kept us cool at night. There was also a nice hammock on the front porch that was perfectly conducive for intervals of reading my book and taking a nap.. It was so hot during the day, and pretty much everyone hops in the river at some point to cool off. You can also rent a bike and ride the 7km loop road around the island, or cross the bridge to the other islands that are connected (but be prepared to pay 25,000 kip per person to cross over the bridge as there are trolls there collecting your hard earned money). Tubing down the Mekong is also an offered pastime on the island, and lots of people have a few Beerlaos as they float down the river... You have to be mindful that you don't go the wrong way and head toward some of  the surrounding waterfalls, though. That could be bad.

The island was loaded with tourist agencies offering kayak tours, fishing, trekking, and boat tours but we didn't  take any tours during our stay.. I felt like the island agencies tried to inflate the prices since you are stuck on the island. We just read our books, took walks, and hung out with our friends we made on the Pink Paradise Barbie Sleeper Bus. If you are looking to do nothing, Don Det is a good place to do it. Many restaurants offer "happy menus" if that is your sort of thing, and it's not uncommon to see western tourists laid about in the bars all hours during the day. Personally, it's not a place I could stay for long.. We even left a day early because apart from partying (until the 11pm curfew) kayaking, tubing, or taking a tour, there is not a lot to do or see.. And we only had 9 days left in Asia at that point! 

There is lots of nature around the island, and it's a great place to see a sunset. If you're lucky you might catch a glimpse of the rare Irrawaddy dolphins, which are funny looking river dolphins that are native to the area. Here's some of the nature we came across..

Chickens and ducks everywhere!

Water buffalo!

 Friendly dogs that follow you and escort you around the island.. Luckily they were all nice and I didn't have any problems when I went for a run... There were more dogs, cows, buffalo, and chickens than people combined from all the islands, I'm sure.

 The main"road" around the island

One of the many riverside restaurants where you could enjoy some Lao food and a delicious lemon mint fruit shake (my new fave).. We spent some quality time in a few different restaurants, as these were the only places you could get wifi.. Also a nice way to escape the heat.

Don Det is a beautiful place to spend some quiet time.. Just make sure if you aren't looking for a party scene to stay on the "sunrise" side of the island rather than the "sunset". The only thing I found surprising about this place was how unfriendly many of the locals seemed... Those who worked in the restaurants and bungalows appeared to not like the fact that their island is overrun with tourism, which I can understand.. It just didn't seem like the rest of Lao we have experienced.. I think it was a bit of a tourist trap as well, which is sad. There were people there who had visited and ended up staying for weeks or months, but 2 days was enough for me. We booked a bus from one of the tourist agencies on the island, thinking we were getting a VIP bus from Don Det all the way to Siem Reap, Cambodia.. We knew it would be a long trip.. It was advertised the bus would leave at 8:30 am and arrive at 10:30 pm... Adding on the "Lao time" we should arrive by midnight, sure, whatever, we are used to it...but little did we know we were setting ourselves up for "The Bus From Hell: Part Deux"

And that's the next post..