Mon 3rd - Sat 8th March (Week 24)

Mon 3rd - After our pickup at 7pm, we got on our sleeper bus and were pretty disappointed at the tiny "double" beds provided with minimal leg room so even I had to have my legs bent ! Took 2 Valium sleeping pills (bought in Laos for this purpose!) and although I slept, it was fitfully and still pretty tight and uncomfy.

Tues 4th - We had assurances from both the hostel where we bought our tickets, and the company themselves that our sleeper bus would take us all the way to the 4000 islands, but sure enough, we were ushered out in Pakse at 7am and onto another standard bus at 8am to continue the journey ! 10mins later we had to get off again to change our tickets for other tickets (?!), picked up other backpackers, and finally got on our way at 9am. Arrived at the ferry port at 11:30 and got a long boat over to Don Det. This is the one place in 5 months that we hadn't pre-booked - simply because nowhere does bookings. So Brandon kindly went off to find somewhere half decent while I chilled out with an ice cold milo and banana shake ! Moved our stuff to Sunset Bungalows which we'd read good reviews of, but was actually very poor for the price. No a/c, the most uncomfy mattress I have ever felt, and not even any toilet roll ! But, it is right on the Mekong so has perfect views for sunset, on our balcony with 2 hammocks. Spent the rest of the afternoon walking around trying to find a better room with a/c for tomorrow as the heat is so intense, but everywhere was full or doesn't do reservations, so will have to look again tomorrow. Had a quick dip in the muddy Mekong river to cool down, then made the most of our room and had a big Namkhong beer each and watched the sunset over the river from our hammocks.

Wed 5th - Managed to survive the night with just a fan and the uncomfy mattress, but headed out at 8am to find a better place to stay. Found a lovely room with a/c for just slightly over budget, but in this heat, we need a/c ! Checked out at 11am and sat in our new room enjoying being cool ! Booked a kayaking trip for tomorrow, tubing for this afternoon, and a bus to the Cambodian border for Saturday. Had our own private long boat at 2:30 to take us up the river and then follow us back down as we sat in our tubes enjoying the peace and tranquillity of no-one else around. Not quite as impressive scenery as Vang Vieng, but we had the Mekong all to ourselves as we drifted slowly back to Don Det. Watched another sunset with a beer, early dinner and early night to catch up on the previous 2 restless nights.

Thurs 6th - Had a lovely breakfast of iced milo, and porridge with banana - with a kitten on my lap - always the best start to a day ! Headed off for our days' kayaking at 9am with a group of 13. Kayaked down the Mekong and over to another island where we walked for about 20mins to a pretty impressive waterfall. Walked to the other side of the island, to a series of rapids where we put on our life jackets, jumped in, and got carried downstream whilst trying not to hit any rocks on the way ! Good fun, but slightly scary when I did hit 2 underwater rocks and went under for a second or 2 ! Had lunch on the sandy beach, then continued kayaking to the big open stretch of water between the islands, mainland Laos, and Cambodia. This is where the Irrawaddy dolphins are protected (someone said there were only 6 left ?!) and amazingly we did see quite a few sightings of one surfacing. Continued kayaking back to the mainland, then took a very cramped van (with 13 people and all the kayaks) to Khone Pha Pheng - the biggest waterfall in S.E Asia (15m high and 1km wide). As I hadn't really heard much about it, or knew what to expect, it was really impressive. Took the van back up to near Don Det, then kayaked the rest of the way back, getting in at 5:15. Watched sunset with a beer, and relaxed after our busy day. Ahh, yawn, its a tough life.

Fri 7th - Hired some bikes today and cycled down to the old railway bridge and across to Don Khone. Lovely scenery once you get away from all the restaurants and bungalows - really into the local villages and peace and quiet, and sometimes felt like it was just us all alone on the island. Saw locals sleeping in their hammocks in the hot sun, little naked children running about and swimming in the river, buffalos, ducklings, chicks, dry paddy fields etc. Cycled down the East coast to Khone Pa Soy waterfall and had a quick dip to cool off. Cycled back up the middle of the island, through bone dry paddy fields and the heat was pretty intense in the middle of the day. Went down the West coast to Somphamit waterfalls which were really impressive - nearly as big as Khone Pha Pheng yesterday. Got back to Don Det at 3:30pm, had a late lunch of milo & banana shakes, and choc sticky rice with banana ! Took some tubes and paddled down the West coast and stopped on a little sand bar to drink our beer and watch sunset.

Sat 8th - Said goodbye to Laos and got our boat transfer across to the mainland at 8am along with another 50 or so other backpackers. Walked down the street to the "bus" area, filled in our visa forms, handed over photos, $30, passports etc and then sat and waited until 10:15. Finally got going and arrived at the Cambodian border at 10:40. Walked across, had our temperature taken to make sure we don't have malaria, then sat on the Cambodian side until 12pm waiting for our passports and other buses to show up. Only a few days ago we thought we were going to have to make the hellish journey to Siem Reap VIA Phnom Penh, arriving at some horrible time at night. But a new company has just started up in Feb which takes the slightly unfinished route directly to Siem Reap, saving hours of uncomfy bus time ! So we emailed them, reserved seats, and got on that minibus at the border to Strung Treng, along with 6 others. Had some lunch there, then boarded a car ferry across the river for 15mins, then got on a super minibus, lots of leg room, a/c, icebox of cold water, and off we set. Arrived in Siem Reap at 8pm, got a pickup from Bou Savy Guesthouse, dinner and bed. Normally we'd be straight out exploring, finding somewhere for dinner, but at the border I twisted my ankle climbing up a wooden ramp with my heavy bags so had to have it elevated and put ice on it the whole journey to Siem Reap, and now can barely walk ! Not impressed and very annoyed !

Summary: We have really enjoyed Laos and feel we have spent a nice amount of time here to see the main sights and see all we wanted. The Laos people are lovely, very friendly, genuine and don't hassle you, unlike in Vietnam. We've seen some beautiful temples, stunning scenery in Vang Vieng, and the local way of life in the 4000 islands. It was also very interesting and eye-opening to learn about the UXO's and so awe-inspiring to see how the locals just carry on, and the work that is being done to clear the area.