Hey Everyone!

Wow, where do we start? After our last blog we headed to Savannakhet Bus Station with our fingers crossed of finding a bus to Si Phan Don that evening, we played cards for 3 hours trying to pass the time when a bus turned up which we were told was heading for Pakse (a small town on the way to Si Phan Don). We decided to jump on as it at least got us away from Savannakhet and one step closer to our destination. The bus journey wasn't a nice one, it was a trip full of stops and starts where the journey could have taken 5 hours but instead took 10. Although we managed to get some sleep, the bus was full of Laos who all had something to say! Lost and full of confusion we were ushered off the bus by a seemingly random and somewhat shady character, who assured us we were in Pakse. He loaded us into the sidecar of his motorbike and we soon realised we were the only ones to get off the bus, even though we'd been told that Pakse was the final stop! We were taken to a few guesthouses which featured in our Lonely Planet guide which reassured us we were actually in Pakse. Unfortunately the guesthouses were all full, it was a case of third time lucky and we ended up in a guesthouse with rooms for 90,000 kip at 6am. Just as we were about to book a room, Kie spotted a sign on the wall which said there were minibuses to Si Phan Don for 60,000 kip per person. Knowing that the journey was only 2 hours and 15 minutes long, and Pakse wasn't a place we really wanted to spend any time at, we decided to continue our epic journey rather than stay and luckily got the last two seats on the minibus leaving in two hours time. We arrived at Si Phan Don and after a short longboat trip we landed at Don Det. We made our way to Mr Phao's Riverview Guesthouse, a place recommended to us by a Dutch guy we met in Luang Prabang and which also features in Lonely Planet. Our bungalow on stilts is very basic, simply a shed with a bed. Our balcony, however, more than makes up for the simplicity with two hammocks overlooking the river. The squat toilet and cold shower are in their own separate sheds behind the bungalows, the facilities are shared between 14 people! Electricity is sparse, with only a light bulb per bungalow.

Don Det itself is as old school as they come, the roads are dirt tracks and the wildlife roams freely amongst the handful of guesthouses and acres of fields. Everything here is handmade and the community itself seems very self sufficient, growing and making anything they need. Today we hired bikes and headed towards the southern tip of the adjoining island Don Khon where, we'd been informed, we could spot Irrawaddy dolphins. Along the way, while messing around, Kies chain came off his bike and we spent a long time trying to put it back on to no avail, luckily to our rescue three locals stopped work to help us and it took all three to get it back on. A little further along our way we were halted by two young boys shouting "Falang! Falang! Stop!" Falang meaning Westerner or Foreigner! We did as we were asked, and stopped! Before we knew it, they'd retrieved their flipflops from a pile of leaves and were one a piece on our bikes as passengers, giggling away! So we carried on our journey, stowaways and all! When we got to the southern point, our passengers jumped off and, after a few photos, pointed us on our way. We then hired a boat which took us to Cambodia without visas - a mere five minute journey across the river. We became illegal immigrants on Cambodian turf, jumped off the boat and paid $1 each for the privilege of dolphin spotting! We spent a good couple of hours chatting to a group of local girls and watching the dolphins come to the surface which was pretty amazing. Afterwards we headed back to Laos for our return 7km bike ride, in the midday heat! This time though the journey was divided by short stops where we admired and photographed the locals and baby wildlife which was mainly free roaming. Just before crossing the French Bridge back to Don Det a very large snake literally jumped out in front of us and then jumped across the path into the bushes the other side - Sophie couldn't believe her eyes!!!!

We are back at our bungalow now, chilling on our hammocks and pondering food. As a sign here so perfectly puts it "BEEN THERE, DON DET" and although we could spend days here living like the locals, we are off to Cambodia tomorrow (this time with visas)!! We are heading for Phnom Penh!! Where there is a big Cambodian festival taking place called Bon Om Tuk (Water Festival) where over 400 boats congregate outside the palace and take part in races and celebrations!!

Hope everyone is ok, Lots of love Sophie and Kie xx