Don Det

The following morning we left Don Khong and wobbled into a long boat bound for Don Det.

It was a lovely gentle cruise down the river taking in all the breathtaking scenery and watching as the fishermen cast their nets, the ladies set their lobster and crab pots and the youngsters washed and scrubbed at themselves and the weekly laundry.

After dropping a few others on the mainland we continued out into the open river surveying the most luscious landscape. Lots of mini islands with commanding tree canopies and foliage and colourful, scented flora and fauna set our track for Don Det.

We arrived at a small beach area laden with bikini clad sun worshippers all with beer in hand and a party vibe struck, our initial instinct was to get back into the boat and paddle as fast as we could back to tranquility but we decided to stay and see what the place had to offer.

Loaded up with our packs and not looking very graceful as we sank and dredged our way through the sand and up the steep bank we found a sign for a guesthouse that was recommended in the book and as other passengers from another boat were headed in the opposite direction we decided to go with it.

We got the last room and it was fantastic. Well the room itself was a very basic bamboo hut, with a bathroom (cold shower), fan and bed but the view was astounding made all the better by being able to enjoy it from the comfort of our own hammock …. Bliss.

As usual we spent the first few hours exploring. The main street was a dusty track made up of mainly bars and restaurants with a couple of convenience stores that tried to stock pretty much everything needed to spend time here, obviously at island prices, nearly double to those on mainland. There was one internet café which was closed as there was no internet connection and very little else.

At the end of this short stretch the road forked and to the right was a resort of sorts which was actually solid bungalows and rooms with its own bar and restaurant overlooking the river, this led onto a few local fisherman's shacks and some more bamboo bungalows before leading inland to open farmland.

To the left was a mixture of local homes and bamboo stilted rooms all on a slant that looked like they were about to fall into the water. The view across the river was one of the tiny uninhabited but impressive tree covered islands.

As is the norm in most of the villages the local homes doubled as shops, eateries, laundries and receptions for the available rented rooms, bike hire and tours and while the adults worked the children of varying ages from baby to ten played happily occupying themselves with imagination and anything lying around such as cycle tires and sticks, bricks and rubble, shoes and a lot of scrap metal and used vehicles that would be utilized in some way at a later date by an entrepreneurial teen.

Being reminded by a rumbling tummy that we hadn't eaten we ended our exploration at a bakery/café that had low tables and cushions on a wooden floor. In fact it was like a pallet on stilts jutting out of the river but the atmosphere was relaxed with chill out tunes and zombie travelers sprawled out on the floor. We though this quite unusual until we spotted the sign for space cakes and it all became perfectly clear. We left the cakes well alone and feasted on a tasty veg curry although it was completely different from what we actually ordered, which happens a lot and is not worth protesting about as it is greeted with a shrug and ok meaning it's not our problem, that's what you've got so eat it.

This was washed down with fruit shakes which we have been enjoying extensively throughout Laos. They range from watermelon, papaya, banana, pineapple and my personal favourite coconut. We have been having two or three a day thinking we are being good and healthy and not drinking fizzy pop, that is until we saw them made this day and realized that the main ingredient is not the fruit but half a bag of sugar, we were horrified but it explained why we had been gaining weight. Water it is then.

Appetite satisfied we sat and watched the world go by joined by a lovely ginger cat who decided a good place to sleep was on my knee. We seem to attract some kind of animal everywhere we go and Rod has taken to calling me "Iris the crazy cat lady." There were cats in abundance on all the islands and we quickly renamed them 4000 cats' islands but the strange thing is they had no tails or only half tails. We thought it may be some kind of weird tradition or ritual until we read the funniest sign that stated …. Motorbike rental … helping you get high … machine washed laundry … no we don't cut the cats tails … hilarious but somewhat unconvincing.

Our next few days were spent repeating this kind of routine. We would join the forty or so other travelers on the beach for lazy days sunbathing and cooling off in the river as we had finally secured some hot temps and blazing sun, watching the coming and goings ofboats carrying travelers, natives and motorbikes laden with supplies. It was a mystery how this cheeky charismatic mature man made it up the steep slope of the beach with his bike carrying at least three times his body weight but he always managed it, obviously all the years of practice. Then we would watch the sunset over the river in the hammocks on our balcony with a cold beer, before going out to try another of the handful of restaurants that were open. We thought we were missing something or we came and ate too early as the people on the beach in the day were nowhere to be seen at night.

This was when we discovered the reggae bar which is tucked away down a track off the main drag. It is brilliant, made up of the same pallet/stilt style structure but on a larger scale with a long line of low tables surrounded by scatter cushions and individual cushioned areas spread about the main floor, it's shoes off outside and make yourself at home. It was a great hippy vibe and where a production line of travelers all joined together to ask the typical opening questions "where have you been?" "Where are you going?" "How long are you away?" "Any tips?" while consuming large quantities of alcohol.

We have homed our craft and become experts in traveler talk. I open up the conversation and get the ball rolling before Rod jumps in with his extensive knowledge of geography, maps and direction leaving it wide open for us to tag team at picking brains and also share information we have gathered along the way.

We particularly enjoy sitting back and letting the entertainers (of which there is always a few) regale the crowds with their funny/scary/unbelievable stories.

It was here that we were scared half to death as we saw a twenty year old drunk lad jump off what we thought was the restaurant balcony high above the river and disappear into the black night and unforgiving water which was not in our mind that deep, as we were leaning over panic stricken trying desperately to see him in the dark he walked back in like a drowned rat with a big a beaming smile. It turned out there is a diving board off the balcony and the river had been dug out to accommodate this. We really love traveling.

As we were becoming really lazy we decided it was time to hire mountain bikes and explore the adjacent island of Don Khon. We set off early morning taking the left fork and following the river, past the secluded accommodation and bamboo huts, along the tree lined dirt track observing the now familiar native daily routine until we reached the long bridge that connected the two islands. The first things we saw was a sign saying "Don't Jump … It's F*****G Shallow which made us chuckle and then wince as some unsuspecting adrenaline junkie had tried it with unfortunate consequences.

We decided to push our bikes over as the bridge was uneven planks with gaping holes and hidden termite damage, not that this seemed to stop the Tuk-Tuk or scooters but hey ho safety first for us and I'm clumsy on two feet let alone wheels.

As we crossed we took time to soak up the scenery which spanned 360 deg of natural beauty.

Once across we paid our bridge toll which was also the entry fee to the waterfalls and started on another even rougher red dust track through a somewhat quieter village. There was a more tranquil feel to this island an understated charm and appeal, had we not experienced Don Khong we would have been packing our bags and setting up camp here.

It was another local slice of life with a small chunk set aside for the inclusion of travelers/holidaymakers but it was so pleasing to see they had not sacrificed their way of life and turned the place into a mini Europe as we had seen with so many other places in Laos.

After enjoying a traditional lunch of chicken Laap, rice and steamed vegetables we continued on to the Tat Somphamit waterfalls. We were not disappointed as we peered over the edge of the cliff and saw the aquamarine fast flowing waters cascading over the most jaw dropping rocks at varying levels. The force was highlighted further by the white water bubbling up and the sound of crashing, like a million plastic water bottles, a third filled with rice all being shaken at the same time. The rocks themselves were as pulchritudinous as the water that had contorted and decorated them. Like giant fossils giving clues to years of evolution and ecology. Rings of colour like go faster stripes and bold patterns adorned the faces ranging from forest green to russet red, up to light grey and sandstone, outlining their form and bringing each of them to life. The scene altered dramatically with each change of light and direction. The water rushing and dancing and running like a giggling child playing chase trying to weave any which way cutting a new path until it can find a place to be still and hide.

The activity around the waterfall consisted of the usual stalls trying to make a living selling tacky souvenirs to tourists. These tourists consisted of coach loads of Chinese happily snapping away with their super duper cameras. They were so friendly and their excitement and sense of fun makes the experience even more pleasurable. We were greeted by them again on our way riding home as they hung out of the windows of the mini buses, whooping and trying to high five us which had us in fits of laughter.

The stalls that were set up were run by three - four generations of the same family that lived behind the businesses they run. As well as the shops there was a restaurant and fruit stall, and a little shack with a loom pieced together out of scrap material. This is where the clothes for selling and for the family to wear were crafted by the grandma of the group. The young children get involved as well and we watched as a little boy around 4/5yrs and a little girl of the same age sat on a blanket trying to sell nuts and fruit they had collected from the trees. It was so endearing to see the little boy decide they had sold enough and pack his wares into a bag, sling it over his shoulder and trot over the bridge like one of the seven dwarves. He purchased some sugar cane with his takings and went and shared this with his baby sister. He was adorable and definitely destined for great things.

After indulging ourselves with the spectacular landscapes for a while longer and walking to a small deserted beach cove and relaxing for a while in the pool of calm that housed the water that had fallen and found peace, we got back on our bikes and headed to the southernmost tip.

This was another long ride along a dirty bumpy track, lined with towering, thin bare trees in uniform rows creating a magic eye puzzle as we whizzed past. We were taken aback when from nowhere three kids jumped out carrying a dog waving us down, they just wanted to interact with us and have a good look at us close up. They had watched us taking photographs and wanted theirs taken, so inquisitive into how things worked and filled with joy at the results.

We finally made it to the Southern tip overlooking Cambodia and immediately began trying to spot the Irrawaddy dolphins. There is a 50m deep pool off shore that is home to around 20 river dolphins and we had been told you could view them from this point. In actual fact you could pay $20 each to be taken to the edge of the pool in a boat and then not guaranteed to actually see them.We declined and a little disheartened headed back to Don Khon village. We didn't realize how far this was as we had been taking in the sights and the return journey in the heat of the afternoon sun was a hard slog but very worth it.

We explored the other side of the village that is divided by the French bridge and were equally as pleased to see this had also maintained its Lao-ness and authenticity. We stopped at a few of the little home/cafes to rehydrate and just revel in the sense of calm which was only shattered, in a good way, by the local school playground full of uniformed children playing Thai football (a wicker woven small ball is kicked or headed over a net kind of like volleyball without the use of hands) or playing handball that isn't a ball it's a makeshift shuttlecock that is hit with the hand high in the air and not allowed to touch the ground (badminton without racquets). The younger children that didn't have footballs or shuttlecock's simply played with their sandals/flip-flops. They threw them at each other trying to dodge them, they stood in a line to see who could throw them the furthest and they hopped over and danced around them it was brilliant and heart warming to observe the scene, to see youngsters getting an education instead of being put to work.

We eventually tore ourselves away from this captivating island and went for it as we rode our bikes as fast as we could across the rickety wooden bridge, much to the amusement of the local onlookers; we made it to the other side without getting stuck very pleased with ourselves. Deciding to take the inland route we rode through open farmland and dry arid grassland, high fiving the Chinese along the way until we came to the road home. We slowly cycled admiring the river showcasing the reflections of the magnificent trees before flopping into the hammock for the awesome sunset filling the nimbus with pinks and gold and Rod's shadow puppets.

The next couple of days were spent relaxing, sunbathing, eating and preparing for our onward journey. We had thoroughly loved our time on the islands especially Don Khong and Don Khon finally giving us a slice of true life. Don Det was great but even though it was relatively quiet during our stay we could see it was being moulded into a traveler hotspot and losing its sense of authenticity and as such gaining the resentment of the locals who have created this monster to finance living and a will to join the 21st century without realizing they would have to endure drunken travelers with no respect and a poor attitude as part of the bigger picture. It's sad to think in a few years it will become the next Vang Vieng.