Destination known and looking for jobs!: Don Det, Laos (March 12-March 16)

In the morning we jumped into to a minibus that would bring us to the Cambodia-Laos border. The bus made wonderful time the first 20 km or so until it hit a dusty, bumpy road. Not only did the road slow us down, but about the bus was making frequent stops at roadside villages and houses to drop off goods and supplies. Once it stopped just for a lady to get out and walk over to a couple of friends/relatives just to say ‘hi’. After a couple of hours of the hot , dusty ride, we arrived into the last Cambodia town before the border, Strung Treng. Here we unloaded off this minibus, had some lunch at a restaurant, and reloaded unto another mini-bus that brought us the rest of the way to the border. We entered Laos and climbed unto another minibus that would take us Si Phan Don where we thought we would catch a boat to the island of Don Khong on the Mekong River. Once we got to the river’s edge and spoke to the ‘boat committee’, we learned that our tickets were only good to the closer islands of Don Kon or Don Det. When Jeff asked the leader of the ‘boat committee’ how much more to take us to Don Khong, we were quoted an extra 200,000 kip (which is about $25USD). So Jeff turned to me and asked whether I wanted to go to Don Kon or Don Det. Well, once again, I had not read the guide book and didn’t have any idea which island to choose. We had a tense couple of moments while I flipped through Lonely Planet and declared I didn’t care where we went. Jeff shot back saying that I needed to make a decision. Okay, fine, we went to Don Det.

We took 10 minute long boat ride over to the island. We disembarked from our long boat and walked up the bank to the village path. We were trying to decide if we should go left or right, when the group of backpackers that took the boat over while Jeff and I were ‘discussing’ where we wanted to go, came walking down the path from the left. They informed us that no guesthouses where in that direction, so we went right with the of the group. We had walked a couple of hundred meters down the path, when we came across the Paradise guesthouse. It had rustic little bungalows right on the river and was managed by an expat-American couple, but owned by a really nice Laotian family that lived on the premises. It also had a wonderful little restaurant. Jeff and I dropped our bags in a bungalow and sat down to have a Beer Loa. The rest of the group that decided to call Paradise their home for the night where all sitting around chatting and getting to know each other. There was Julian from France, Ben from Australia, and Geraldine & Jaci from London.

The next day, we got up and had breakfast at the guesthouse and then wandered into ‘town’. Don Det village has about 10 guesthouses and about eight restaurants. We ran into Geraldine and Jaci (the two girls from London) and decided to rent inner-tubes to float down the Mekong in the afternoon. Jaci grew up in South Africa and never learned to swim, so she was a bit nervous. We were laughing and having a good time. Jeff would try to flip my inner-tube every once in a while. Geraldine, Jaci and I were trying to stay together so we wouldn’t float away or have fish nibble us, but Geraldine did float away from us once. There she was just floating her tube, when a boat, full of new tourists coming to the island, came speeding up. She tried to paddled out of the way, but didn’t get too far. She got the full boat wake as everyone on board just stared at her. I guess you had to be there, but it was really funny! We finished our float and exited the river at our guesthouse. Jeff took a nap in the hammock that hung outside our bungalow while I showered and then we went to dinner with the girls. Geraldine and Jaci are flat-mates and in a lot of ways seemed like an old married couple. They wonderful, full of laughter and smiles, and were a little bit on the crazy side. We had clicked instantly with them! Over dinner, we learned that Jaci had never learned to ride a bike as a kid. Growing up in South Africa, if she wanted to go to her friend’s house five houses down, her parents would have to drive her. It just wasn’t safe to go driving a bike around by yourself as a kid. Jeff, Geraldine, and I developed a theory that it would be way easier to teach Jaci to ride a bike then a little kid, because her balance should be better than kid’s.

So the next morning, we tested the theory and rented bikes. Don Det is connected to Don Kon by an old railway bridge built by the French. The French would off load goods on Don Det and would transfer the goods by train to the other end of Don Kon to another boat to be shipped up the Mekong and avoid the waterfalls. So our plan was to ride the bikes over the bridge to see the Tat Somphamit waterfall. I think we all really thought Jaci would crash and burn within the first couple of meters, but she surprised us all by keeping up on a pretty bumpy, dusty road. In fact, there was no blood until we were almost home and she ran into a tree branch and scrapped her hand. So we road across the bridge and saw the waterfalls. By the waterfalls, we found a little swimming hole where we jumped in with all our clothes to cool off. Then we had lunch a little café by the waterfalls and jumped back on the bikes and pedaled to the tip of Don Kon. There we hired a long boat that took us out to see the Irrawaddy dolphins. We were there just before sunset, which is one of the best times to see the dolphins. They like to gather in a 50 meter deep pool between Don Kon and Cambodia. The dolphins are pretty shy so there was no Sea World action. We didn’t get too close, but we did see their spouts when they breathed and a few fins. It was a beautiful evening and a pleasant ride home, despite Jaci’s little accident.

The next day, we dedicated to relaxing, playing cards with Jaci & Geraldine, drinking beers, and enjoying the sights and sounds of the Mekong. We swam in a little swim hole by our guesthouse and took naps in the hammocks. We originally were only going to spend two nights on Don Det and ended up staying four. Don Det was a wonderful place to escape. There was just enough to do so you weren’t bored, and just enough not to do so you had to relax. When we finally left to Paske the next morning, it was very sad. Don Det is a place where you could get sucked into for weeks or maybe months at a time. Beautiful scenery, good people, great food, and relaxation; what else could you ask for?