BEEN THERE, DON DET
After 3 stressful days sorting out my passport and other necessary documents, I was more than ready to start my adventure in Laos and to chill on the 4,000 islands. This is an area in the south of Laos near the Cambodian border on the Mekong River, and while there are a ton of (mostly uninhabited) islands, we stayed on the backpacker friendly island Don Det.
Time moves slow on this laid back river island. Our riverside bungalow (for less than $4) had two hammocks strung up on the porch, and it was all too easy to spend some hours just lounging. Many of the guesthouses and restaurants on the island offered ‘happy’ dishes (essentially, cooking your food with weed). Happy pizza, happy shake, happy mashed potatoes…essentially anything on the menu could be served happy. That combined with the reggae music playing from most bars makes it all too easy to get stuck enjoying Don Det longer than you planned. In fact, Jess and I met many backpackers that had spent well over a week chilling out on the island. Another great plus about Don Det is that while the island is geared towards backpackers, it still maintains a rustic feel and you aren’t bombarded with any hawkers or shops selling tourist t-shirts and goods.
Jess and I ended up spending a total of 3 days/4 nights on the island. Our first full day we rented bikes to explore the island. I was incredibly proud of Jess, who got on a bike with a big smile for her first time in over 3 yrs. The ride was quite peaceful and beautiful, as we followed a dirt path around the perimeter or the island, passing guesthouses, local villages, and plenty of farmland. The only others on the road were the occasional motorbike as well as cows and other farm animals that come and go as they please. That afternoon we ended up at a guesthouse called King Kong. While I would have struggled to guess what day of the week it was, we got lucky and stopped in just in time for the weekly Sunday Roast. The place was owned by an older Brit and a few other expats and tourists were hanging around. We all talked and shared stories until our dinner arrived - Jess and I shared a heaping plate split with turkey, pork, mashed potatoes, veggies, apple sauce and gravy. After dinner Jess went off to a nearby hammock for a nap and I joined in on the weekly game of poker. It was quite fun playing with older expats and I ended the night up. A heavy rain started up at around 6 while we were playing, and the electricity went off around the island within the hr. Jess and I waited for the rain to die down before making the slow, dark, a d muddy ride back to our bungalow. As the rain kept up and the electricity didn’t turn back on, we spent the evening lounging on hammocks on our porch before heading to bed early.
As you can never strive to accomplish too much in 1 day on Don Det. Jess and I rented bikes again our 2nd day in order to explore some waterfalls and sites on a neighboring island. In the evening we arranged the iPad so that we could each lie on a hammock on our porch and watch a movie (we went with the classic Good Morning Vietnam).
We spent much of the afternoon of our 3rd day lounging at the reggae bar, playing cards with friends and having beers. There is also a wooden plank hanging off the porch of the bar that serves as a perfect jumping off point into the river below (we all tried it at least once). Later that afternoon, 5 of us chartered a boat to take us to a small island with a beach for some leisurely fishing.
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