AAAAaahahhhhhhhh.......Laos! I arrived in the southern end of the country in a little town called Pakse with not a white person in site and only a loose plan of what to do! As it turns out, Lao airlines really IS as sketchy as the "Lonely Planet" guide book describes it..........which is why I only flew this airline three times during my stay in the country. I think the pilot had turret's syndrome as the landing felt like we hit several herds of cattle. Are planes supposed to rotate when they hit the tarmac?
I'd heard from a friend that the 4000 islands are amazing so I went to the airport and asked around. The airport guy told me (as he was picking out an incredibly large booger) that I was in luck! A local bus was just leaving!! What an asshole. I shared my seat with a live chicken and a man who really seemed to enjoy touching my thigh while talking to me in a language he knew I couldn't possibly understand.
Destination.......where the hell Christ am I? I asked around and told one of the locals that I wanted to go to Don Det island. He looked at me like I just asked him to sell me his mother for some buttons. Finally I went down to the water and made some hand gestures and used body language to get my point across!
I looked towards the horizon.......and started to think that maybe this wasn't such a hot idea after all.....
But off I went, fingers crossed!
And arrived in paradise!!! I'm not kidding this was the BEST and most relaxing place I have been so far in my travels!! When I got ashore I walked up the road until I found Mama Tannon's Guest House. I was greeted by a women who sort of reminded me of that crazy bag lady in "The Simpsons." You know, the one who's always screaming and covered with cats? Except this woman had a whole wad of quat in her teeth which sprayed all over me when she yelled at me in Lao and then laughed hysterically before walking away. Luckily her daughter came up and told me that they were all full but if I was okay sleeping on a hammock they would let me stay free of charge. I'm pretty low-maintenance so I accepted.
Two days later my new friends and I decided that smoking pot and eating all day was becoming a lifestyle instead of a habit so we rented bikes to get some exercise.
Our plan was to bike to a nearby island and check out the waterfall. The only thing connecting our island with the one beside it is an abandoned set of railroad tracks. These are the only lines the French ever laid in the entire country!
You remember Alvin, Simon and Theodore?
Sadly, our Niagara falls fantasies left a lot to be desired.
One of the girls dared me to go swimming in the filthy Mekong River and being the show-off that I am I promptly geared down and started to wade in.
I got about three steps before I tripped, stubbed my toe, and fell face first onto the sharp rocks covered with six inches of water.
Everyone else found this hysterical.
My battle with the raging rapids had left me quite peckish so we all mounted our faithful metal stallions and set off to find a place that made really good fruit milkshakes. We found one and I had strawberry.
When we got back to Mama's that afternoon we were quite exhausted so we took a much deserved break.
Is this the life or what?
Even the cats are tired from a day of nothing!
The gang.
At around six o'clock or so everyone on the northern part of the island, (all 30 of us or so,) would get up, stretch, and mosey on over to the Sunset Bar to watch........well.......to watch the sunset of course! Is this a picture of southern Laos?
Or Muskoka lake? You decide.
This guys is a hoot! Say hello to the baker. He moved here two years ago and never left.
At the end of each day, the baker packs whatever he hasn't sold into the back of his bike and peddles around the island looking for kids with the munchies. Is this place great or is this place great?
You make your own fun on the island. Seriously guys.....paddle!
Mama Tannon, you saucy minx!
Dinner time!
Woah hold on a sec! It's been almost an hour since we were last in a hammock.
You have to negotiate your way into one first though.
The next morning we got up bright and early to go fishing!
And look at the monster I reeled in! A few more of those and I can fill a can of sardines!
We stopped for lunch at one of the local guesthouse where knife safety takes a backseat to a good time.
Fresh fish caught right out of the Mekong that morning, steamed in a banana leaf with scrambled egg! (Drool!)
This is the main street. There's probably about 20 "buildings" in the whole area!
Sunset time again.
Okay nature..........impress me.
Well done.
Let's see what to do, what to do??......
I loved this place. One morning I woke up and just decided to pack my things and go because I knew that if I didn't get moving I'd never leave this place!
