4000 wonderful islands

My last destination in Laos was supposed to be the so-called 4000 Islands in the south of Laos. The Mekong River widens significantly in this region, creating many small islands, some of which are several kilometers wide. If you count every little bush that protrudes from the water during the dry season, there might even be 4000. Ultimately, there are three main inhabited islands that are visited by many travelers: Don Det, Don Khon, and Don Khong. I chose Don Det, which is the smallest of the three islands but the most popular among backpackers.

I took a night bus from Vientiane to Pakse. The sleeping berths in the bus seemed cozy at first, but they were probably designed for small Asian couples. I shared my berth with another girl, but I had very little space because of my height. After the bus stopped three times for repairs, we arrived in Pakse four hours late. The bus that was supposed to take us to the islands, another three hours away, had already left due to our delay!

There were seven of us and we desperately tried to organize another bus, as some had already booked accommodation for the night on Don Det. After a long discussion, the woman at the travel agency simply left us because she had to go to a party and suggested we just find a hotel and take the bus the next day. After endless conversations with the people at the bus station, we were eventually taken to another stop and told to take the bus for the locals. It was a converted truck with a few wooden benches installed on the flatbed - completely packed with people and luggage, making any movement impossible. Some of the people even had to stand at the back of the flatbed for the entire journey. And of course, the journey didn't just take three hours...

I spent the whole week on Don Det with a few of the 'bus people'. The first two nights I stayed at a slightly more expensive accommodation, and then we all rented a few neighboring bungalows right on the Mekong - for the equivalent of 2.50 Euros per night! They were simple but absolutely sufficient.

The islands are super relaxed, with a few restaurants and bungalows. You can simply do nothing, lie in a hammock, drink a beer... We rented bicycles for the duration and rode to the neighboring island of Don Khon a few times. There are beautiful waterfalls and beaches there, and it was just fun to race around on the bikes.

When we were in Don Det, the Laotians were celebrating their New Year. This was a bit disturbing to our sleep because early in the morning, terrible and extremely loud Asian music started playing everywhere. One of the traditions is also to spray each other with water. Therefore, children and teenagers were standing on the roadside, happy to pour a bucket of water over your head. :-)

The best day we had was when we wanted to go to the neighboring island and ended up getting stuck in a restaurant where we planned to have lunch. The owner kept bringing us free shots because of the New Year celebration, and of course, we couldn't say no. Eventually, it was evening and the whole family came to join the party. We drank together, danced to Laotian music, and sprayed each other with water. :-) The next day, we all had scratches and bruises because we still tried to ride our bikes back home. Due to all the shots and the lack of street lighting, it didn't go so well and someone else fell every few meters... :-)

Definitely one of my favorite places during the trip! (Not just because of the free shots!) ;-)