Si Phan Don

After our motorbike adventure we needed a vacation. Si Phan Don (Meaning 4000 Islands) was the perfect place for that. It's located in the southernmost part of Laos, next to the Cambodian border, where the Mekong river is 4 km wide. The river is dotted with thousands of smaller and bigger islands. We chose Don Khon and Don Det, two bigger islands in the south, connected with a bridge.

First we spent four nights on Don Khon, mostly chilling at our guesthouse while gazing over the Mekong and occasionally going for a swim to cool down from the heat.

Sunset over Mekong, the mountains in the horizon are in Cambodia 

Cows gone amok in a garden near our guesthouse

The biggest sight on Don Khon was the Tad Somphamit Falls.

Here we also got really close to some water buffalos. They didn't mind us at all.

We also took a boat trip with a local to go see the biggest waterfall in Southeast Asia: Khone Phapheng Falls. It's not very high but the water volume coming through here is gigantic: 9 500 000 litres per second (double that of Niagara Falls). The best part of this trip was that our local guide took us to a small island right next to the waterfalls. There was no one else here, but we could see all the other tourists standing on the other side of the river.

(Picture by Vanja)

We also had some delicious grilled Mekong fish

From Don Khon we moved to the other side of the bridge to the southern tip of Don Det for four more nights. Here we had a bungalow next to the river from where we could watch the sunrise from our balcony.

Here we also enjoyed our last cup of Lao coffee so far. Lao coffee is very strong an thick, and served with sweet condensed milk.

Every once in a while we went cycling around the islands

On our last day in Si Phan Don we went to the southern tip of Don Khon where you can also see Cambodia in the horizon.

Our main reason for coming here, though, was the possibility to see the very rare and nearly extinct Irrawaddy Dolphins. In Si Phan Don there's only a couple of them left. We took a boat early in the morning and since we were the first ones here the dolphins were actually quite active. We didn't get a good photo of them but if you look closely you can see the fin and back of a dolphin in the picture. Sometimes they came quite close to the boat but mostly they kept their distance.

The Great Motorbike Adventure, part II

The camping site was located next to Tad Houa Khon which was especially beautiful just after sunrise when we were the only ones there. It's easy to imagine how beautiful this is during the wet season.

After that it was time to hit the road again. Sometimes there were some minor obstacles...

Our first stop of the day was on Mai Savanh Lao, an organic silk and tea farm. But in the dry season they also grow pepper and these very hip sacha inchi nuts, that are high in protein. We were also offered to taste mulberry and hibiscus.

 Perhaps the most interesting part of the journey was a stop at a Katu tribe village where Mr. Hook welcomed tourists at his home. We had a guided tour around the village and their coffee plantations and then we and two Austrians stayed the night at his homestay. 

Air-conditioning was not needed in our bamboo bungalow. The bungalow was for the guests, but the family slept inside the house. The word "family" also has a much wider meaning among the Katu tribe than among us. For example in Mr. Hooks ca. 60 m² house there lived 34 people. The largest house in the village consisted of 72 people.

The coffee plantation and different stages of the coffee fruit. The ripe fruits were really delicious, though we didn't eat the bean part to avoid staying awake all night.

Coffee here was served in a bamboo cup with a bamboo filter on top

Enjoying the sunset from a nice viewpoint while learning from their way of life form Mr. Hooks younger brother.

Then it was time to make dinner in the kitchen. We helped with the peanut sauce.

After dinner we gathered in the living room and Mr. Hook continued telling us a lot of very interesting things about the Katu tribe and his own life while sharing a waterpipe. They made their own bamboo waterpipes. Everyone in the village smoke. Even children who start at the age of three to keep the bad spirits (and mosquitoes) away.

Then it was time for our last day on the Bolaven Plateau. In the morning we stopped at Tad Lo for yet another waterfall.

And since Lao is famous for its coffee we made one more stop at a coffee plantation to have iced coffee and a rest in the hammock before driving back to Pakse.

Sunset over the Mekong in Pakse.

The Great Motorbike Adventure, part I

From Vientiane we took a sleeper bus down to Pakse in the south of Laos. We had a luxurious 180 x 90 cm bed for the two of us. Luckily we had each other since single travellers got to share the bed with a stranger.

In Pakse we rented a semi-automatic motorbike for four days and headed on to the big loop of Bolaven Plateau. A more describing name for this loop might the the waterfall loop. There's around 20 waterfalls to see but we picked only a handful of them.

First up: Tad Fane, a 120m high waterfall - the tallest one in Laos.

At the end of a very bumby dirtroad you can find Tad Champi, which is a very nice place to swim. Here you can also walk behind the waterfall.

Hit the road, even if it's a sandy one!

Dos Bandidos! The breathing masks were an absolute must on the dusty roads.

After a night spent in a small village called Ban Nong Oy we headed on towards the main waterfalls of the loop: Tad Tayicsua. This area has five waterfalls to see but to get to them you have to trek through the jungle. At times the trek was quite extreme but it was well worth it in the end.

The first waterfall was easy to get to

Jungle path between waterfalls

Up, up, up the stairs we go. A lot. And this was far from the steepest ones and we didn't need pictures to remember them by...

Our guide dog had to wait for us all the time. Apparently we were too slow...

The second waterfall was the most fairytale like even though the picture doesn't do it justice. Think lush green grass, pink flowers, a tall waterfall and a rainbow as a sprinkle on top of an ice cream bowl.

The third one was more like a river with rapids than a waterfall

The fourth waterfall. This one we saw from the top. Not for those with a fear of heights.

The last and the least visited, yet very majestic waterfall

The trickiest part was finishing the waterfall trek by crossing the strong rapids to get back to the starting point. Ville balanced himself over a fallen tree with the help of a bamboo stick. Malin tried to find a safer way but ended up choosing a slippery branch. Fortunately Ville was at the other end to give a hand.

After four hours of blood, sweat and tears, we made it!

And off we go again. Hop on my bike, honey bunny! 

Stopping now and then to admire the beautiful views.

We had to go to the middle of nowhere in Laos to sleep in a tent together. Then again it was on a wooden platform so maybe it doesn't count. Nevertheless, watching the sunrise from inside the tent was amazing.