My time in Laos has already come and gone somehow, and oh was it perfect! The last week I spent in the beautiful country I explored down to the southernmost point in Laos to an amazing landscape known as Si Phan Don, or The 4,000 Islands. The Mekong River opens up in this area creating thousands of channels and therefore thousands of islands. Since my arrival in Laos, I'd been following the Mekong all the way down and this was my last hurrah with this beautiful river.

I first took a bus from Thakek to my overnight stop, Pakse, where I shared a tuk-tuk to a hostel with a German backpacker who I met at Green Climber's Home. When we got there, they only had a double room left, and we both said we didn't mind sharing it, so I was sharing a room with a guy I had just met! Kind of an interesting experience... "Nice to meet you, want to have a sleepover?" haha but we were totally respectful of each other's space and we were just content to be saving a few bucks by splitting the room.

The next morning we took a minivan to Ban Naka Sang where we boarded a ferry (or, small wooden boat) and headed to into the river. Most of the 4,000 islands aren't even inhabited, some of them have small villages on them, and there are really only two or three that travelers go to. The two closest to the Cambodian border are Don Det and Don Khon. Don Det is known more as the backpackers hub, where the streets are lined with restaurants, bars, travel agencies, bungalows, and plenty of relaxed-looking backpackers.

I opted to check out Don Khon first, which is known to be less populated and more chilled out overall. I found a nice bungalow overlooking the river with my own bed and bathroom and deck and hammock!

This was honestly a turning point in my travels because there's only so many nights in a row you can wake up in a room full of strangers, sharing space and bathrooms and constantly keeping your valuables in check. It was a huge pleasure to just throw everything out on my personal king-sized bed (more perks of traveling alone) and to go to the bathroom with the door open and to have space to do yoga and to wake up by myself... I realized the first morning I woke up there that it was the first time since India that I woke up alone in my own personal room. That's insane... I went two months waking up to other people. It took me until here to realize the effect this had on me, and I appreciated the personal space so much.

The sunset view from the hammock was pretty unbeatable, and I got to witness a new work of art in the sky and reflecting off the river every single night. 

I met up a few times with another guy I ran into from Green Climber's Home (we're all basically this one big international climbing family now) who was staying with a couple German and Dutch travelers. We would go swimming in the river or eat $1 noodle soup from a woman on the path or drink beer over some card games. If anyone is interested in some new fun card games, ask me about Shithead or Camps! Endless entertainment.

Being on Don Khon was where I felt most immersed in the Laos culture. Every day I either walked or biked through villages of local families and animals and school children, and I saw kids of all ages operating vehicles that I would have been forbidden to at their age, but anything goes in Laos!

 

Oh I had to snap a picture of one of these for my dad... all over Laos I've been seeing people operating these carts with a motor (and usually just one wheel) way out in front, and of course hauling a ridiculous amount of goods or live animals on the back. Pretty cool that this was really the only kind of motorized vehicle I saw on the islands besides motorbikes, made for a pretty peaceful stay.

My most ambitious endeavor was biking around the entire island starting early in the morning, with one heavy, stiff, small, crappy bike. But we really bonded over the rough terrain and the TLC I had to give'r putting her rusty chain back on every 500 yards or so. 

It was a worthy adventure, as I got to a big, long waterfall (which probably had a name) and my Chacos helped me crawl around some rocks and cool off in the water. 

Back on the bike, I headed south only to encounter this...

I swear it looked even steeper in real life. I felt determined to push forward, so I (ambitiously) hiked down the ravine somewhere to the left of this and hike back out, clumsily lunking my bike along.

But it was worth it because the trail took me to the south of the island where there is a beautiful view of the Mekong and, on the other side, Cambodia! I treated myself to a coconut and some shade.

The viewpoint was over an old French loading dock, where ships now launch with tourists to see the rare, nose-less Irrawaddy dolphins.

I rode on, and on, and on, and eventually found a sandy beach and swimming area. Then I rode some more, cooled off with a watermelon shake, and clocked a lot of hammock time the rest of the day.

The next few days I rented a taller, lighter, and overall nicer bike to get me between the islands. I spent the last few days in 4,000 islands at a chilled out hostel on the sunset side of Don Det.

Sunset from the swimming hole next to the hostel:

My German/Dutch buddies told me about a little restaurant on the other side of Don Det run by the crazy Mama Piang! She took goood care of us :)

She also owns an eagle which lives under the restaurant so that was pretty neat.

Mama and Papa own a small boat and Papa offered to take us on an adventure for an evening. We went to a nearby island and walked through villages to... you'll never guess it... a waterfall!

 Another unnamed beautiful waterfall :)

Here's Papa, looking out over us pups as we swam above the falls.

And some burning countryside... tis the season?

Then Papa was hungry so we stopped at a small hut and had some noodle soup (ever heard of Pho?) and I played with some Lao babies (typical). Then we found some bike-water-pump-contraption... they do things in very interesting ways over hrr.

We boarded back on the boat and Papa took us upriver for a while past other islands and homes and temples and boats (some of which were being operated by children, of course).

The Laos life is a laidback one!

We finally pulled over in the middle of the river on this island with rows of cucumber plants and a small hut where a few people were cleaning and bagging fresh cukes. They even gave us some, and they were SO good... Fresh and river-grown! Kop jai lai lai!

We went for one last swim of the day, jumping off the boat and drinking beerlao with the locals. Floating there, looking back at the mesmerizing sunset, colorful clouds, and moon overhead... it was one of those magical I-want-to-keep-this-with-me-forever moments.

On my last evening, I biked over to the Li Phi Waterfall—biggest in SE Asia! It is way bigger than my camera could even capure, and it was such a beautiful sight to see, hear, and feel. 

I had some yummy curry for dinner with a friend I met in Pai, Thailand! It's always so surreal to continually run into people I've met from other places along my travels, makes the world feel that much smaller.

I woke up bright and early to catch a "ferry" over to the mainland where I'd be heading to Cambodia!

And of course I befriended some small Lao kiddos at the bus station who were fascinated by my phone's front camera...

It's taking all of my self-control to not adopt a little Asian baby right now! 

That sums up my time in Laos, more to come on Cambodia soon! 😊