Don Det -4000 Island Side Story

My Friend Olivier bought a boat. Well he rented it for the day. It didn’t make sense unless we were stranded on this beautiful Island . It was day 3 and I was running out of funds. My friends were kind enough to settle my share of the lodging. I still needed to reimburse them . The Money changers were taking advantage of our Isolation. Well we couldn’t blame them . It was just good business. We didn’t plan to stay long but we feel in love with Don Det.

Arnaud watches on as  I swim to shore

Olivier took the boat out for a spin. Unfortunately after 15 mins , he was over come with exhaustion. So the boat was moored to the dock. Even though it was made of wood and nails, It was still a sturdy boat. It could hold a maximum of 3 people. Unfortunately it came with paddles and not a outboard motor.  One could have taken a motored boat to the main land .But I heard stories of tourists getting scammed. The boat rider would charge you for a return trip . And would be scarce for the return leg. I was pondering on how to get my hands on hard cash. I was wondering out loud my dilemma .

The River Traffic

As fate would have it, my friend Eva revealed she wanted to travel to the main land too. So I suggested we take my friend’s hired boat and she was game. So after applying enough sun screen , we set off.  It was estimated to be a 15 minutes one way journey. But we didn’t take into consideration that our boat wasn’t a kayak.

Setting Off

When we started out , the waters were relatively calm. We were able to learn the handling of the boat .We than had to circumnavigate around the Island. And set course for our destination . There were many cross currents . But since were were rowing in the direction of the flow , we didn’t have any problems. The River had quite a traffic.

Tourists returning from tubing

The passengers of most boat on the river cheered us on .  We were over taken by many motor boats. But we finally managed to reach shore after 45 minutes of paddling. It was quite a work out and we were exhausted.

 It was a struggle dragging the boat across the beach.  We didn’t want to moor it and have some one untie it . Or worse steal the boat. Thus we carried the paddles along with us. A Red bull, It was the first Item I bought with the money I had left. Eva got her self a bottle of water. When we were able to catch our breaths , we headed to the bank.  There were 2 banks located near the shore. And to our anguish both the banks were closed. Reason being ,it was Saturday afternoon . We tried withdrawing the money at the ATM . Unfortunately the ATM didn’t recognize my Card. So we found a Money changer , who was willing to offer us a slightly better rate than what I found on the Island. Well It was better than nothing. I got Olivier a gift . I wanted to repay his kindness for letting me borrow the boat. I had to fuel up before our return journey. So I had a snack made by a lady who had a stall on the beach. We were happy to find our boat still intact. It was where we left it. We got in and set off.

 In contrast to the first leg of our journey, the second part was a constant battle. The Tide took us in the direction we weren’t meant to go. We had to paddle harder and longer. And at one moment we almost gave up. We tried getting the boats going to the island to tug us along. But unfortunately , the boats men were unwilling or didn’t understand our requirement. Thus we floated along ,letting the current take us . I wondered what led me to this moment. For what purpose I was on a boat instead of my hammock. And when I looked on the distance , I saw a beam of light break through the clouds and deflect of the river surface. I had a view of  breath taking marvel. And we enjoyed the tranquil peace.

The Sun was setting thus we pushed ourselves once more. We were finally able to reach the shore after being able to break through the strongest current at the apex of the Island. It would have been much easier to drop the boat on the other side of the Island . But we would still have to retrieve it and moor it on my side of the Island. And I Didn’t think we had enough energy to carry it across land .

As we crossed over the fence of my cottage and set our selves up to view the setting sun, I was glad to have had this remarkable journey . And I was gratified to have friends to share those moments with me. Thank you Arnaud, Oliver, Alan, Nina and  Eva

Laos – Don Det of 4000 Islands

Best Travel Companions

We arrived on Don Det ,which is one of the 3 major island on the mekong river. There are supposedly 4000 islands in this region. Don kong was it’s larger sibling with presumable a bridge to the main lands . But me and my traveling french colleagues preferred the smaller island cause it advertised an escape from civilisation. Actually we really didn’t fall of the radar since a couple of restaurants offered free wifi services and there was an Internet browsing centre. To Reach Don Det we hired the service of a travel agent which Included the pick up at our hotel in pakse , the journey via van to the river bank and the actual boat trip to the Island.

As we made our way through the mekong river passing boats of various shapes and sizes, I let my palm lap the water’s edge while the cold water trickled up my hand. We got off at the port of disembarkation which was actually a really nice beach of white sand.  Sadly , the beach was littered with Garbage. It was mainly beer bottles but there were also an assorted arrangement of plastic wrappers and paper.

Oliver ,bless his soul ,tried to get the sun bathers to help us clean up the beach. But none of them were up to the task . They would have preferred to lie with the litter instead of sorting it out.  The Shopkeepers ,from whom we borrowed plastic bags to dump the garbage ,took pity on us. But it came to my understanding that littering was a regular business . The locals were fed up with the picking up after the foreigners.  But the next day , we did find a couple of tourists cleaning up the beach. So I guess there are some caring souls.

We had to hunt for an accommodation. With every traveler who departed the island, there were equal number of visitors ready to fill the void. We walked through the main road of the village passing bars and restaurants on either side. The bars offered travelers solace from their weary journey. Though they were closed by 10 to ensure the local populace were not disturbed from their well deserved slumber. Thus the drunken and stupor would stumble back to their beds. While the non intoxicated ,the passionate and the solo traveler will head to beach to gaze up onto the stars. There weren’t any street lamps. Thus every night was a romantic walk in the moonlight . And a slight drizzle would render the roads muddy and slippery. But it made it easy to walk without any footwear. The way the soil felt on my feet was comforting. 

Of course one could find themselves staring down a pack of semi domesticated dogs. But with the right amount of treats, they would become your friend. And it’s funny watching the Occasional buffalo being chased away by a homeowner . They buffaloes can’t seem to stay away from the vegetable gardens. Many a people came and left . But what was constant was our next door neighbours. They seemed to have been in love with their hammock . I couldn’t blame them. The View was breathtaking and every moment was magical. 

I Spent 4 wonderful days on that Island and I came to understand why I need to travel. I felt connected with mother nature. On the first day when the sun was setting on the horizon and the water glimmered with red hue matching it’s perfection. I thought I could have lived there for ever.