A soft breeze blew me gently awake, and I peered out the window above my head. Through the soft gauze of the mosquito net I saw lush greenery and a few small bungalows. Looking out through the door beyond my toes, the chocolate milk Mekong flowed by, fast. The sun was only a bit above the horizon and I was alone in bed. Lu had already absconded to the porch of our bungalow where she hung fifteen inches above the wood planks, completely chilled out in her own personal hammock, book in hand. I smiled and rolled over and another breeze blew through, sending me back to a sleepy doze.
Now repeat that four times and you'll have a clear picture of what it's like to wake up on the island of Don Det, Laos, in the 4000 Islands. The days and nights didn't get any faster than that, except for the long bike ride we took one day, and the raging of the rapids on the island of Don Khon just to the south. We ate slow, played cards slow, strolled the dirt path main road slow and finally, finally finally nearly managed to achieve what we had been searching for since day one. We have been trying to stop time, and on Don Det we almost succeeded. In the end, though, it was good we couldn't quite manage it 'cause that would have meant no glorious sunsets and no sublime sunrises. But all afternoon and late into the nights a moment lasted a hour, an hour lasted a day, and a day lasted a week. It was glorious and we were sad to leave. Now we are back in the land of regular time, having just arrived last night in Phenom Pehn, Cambodia. It has been a long journey since the fun of Vang Vieng.
From Vang Vieng we went to Vientianne, the capital of Laos which turned out to be the sleepiest, slowest most chill capital city I have ever been to. It was more like a big town than a true city. There we relished in the vestiges of French rule: good wine, good food, and cheese, glorious cheese. We got a nice room there, fourth floor with a private balcony, and for dinner one night we got a bottle of Bordeaux some crackers and a hunk of New Zealand cheddar and just sat up there with some tunes, as the slow bustle of the street below filtered up to us. Another night we splurged and spent $30 on dinner. I had steak. Lu had raviolis with tomato sauce, and of course we finished it out with a nice chocolate mousse and some cognac. Our first day there was spent checking out the markets and monuments, and on the second we rented a motorbike to ride out to Buddha Park. That place was kinda nutty. Huge statues clustered around each other, representing a vast array of Buddist and Hindu deities and important figures. Shiva, Cali, Buddha, Ganesh and so many more were poised in rock, facing every which way. And of course we had to motorbike it out there, 'cause it's just more fun that way. But there's not a lot to do in Vientianne and we knew it was time to head south. We had been asking other travelers about 4000 Islands, and just from the look on their faces when we asked about it, we knew we had to go.
It was a long bus ride south. I dreaded the coming karaoke video they were sure to play, and my fears were well founded. Not only was the music terrible, but it was also at full blast. Luckily that dvd broke, but before long a Chinese karate flick with Thai subtitles flashed on the screen, and soon the sounds of hellacious kung-fu came screaming through the speakers. A short time after that flick ended did the true excitement begin, though. First it was smoke from the back right tire area. Then it was a huge bang that cause the woman above the sound to scream loud, and for me to shout "Holyshit!" They stopped we disembarked through clouds of smoke and then they set to repairing the blown tire. This time it only took about 45 min, instead of the 2 hours of our last bus breakdown. Morning brought more karaoke videos (5:30am), but I quickly got up from my seat and requested that they please, please, please wait a little while before turning that on. Everyone in the entire bus was asleep, still, and thankfully they complied. From bus to sanglaw we were herded and after another 2 hours we arrived at the shores of the Mekong. A motorboat ferried us across and we had arrived in Se Phon Don (4000 Islands).
Our first 2 nights were on Don Khong, which is north, and the largest of the islands. After finding a guesthouse and getting a meal, Lu and I hit the road with a motorbike and cruised the entire island. We saw incredible rice paddies and people harvesting. We checked out the other town across the island with a lively port and many small shops. We found a remote bar with a bocce court and we rode our motorbike along a thin dirt path, passing many small houses with many small children running out of the yard to wave at us and say "Sawadee!!" For the kids, clothes were clearly optional. We'd made friends with a few other travellers and that night after dinner we started in on some Lao Lao (rice whiskey) and fired up a game of Texas Hold'em. It was truly awesome to play poker at the edge of the Mekong for 60000 kip. ($6!)
The next morning the rest of the group decided to get motorbikes, too, and while they were figuring all that out we sat on some benches and waited. Suddenly there were people coming up the hill from the shore and there striding towards us was none other than our new good friend Brad who we had first met at the Gibbon Experience, and had traveled with up until Vang Vieng. He stayed when we left, but we knew we might meet up again in 4000 Islands if the timing worked out. He had stayed a few extra days up there, and then gunned it for the Islands. It was fantastic to meet up with him again and quickly he was settled in and on a motorbike ready to ride. We did the same trip as the day before, but in a different order and this time got to play a big game of bocce between the seven of us riding around. We were like some pansy version of the Hell's Angels, crusing the asphalt of Don Khong on old 100cc scooters. It was great! Don Khong was good, but it was a little boring, so we knew we had to go deeper and find someplace even smaller and more relaxed. We booked a boat for the next morning and at 8:30am, seven of us got on board and headed south for Don Det.
Immediately upon selecting our guest house and falling gracefully into our hammocks, we knew we had finally made it. The 4 spectacular sunsets and gorgeous lazy days that followed only proved us right again, and again, and again, and again.
Yesterday morning we left Don Det, (almost crying). Brad was heading north and we had Cambodia to see. It was sad to say goodbye to him and to the others we'd become friends with (Aurie from Finland, Floyd from Oz), but it was definitely time to keep moving. If we stayed any longer there was serious worries about 'going native'. Also, that we were down to our final dollars meant we *had* to get somewhere that could dole us some cash.
The long trip to Phenom Pehn was not fun at all. As glorious as was Don Det, as miserable was the 12 hours in various minivans and boats we traveled in. The roads here are insane, and the drivers move along quickly. It was a great relief to finally find a guest house at 11:30 pm last night and pass out completely. Now comes the heavy part of our travels. Thailand and Laos were mainly excitement and relaxation. Cambodia and Vietnam are going to be quite a bit more contempative, horrific and serious as we learn more about the past 30 years of strife these countries have experienced, quite a bit of it at the hands of leaders of the USA, as well as other homegrown monsters like Pol Pot. Today, though is more mundane. Emails, money, toilettries, laundry, markets, meals and strolls. We'll save the horrors for the future, after Angkor, when we have to come back through Phenom Penh on our way to Vietnam.
This morning we woke up baking in a dingy guesthouse room. It had nothing on the wonderful views and lovely breeze of Mr. B's Bungalows on Don Det, Laos. For a few days Paradise was ours, but now it lives only in our memories. However, whenever someone asks us about 4000 Islands our first reply will be purely visual as our eyes roll back, a lazy grin spreads across our face and a blissful "Se Phon Don" breezes out of our mouths. We know what paradise is like, now, and we hope a few others will get to visit it, too.
Now repeat that four times and you'll have a clear picture of what it's like to wake up on the island of Don Det, Laos, in the 4000 Islands. The days and nights didn't get any faster than that, except for the long bike ride we took one day, and the raging of the rapids on the island of Don Khon just to the south. We ate slow, played cards slow, strolled the dirt path main road slow and finally, finally finally nearly managed to achieve what we had been searching for since day one. We have been trying to stop time, and on Don Det we almost succeeded. In the end, though, it was good we couldn't quite manage it 'cause that would have meant no glorious sunsets and no sublime sunrises. But all afternoon and late into the nights a moment lasted a hour, an hour lasted a day, and a day lasted a week. It was glorious and we were sad to leave. Now we are back in the land of regular time, having just arrived last night in Phenom Pehn, Cambodia. It has been a long journey since the fun of Vang Vieng.
From Vang Vieng we went to Vientianne, the capital of Laos which turned out to be the sleepiest, slowest most chill capital city I have ever been to. It was more like a big town than a true city. There we relished in the vestiges of French rule: good wine, good food, and cheese, glorious cheese. We got a nice room there, fourth floor with a private balcony, and for dinner one night we got a bottle of Bordeaux some crackers and a hunk of New Zealand cheddar and just sat up there with some tunes, as the slow bustle of the street below filtered up to us. Another night we splurged and spent $30 on dinner. I had steak. Lu had raviolis with tomato sauce, and of course we finished it out with a nice chocolate mousse and some cognac. Our first day there was spent checking out the markets and monuments, and on the second we rented a motorbike to ride out to Buddha Park. That place was kinda nutty. Huge statues clustered around each other, representing a vast array of Buddist and Hindu deities and important figures. Shiva, Cali, Buddha, Ganesh and so many more were poised in rock, facing every which way. And of course we had to motorbike it out there, 'cause it's just more fun that way. But there's not a lot to do in Vientianne and we knew it was time to head south. We had been asking other travelers about 4000 Islands, and just from the look on their faces when we asked about it, we knew we had to go.
It was a long bus ride south. I dreaded the coming karaoke video they were sure to play, and my fears were well founded. Not only was the music terrible, but it was also at full blast. Luckily that dvd broke, but before long a Chinese karate flick with Thai subtitles flashed on the screen, and soon the sounds of hellacious kung-fu came screaming through the speakers. A short time after that flick ended did the true excitement begin, though. First it was smoke from the back right tire area. Then it was a huge bang that cause the woman above the sound to scream loud, and for me to shout "Holyshit!" They stopped we disembarked through clouds of smoke and then they set to repairing the blown tire. This time it only took about 45 min, instead of the 2 hours of our last bus breakdown. Morning brought more karaoke videos (5:30am), but I quickly got up from my seat and requested that they please, please, please wait a little while before turning that on. Everyone in the entire bus was asleep, still, and thankfully they complied. From bus to sanglaw we were herded and after another 2 hours we arrived at the shores of the Mekong. A motorboat ferried us across and we had arrived in Se Phon Don (4000 Islands).
Our first 2 nights were on Don Khong, which is north, and the largest of the islands. After finding a guesthouse and getting a meal, Lu and I hit the road with a motorbike and cruised the entire island. We saw incredible rice paddies and people harvesting. We checked out the other town across the island with a lively port and many small shops. We found a remote bar with a bocce court and we rode our motorbike along a thin dirt path, passing many small houses with many small children running out of the yard to wave at us and say "Sawadee!!" For the kids, clothes were clearly optional. We'd made friends with a few other travellers and that night after dinner we started in on some Lao Lao (rice whiskey) and fired up a game of Texas Hold'em. It was truly awesome to play poker at the edge of the Mekong for 60000 kip. ($6!)
The next morning the rest of the group decided to get motorbikes, too, and while they were figuring all that out we sat on some benches and waited. Suddenly there were people coming up the hill from the shore and there striding towards us was none other than our new good friend Brad who we had first met at the Gibbon Experience, and had traveled with up until Vang Vieng. He stayed when we left, but we knew we might meet up again in 4000 Islands if the timing worked out. He had stayed a few extra days up there, and then gunned it for the Islands. It was fantastic to meet up with him again and quickly he was settled in and on a motorbike ready to ride. We did the same trip as the day before, but in a different order and this time got to play a big game of bocce between the seven of us riding around. We were like some pansy version of the Hell's Angels, crusing the asphalt of Don Khong on old 100cc scooters. It was great! Don Khong was good, but it was a little boring, so we knew we had to go deeper and find someplace even smaller and more relaxed. We booked a boat for the next morning and at 8:30am, seven of us got on board and headed south for Don Det.
Immediately upon selecting our guest house and falling gracefully into our hammocks, we knew we had finally made it. The 4 spectacular sunsets and gorgeous lazy days that followed only proved us right again, and again, and again, and again.
Yesterday morning we left Don Det, (almost crying). Brad was heading north and we had Cambodia to see. It was sad to say goodbye to him and to the others we'd become friends with (Aurie from Finland, Floyd from Oz), but it was definitely time to keep moving. If we stayed any longer there was serious worries about 'going native'. Also, that we were down to our final dollars meant we *had* to get somewhere that could dole us some cash.
The long trip to Phenom Pehn was not fun at all. As glorious as was Don Det, as miserable was the 12 hours in various minivans and boats we traveled in. The roads here are insane, and the drivers move along quickly. It was a great relief to finally find a guest house at 11:30 pm last night and pass out completely. Now comes the heavy part of our travels. Thailand and Laos were mainly excitement and relaxation. Cambodia and Vietnam are going to be quite a bit more contempative, horrific and serious as we learn more about the past 30 years of strife these countries have experienced, quite a bit of it at the hands of leaders of the USA, as well as other homegrown monsters like Pol Pot. Today, though is more mundane. Emails, money, toilettries, laundry, markets, meals and strolls. We'll save the horrors for the future, after Angkor, when we have to come back through Phenom Penh on our way to Vietnam.
This morning we woke up baking in a dingy guesthouse room. It had nothing on the wonderful views and lovely breeze of Mr. B's Bungalows on Don Det, Laos. For a few days Paradise was ours, but now it lives only in our memories. However, whenever someone asks us about 4000 Islands our first reply will be purely visual as our eyes roll back, a lazy grin spreads across our face and a blissful "Se Phon Don" breezes out of our mouths. We know what paradise is like, now, and we hope a few others will get to visit it, too.
0 Responses to “Paradise Found”
Leave a Reply