Two weeks to travel around Laos and already we've spent a couple of extra days at our first destination - the Four Thousand islands at Siphon Don.
Crossing the border
We crossed the border from Thailand to Laos...all pretty relaxing, 6 guys carrying our bags (this is 6 guys carrying our bags on a trolley - meaning 1 guy pushing the trolley and the 5 others just walking along with them) and a few cows with bells on the road. We got a bus (a jeepney type bus) with about 30 people, 5 kids, a massive bag of chillies and about 1000 cucumbers. Something was going down on that bus - lots of veg and fruit exchange and hiding of chillies under the benches. It was only when we stopped somewhere and a policeman and his gang just came on and took a basket full of cucumbers - they didn't see the chillies. Not really sure what it was all about but everyone on the bus was looking shifty after. I guess they must have been worried about those cucumbers given up for sacrifice.
We got a boat to Don Det, one of the 4,000 islands (bear in mind that most of the islands are actually these bushes that grow out of the river and can only be really seen during the dry season). Don Det and the island joined to it by a bridge, is beautiful. We were greeted by a little kid that just waddled over to us holding out his hand so we could shake it - actually, he would then run away and run back again so we could shake it again ;o)
It's a simple life.
We stayed at Mr Phao's, swam in the Mekong River, listened to frogs croaking at night (I swear they were up to no good!), played dice, cycled to the other island and rung our bells when a cow, duck or pig would get in the way, had a big water fight with Sing (Phao's 4 yr old kid who laughs more than any other kid I know, it's brilliant), Phieng, Gimmi and our little friend, the hand-shaker, enjoyed drinks with Marco and Ross at Paradise, ate happy pancakes and drank happy shakes with Lisa, Karolin and our swedish neighbours, Oscar and Gimmi, had a game of Laos hopskotch and chilled out, lying on the floor of Phieng's restaurant or in a hammock listening to some of the best music I've heard on my travels courtesy of the swedes.
We drank Beer Lao, Lao Lao (with honey and lemon - we ain't that hardcore!), coffee Lao and ate a tasty Lao salad.
We left this morning saying our goodbyes to Mr Phao, Sing, Phieng, Mama and Papa. Papa, Mama, Phao and his friends (very hardcore - drinking Lao Lao with their coffees...it was only 7.30am!) blessed us with some white string around our wrists...warding off bad spirits and to give us good luck.
All is well with everything Lao and me and Missy G are loving it.
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