TLC - go chasing waterfalls

19.02. - Day 5 - Chiang Mai to Huay Xai
On Tuesday we took the bus from Chiang Mai to Chiang Kong at 8.30 am. It was a nice and comfortable air con bus and for 282 Baht (around 5 Euro), they even provided some water, cookies (not edible though...) and a movie (it was in Thai, but they showed "I'm legend" that we understood pretty much without subtitles). We arrived in Chiang Mai 6 hours later, around 2.30 pm. We got a Tuk Tuk to the border for 30 Baht and afterwards the ferry to Huay Xai, Laos for 30 Baht each. We checked into Houay Xai Guesthouse (200 Baht for a double room with own bathroom; the room was all right and they have a nice balcony) and headed straight to Animo Travel, the transport service for the Gibbon Experience. They told us to come at 8 am the following morning and to bring gloves that we can buy in a store nearby and one bottle of water for the next day - last thing a big mistake, but about that later.
We found a cozy restaurant with a beautiful river view lodge (Mouang Neua Restaurant, right next to Animo Travel) and enjoyed the sunset and had a relaxing time.

We then changed places and went to our balcony at the Guesthouse where we met some really nice Thai people from Bangkok who shared their Laos beer with us. We exchanged Email-adresses and might meet them again for the water festival on April the 13th in Bangkok.

20.02. - Day 6 - Gibbon Experience, Bokeo
After an early start from the Guesthouse to grab some breakfast we watched a short movie at the Animo Travel place about how to use the cables and what to be aware of; then we got onto the Gibbon truck with some other travellers. We rode about 2 and a half hours - at first the roads were surprisingly smooth, but started getting fairly bumpy later on.

At the village where our trip was supposed to start there were a lot of groups pulling in at the same time and we were a bit ashamed, because some of them were dressed completely inappropriate.
We started our trekking into the forest around 11.30 am and soon split up in smaller groups. 4 hours and our first 6 cables later we arrived in Treehouse number 5 (there are 6 Treehouses so far in that area) where we were supposed to stay for the first night.
The first cables came with a bit of adrenaline, but it was already lots of fun - racing throught the forest in about 100 - 150 meters height!!!

In the evening we did one more trek through the forest, and the more cables we took the better and safer we felt. Sometimes we didn't make it all to the end, but then we just had to pull ourselves to the platform or to the Treehouse - good to wear gloves then even though the ones we could buy in Huay Xai were horrible, we wish we would have brought some really good ones from home!
The guides - so far not nice at all (they were just hurrying through the jungle, usually both at the beginning of our group not caring about what happens to the people at the end; and they obviously disliked the two of us taking pictures and looking around, taking our time), dropped us off at the treehouse and another guy - this one very nice - brought us some dinner and hot water for tea and coffee.
He sat down to chat with us for a while and later on made us break all the rules we were given before the trip - we went zip-lining in the dark and were yelling through the jungle.
Back at the treehouse we were happy to have a toilet and a shower in the treehouse, very refreshing after all this trekking.
On that evening we got to know our group a bit better, we were 7 people (there is a limit of 8): the two of us, Ben, John and Jess from England and Bart and Robby from Belgium. We had a funny evening together, but we went into our "honeymoon suite" (we took the only bed on the second level) pretty early since that was an exhausting day.

21.02. - Day 7 - Gibbon Experience, Bokeo
The following day we got up at 6 am to do some pre-breakfast-trekking. Quite exhausting walk on muddy paths, as it rained the other night, especially on an empty stomach...

We came back to the Treehouse around 7.30 am, had breakfast (rice, meat and vegetables as in the evening - same same but different- famous word of mouth here in the area). Romy couldn't eat the breakfast - too hearthy to start off with...

We left with our backpacks at 9.30 am and had a stop for lunch at a small, but beautiful waterfall where we could have a swim and arrived at Treehouse Number 6 around 2 pm. Like the first one it actually had a shower and a toilet, but since we didn't have running water that didn't help much. The guides - still the same unfriendly ones from the first day, explained us a little bit how to get to the treehouse if we wanna do some more zip-lining and how to get down to the river, then they left.
Our couple Jess and John stayed at another Treehouse since we only had room for 6; Ben, Bart and Robby left to do some more zip-lining straigt away so we figured it's a good time to enjoy some peace and harmony at the river all by ourselves. We were hanging out there for about 2 hours and took a "shower" before the boys came to join us in our little paradise.
n the evening we went a little crazy zip-lining - in prospect of the near end of all this fun. This was already the last day for that, on the third day we'd have only 3 more cables ahead on our way back! We even became brave enough to take our cameras out while we were on the cables to take some pictures and movies.
When we arrived back at the Treehouse someone had brought us dinner again together with some hot water for tea and coffee - the whole day no cool drinks - we even drank water out of the river!!! What an organisation, that can even ruin such a fantastic thing like the cables and all together we were pretty disappointed about the guides, the non-provided drinks/potable water and the information beforehand - nobody took even 5 minutes to tell us about how those 3 days are going to be arranged, also the information on the internet was wrong - it said it was 4 days and only 4 people in a group!!!
Still: a funny experience and we would have loved to stay for a couple more days!

22.02. - Day 8 - Gibbon Experience to Huay Xai
Since it rained all througout the night we didn't get a lot of sleep and trekking turned out to be very difficult since it was all muddy and slippery. We did a good portion of the way sliding on our bums.
We started off around 7.30 am and had breakfast at the waterfall (once again rice and veggies - Bart and Romy couldn't eat, as they woke up feeling kind of sick. Besides, we are all riced out by now...).
With muddy clothes we arrived back at the village around 11 am where the trucks picked us up - it was funny to see those new Gibbon Experiencers arrive - all with clean clothes and neat hair, smelling all good - we couldn't help but imagine them after 4 hours of trekking, especially under those circumstances (after the rain). One girl was even wearing white pants; well good luck then

We arrived back in Huay Xai around 4 pm and mobilized our last bit of remaining energy to find a bank and exchange some traveller checks. It took ages and we came out being millionaires...the currency is so weird here.
Romy spent the rest of the day in bed feeling horribly sick and kinda feverish and Dunja went out for dinner with one of the Thai's from the other night.

23.02. - Day 9, Huay Xai to Luang Nam Tha
Coming back to Huay Xai, we both had a rough night feeling quite sick and woke up not feeling all to superb, but still decided to move forward and take the bus to Luang Nam Tha. At first we we quite happy to spot a minibus at the station, but our hopes for a comfy ride were shattered as they started cramming as many people as possible into the bus. We had to put up with seats in the middle row (We have never ever seen that before on buses...) which were nicely tilted to one side, so we found ourselves leaning onto some total strangers (at least they were not smelly ) The roads were curvy and we were quite wrecked as we finally made it to Luang Nam Tha (the ride took 4 hours for 55.000 kip which is about 4,50 Euro), or more like 10 km from there, as the bus station has been displaced at the end of 2007 (probably to make more profit off of tourists who are forced to take a Tuk Tuk to the center).
Along with a Swiss couple we went to look for the Lonely Planet's recommended Guesthouse Thavyxai (a double room is 70.000 kip, that is around 6 Euro), where Robby and Bart from the Gibbon were staying as well and weren't disappointed. We had the nicest rooms so far with even a TV (coming straight out of the jungle this is pure luxury!)

After a little nap we met the guys and decided to do some Kayaking with them the next day (for 4 people 251.000 Kip each). We signed up for a one day trip at the local operator Green Discovery with whom the guys already did a mountainbiking tour that day; we asked for the same guide they had since they really liked him and the boss gave us a good chance on that.
Afterwards we went for dinner with the them, more of a liquid dinner for us, as we still couldn't eat much.

24.02. - Day 10, Luang Nam Tha
Our Kayaking adventure was awesome - we started our day with a nice breakfast and we were happy to have an appetite after all...we took of all energetic and went by Tuk Tuk to a small village to pick up our Kayaks. As for our guide - we got the requested guide named Xai - he was fantastic. The guys didn't promise too much, he was so unlike our Gibbon guides - a really chatty and friendly guy who spoke really good English.
At the village we pumped up our Kayaks, loaded everything onto the Tuk Tuk and drove down to the river for about 20 minutes.
We were equipped with life vests and helmets (which came in quite useful later on...) and were sent off for a little test round up the stream.
After, we all took off down the river - we really sucked, we went zig-zag with our Kayak most of the time and the other 2 Kayaks were waiting for us quite often.
As we got to one of the first rapids, Romy got catapulted out of the boat and hit a rock with her back. Our guides got really scared and suggested we each sit in a Kayak with one of them. That worked out for the better, since there were quite a few more big rapids ahead and we are sure we would have flipped over on most of them
Our first stop was in a small village with a tribe of Chinese origin. They used to live like Nomads, continuously moving down the Mekong until they eventually settled in in the National Park next to Luang Nam Tha. Our guide showed us around and told us about their traditions (for example all of the women have the same hairstyle, and when they turn 15 or 16, they eyebrows are being shaved off, as a sign of being ready for marriage).They all wore black clothing, which they made themselves all the way from the cotton to dying it black with some strange root.
As we were about to leave, a woman gave us a small purse to take with us. Very friendly people!
Next stop was for lunch, our guides had plucked some banana leaves to build a table and we had sticky rice with a spicy dip, some grilled fish, veggies and sweet potato chips - delicious.

Afterwards, we went further down towards our last stop at another village, in which one of our guides Chai had a friend he wanted to visit. As we approached we heard loud music playing and learned that there was a party that day. Most of the 270 villagers were circled around the new house, which was reason for the celebrations.
We were instantly directed into the house, where we felt like in a zoo for the first time. We always perceive the locals to feel this was, whenever foreigners come to visit. Here, everyone was staring at us, greeting us, touching us and leading us into the house, where a sick stomach's worst nightmare came true....we found ourselves in a large room full of whiskey kegs, over which at least 50 men of all ages were squatting, each trying to talk us into drinking with them. We didn't mean to be rude, so we drank...Gosh, did we drink.
After about half an hour we left the village stumbling towards our Tuk Tuk.
We changed our initial plans to go on a boat trip in Northern Laos and decided to head straight to Luang Prabang with Robby and Bart. Our Tuk Tuk took us to the bus station from where we wanted to take the night bus leaving at 4.30 pm (for 70.000 kip, around 6 Euro for 8 till 10 hours). As it pulled into the station, we purchased our tickets and hopped in to search for our seat number. Ours indicated 14 and 15 and we took a seat, wondering a bit why someone left all their stuff (food, garbage and something that looked like dirty socks...) dangling by one seat. We didn't think much of it, cut it off and dumped it somewhere else. Shortly after, an angry elderly lady appeared claiming this was her seat. She started hitting Dunja, rushing us to get off her seat. We were pretty appalled and nobody at the station spoke English well enough to explain to us what was going on with our seats and this bus, which started to fill up more and more. We were crammed in between rows once again, this time instead of on seats, on rice bags....Turns out eventually there were no seat numbers for anyone, it was fist come first serve. But all the seats were already taken as the bus got here.

We decided we couldn't take it (at least we got our money for the bus tickets back without any discussion) and went back to town to Green Discovery who were probably happy to see some good customers again...we arranged for a minibus the next morning and found another British couple - Ross and Mary - who wanted to join, so we shared the bus by the 6 of us and split the cost of 150 USD - still more then we had planned to spend!
Afterwards we went to our luxurious Guesthouse again (good choice for travellers arriving late - it's a bit off the main street but still close, so there is quite a good chance for a room even if the Guesthouses on the main street are full as it was in our case) and had some dinner with Xai (our guide from the Kayak Trip) before heading to bed early in prospect of our get up at 4.30 am the next day.

25.02. - Day 11, Luang Nam Tha to Luang Prabang
Our wake up that day at 4.30 was painful, but since the road was very curvy and a bit bumpy sometimes (though it got better the closer we came to Luang Prabang on Highway 13) the minibus was worth every dollar, still - the scenery along the road was stunning, beautiful forest with cute villages, later on we drove along the Nam Ou River.
The ride was once again very bumpy and had its effects....

We arrived in Luang Prabang around 2 pm and all went to different guesthouses, as it was quite challenging to find affordable accommodation for all of us in one place. We stayed at the Oudomphong Guesthouse, which is a very cozy little place, always quite busy though (double rooms with shared bathrooms downstairs for 80.000 Kip, around 7 Euro).
That day we took it easy and just did some shopping at the night market before heading back to the hostel.

26.2. - Day 12 - Luang Prabang
The following day we did a little sightseeing in Luang Prabang; there is one main road and the road along the river, those two build one loop which takes around one hour without stop to walk. We really enjoyed the temples Wat Souvannakhin and Wat Xieng Thong. Around 4 pm we went up to Phu Si where we had a beautiful view over the city and enjoyed the sunset.

27.2. - Day 13 - Luang Prabang
Day 13 startet with a Tuk Tuk - tour to the famous waterfall Kuang Si, together with Bart, Robby, Ross and Mary. We started even though it was raining, and weren't disappointed. As we arrived there (around 30 minutes, Tuk Tuk for 30.000 Kip each 2-way including 3-4 hours waiting-time (plus 20.000 Kip entrance fee, so around 4 Euro alltogether) , the weather cleared up and it was just perfect for climbing up to the start of the waterfall, and there were hardly any other tourists around. The waterfall is absolutely stunning, with 3 lagoons to swim in - but since it was a bit too chilly we didn't go in.
We got back to Luang Prabang around 3 pm, Vera arrived by slow boat from Huay Xai at 6 pm and we got dinner from the market and ate in front of our Guesthouse. Afterwards we did some more shopping at the night market and bought tickets for the minibus to Vang Vieng for Friday. (110.000 Kip, ca. 8 Euro, around 5 hours).

28.2. - Day 14 - Luang Prabang
Since it was raining again in the morning the two of us and Vera skipped our original plan about going to the waterfall again and were just wandering through the town, enjoying the city's flair. Around 1 pm the sun came out and we grabbed a Tuk Tuk to Kuang Si Waterfall, together with Seth and Erin from Texas.
It wasn't exactetely warm, but we went into the water anyways and had a fun time.

29.2. - Day 15 - Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng
The promise from the travel agency about the minibus - 10 seats, 8 people - was such a fake!!! We got picked up with a nice and comfy minibus, but they drive everybody (no matter where they booked, some even paid 140.000 Kip) to a bus station where they load the people in bigger and not so comfortable minivans (about 15 seats with 15 people each, the one we were supposed to go into even had plastic seats!!!) Ross luckily made a big fuss and we ended up arguing with those people for half an hour until they finally agreed on a minibus similar to the one we came in. We finally left at 9.30 am and arrived in Vang Vieng at 4 pm. Since we didn't feel like walking around too long with our heavy luggage we just took the closest affordable Guesthouse (Amicable Guesthouse, 40.000 Kip for a double room, around 3 Euro), but it wasn't the best choice since the room wasn't very nice, the toilet was smelly and the water in the bathroom was dripping all night, so on our first tour through town we already checked for other places to stay and fell immidiately in love with "the other side bungalows" across the river, so we decided to move there the next day.
We had a great dinner at "Jaidee's" at the river and went back to the main street for a drink where we met Seth and Erin from Texas who we met on our second day excursion to Kuang Si waterfall. Funny that we keep bumping into the same people over and over again. We stayed a bit with them at the restaurant/movie bar "DK 3" (good and valuable food) and went together to the "Smile bar" - very young people (mostly between 18 and 20), but nice atmosphere with bonfires and music. People were quite smashed there though, but it was all good fun

1.3. - Day 16 - Vang Vieng
As we planned the day before we checked out of our Guesthouse and moved into our beautiful bungalow (also 40.000 Kip a night for a twin bed, but shared bathrooms) where we hung out all day in hammocks and a cute pillow area on the porches right by the river. For dinner we went back to "DK 3" and watched some movies - that's actually what the city is all about, there is hardly any bar in Vang Vieng where they have no TV!

2.3. - Day 17 - Vang Vieng
That day we did what Vang Vieng is known for - tubing. We rented two big tubes and a dry bag (Tube with Tuk Tuk from starting point from the tubing office for 40.000 Kip each, dry bag from a store nearby for 20.000 Kip) and went tubing into the river around 3,5 km out of town. The first km there are bars all along the river with huge swings, each of them blasting music and trying to pull people out...the last 2,5 km there are only small ones, except the one signed as "last stop". We had stops at one of the first big bars, at one small one in the middle and at that last one, but since the ride already takes 3 hours without stops and we had to give back the tubes by 6 pm (or they charge an additional 2 USD overtime - fee) we didn't stay long.
It was very relaxing since the water flows very slowly and you hear music from all the bars.
It was an expensive day though - Dunja lost her sunglasses somewhere in the water and just realized minutes later that they where gone, wondering if they sunk or kept floating. Romy offered to find that out using her sunglasses for the experiment, and without waiting until Dunja's in front of her to catch them she just let go - and they were gone as well!!!!!!!!!!!
Thats true friendship We both had a pretty good laugh...
In the evening Romy went to her candlelight dinner with Robby while Dunja went to DK 3 and to Smile bar again with Vera who had arrived in Vang Vieng that day.

3.3. - Day 18 - Vang Vieng
On that day we did a beautiful Kayaking and caving trip (150.000 Kip), again with the operator Green Discovery (like in Luang Nam Tha). It was perfect weather and a nice trip who started a couple kilometers further than the tubing. We ended up at the "last stop bar" from the other day again and had lots of fun there, especially on the swing into the water. We went kind of crazy swinging and jumping in the water.
After kayaking all day we went to bed pretty early after a quick dinner at "DK 3".

4.3. - Day 19 - Vang Vieng to Vientiane
On that day we took the local bus at 12.30 to Vientiane. We arrived there around 3 pm. We checked into Youth Inn near the Mekong (triple room 120.000 Kip, around 10 Euro) and did some sightseeing in the city. We bumped into Robby and Bart once again and had a drink with them (Shade bar along the river - best frit shakes so far!). In the evening we decided to treat us for some Japanese dinner and cocktails.

5.3. - Day 20 - Vientiane
We started the day at the city's viewpoint Patuxai.
Actually, we found out that the highest building of Laos is also in Vientiane and we got to observe it from above - believe it or not, it is a 14-storey building...
After viewing the town from above we walked over to the cities most famous Temple Pha That Luang and then got a Tuk Tuk to the Talat Sao Market, which is a gigantic shopping mall which makes you wish you had a Platinum Visa Card. Some of the stores are extremely cheap, others sell gold and silver jewellery and tailor made clothing. Too bad, or should we say thank God they were just opened for another hour when we got there.
After the market we instantly went to search for a Post office to find out about shipping prices...turns out its kind of expensive so we'll be stuck with all the baggage for a while longer and need to urgently cut down on the shopping.
Went for dinner to the Full Moon Bar and once again met a British couple that is on the road for 2 years...you guys think 2 months are long...we only meet people that are travelling for a year and longer.

6.3. - Day 21 - Vientiane - Tha Khaet - Savannakhet
We got up crazy early (6.30am) to catch our bus to Tha Khaet - arrived there about 5 hours later and went searching for a place to stay. We were facing some problems in the very beginning as we wanted to take a Tuk Tuk downtown, and we should have read the signs....usually there is an entire Tuk Tuk Mafia waiting at the stations to get people to go with them - here no one wanted to drive us initially. Those guys were busy chatting and playing cards.
Eventually we ended up at the Phoukhanna Gh - really nice place, but the rooms smelled mouldy, so we vented a while. Went to the Tourist Information, which happened to be closed that day and obviously other days as well, as people left angry complaints by the front door. We couldn't find the Green Discovery office either and started wondering why we got involved in conversations with every other random tourist on the street (there were reeeaaally few ...)
The place turned out to be Ghostcity with absolutely nothing to see and do, so after one beer we decided to leave to Savannakhet immediately.
The receptionist was confused and charged us half the room rate, we so didn't care and were glad to get away, even if on the slowest Tuk Tuk we'd ever been on. Luckily there was a bus that left immediately and we didn't even care that we had to sit on tiny plastic chairs in the middle row...the ride was 2,5 hours and arriving in Savannakhet we checked into the nearest Guesthouse by the station (Soulinsouk GH), we were so crushed.
It's a bit of a shame that once you want to experience something off the beaten paths, everything is so unorganized. I guess we'll just stick to the main tourist route from now on.

7.3. - Day 22 - Savannakhet
The three of us had some delicious crepe breakfast and strolled through the town a bit but there was nothing that captures our interest all that much. Besides, Romy was a bit sick again, so we needed to stay close to a toilet...
We headed down to the Mekong river and were lucky enough to find some beach chairs over thereon which we toasted for a while. Later we spent almost 3 hours on the Internet uploading pictures, drove us nearly insane!!
We went for dinner to a cute restaurant where some locals were celebrating a birthday. They kept inviting us for more and more whisky...
There were absolutely no Tuk Tuks around as we wanted to go back (where are those darn things if you need them?) so we had to walk home, but went to a bar full of locals (all staring at us) on the way, or as we liked to call it gas station to fill up our spirits.

8.3. - Day 23 - Savannakhet - Pakse
We went on a local bus today and luckily found seat to ourselves (since we leaned seats are not to be taken for granted on local buses) but later on the bus filled up so much and we felt sorry for the moms carrying their children standing up (the drive was about hours...) and we squeezed with 4 people onto 2 seats eventually and got to Pakse pretty twisted and wrecked. Grabbed a Tuk Tuk to the Sabaidy 2 GH and were lucky enough to get the last room for 3. Went to the Green Discovery Office where Dunja and Vera booked a tour to the Bolaven plateau. Romy was going to spent the day with Robby who wanted to come the next morning and rent some motorbikes.
In the evening we explored the town a bit more and had dinner at the Champady - really good food!

9.3. Day 24 - Pakse
Vera and Dunja left early in the morning to go to the Bolaven and Romy had the pleasure of sleeping in that day.

Dunja:
The Bolaven Plateau Trip was beautiful, leading through Green Tea and Coffee Plantagen to a stunning waterfall where we had a swim before we tucked in the lunch the guide had prepared for us. After some more trekking we arrived back in Pakse around 5 pm to find the room locked and no key left behind - thanks to Romy we headed for some Dinner as dirty as we were and met her on the way.

Romy:
After enjoying the luxury of sleeping in I went to rent a scooter at our Guesthouse to pick up Robby from the Southern bus station and this is where the trouble began...I had no idea where the Southern station was supposed to be, since we had arrived at the Northern station the day before. I had a brief look on a map and figured it can't be too hard to find. The guy that gave me the scooter was a bit dodgy, he didn't explain the scooter to me at all and it took me a while to figure out how to shift gears and all that. At one of the first traffic light my bike went off and I couldn't get it to start again...the lights went green and I had a big bus right behind me and it couldn't get by....gosh, I just wanted to disappear right there. I pushed the bike to the sidewalk and got someone to help me. Next, I ran out of gas in the middle of the road - I was lucky to find a nice guy who sent his kids to get some gas in a canister for me...paid way to much for the gas, but was so relieved and grateful! Robby was already waiting ages and I couldn't find the station, so I told him to take Tuk Tuk. Few minutes later I slipped off a crack in the road and next thing I remember is trembling and finding myself relocated laying in a ditch surrounded by dusty shrubs...thankfully 2 guys immediately offered help, but the damage wasn't too bad, I only scraped my arm and leg and the bike wasn't ready to start again either...Robby coincidentally showed up in a Tuk Tuk and we lifted the bike in there going back to the Guesthouse. Those guys over there were not too happy but couldn't/didn't want to tell me what was wrong with the bike...there was no visible damage and we did manage to start it...I was just hoping they wouldn't use the occassion to rip me off...
Back there we responsibly decided it wasn't a good idea to go on bikes again that day and just went to a beer garden by the lake and to whatever the locals would call their beach later on.

After having dinner together we were all ready for bed after such an eventful day.

10.3. - Day 25 - Pakse
The day began hot and humid as usual. We went with Robby and Vera for breakfast together at the Sabaidy Café. Went back to the Guesthouse where Bart arrived from the 4000 islands shortly after. Vera, Romy and the guys were hoping to find a swimming pool at the city's fanciest hotel, but our hopes were disappointed...we abused their lawn sprinklers for a bit and went to a beer garden by the river once again. It was just too hot to do anything, it must have been around 45 degrees - unbearable. We all split up a bit and met again for dinner at the Champady's - we always end up at the same places....it was really nice there though.
Dunja spent the day strolling along the Mekong, having a drink with locals now and then on the way and went for another 2 hours of Massage.
After having dinner altogether we bought 2 bottles of whisky, some coke and ice and played some funny rounds of UNO at our Guesthouse. Went to bed around 3 that night and woke up hungover in the morning (at least Romy did)

11.3. - Day 26 - Pakse to Don Khon
On the 11th we took a minivan to Ba Nakasang and from there a boat to Don Khon, a cute little island at the 4000 islands in the very south of Laos. We found some nice bungalows (30.000 Kip)and went right to the Dolphin Beach, a beautiful sandbeach sprinkled with gold, and we were all by ourselves. In the evening we had dinner at the Bamboo Restaurant.

12.3. - Day 27 - Don Khon
In the morning we rented bicycles and drove over the bridge to Don Det, which is the Backpackers' favourite of the 4000 Islands and right next to Don Khon. We checked out a few Guesthouses since we wanted to move there the following day, afterwards we went back to our "Lonely Beach". In the evening we met Marion and Kerstin, 2 german girls, at the Bamboo restaurant and had a fun time there until they closed the bar around 10 pm. The days here are very short and after 10, there is nothing to do on Don Khon, because there is no more electricity...interesting experience. The only thing you can do is try and save yourself under the mosquito net in your bed, before those creatures eat you up...

13.3. - Day 28 - Don Det
The next morning we moved from Don Khon to Don Det and checked into our first Guesthouse, "Khammonaye Giesthouse and Sunrise Restaurant" just 2 minutes walk of Don Det Beach (40.00 Kip/night). We had a relaxed afternoon in our Hammocks before we went to the beach in Don Det around 3 pm. In the evening we met Vera, Marion and Kerstin for dinner and went to the campfire on the beach at 11 pm. It was a wonderful atmosphere, we felt like in "the beach"!

14.3 - Day 29 - Don Det
In the early morning we pursued our nomad lifestyle tradition an moved into another Guesthouse closer to the beach in Don Det, since the shared bathrooms at our place were more than gross...
We settled into Mr. Vath's (30.000 Kip night)where we had our own bathroom. We rented bikes again an drove over to the other island again to our lonely beach where we fried like chicken from 12-4pm. The sun was incredibly hot and we went to cool off in the river every few minutes. We also got our first minor sunburns - we were so proud we didn't get burned at all so far, but the sun's very aggressive the further you get to the south. For dinner we went to our lovely Sunrise Restaurant again and afterwards had some drinks with Marion and Tom, a crazy German guy who's been coming back to Laos since 7 years now. When he first came to the island this place was in no guidebook and there were only few families living here, there wasn't even an open border to Cambodia. Hard to believe after seeing the islands today...it is still a little paradise though. Of course in the evening it was campfire time again

15.03. - Day 30 - Don Det
For the first time in ages we slept in (at least according to Romy) and decided it wasn't a good idea to go in the sun that day, after all the sun exposure we had the day before. Your can't imagine how hot it gets here during the day, it was around 45 degrees and all you do is constantly wipe the sweat off your face...
In the afternoon there was a big party about to take place at the Reggae Bar right next to our bungalows. There were lots of Irish, British and American people who gathered to celebrate St. Patrick's. We all dressed up in green and had a few drinks there, but Vera and the two of us left around 4 to the beach...some people however got stuck there until the bar closed around 10.30pm. As we left Romy got bitten by their pet monkey, who's tied up on a leash next to the bar. He just went all nuts from all the noise and the beer people gave him to drink. We were a bit shocked at first, as Romy has no rabies vaccination, but no symptoms occurred yet...just kidding, the bite just left a mark, but there was no blood, so nothing is really bound to happen.
In the evening we went to see the sunset at the west shore of the island, it was gorgeous - the sun turned orange, red and pink in the end...Later on we went to the Sunrise once again...by now they already write down orders as we enter, cause we always have Coconut Shakes, best ones we ever had! We met with the 2 German girls Marion and Kerstin again and had a really fun time and some spicy dinner...boy did we sweat. As we wanted to leave Marion's and Romy's shoes were stolen, but this seems to be nothing unusual at this island, happens all the time. We just took some other shoes we liked, it is like a swap-system - this way everyone can get new shoes once in a while! Later on we went to the good old campfire again and almost regretted having purchased tickets to Cambodia the following day. After 5 days on the islands it was like a familiar community, almost like in "The Beach".