Is Don Det what paradise is like?

Southern Laos – December 2022

Today, we continue the journey through Southern Laos from the Bolaven Plateau to Si Pha Don. During the local bus ride, we stop in several tiny villages, where old ladies are waiting to thrust their grilled chicken skewers and sticky rice balls through the windows. One after another, the local passengers get off and after around 2 hours, only a young boy, a Spanish couple, and I are left. Finally, the young boy is let off at a car repair shop. The driver climbs on top of the van and without warning, starts to dump wrapped tires from the roof. They land right below me with a loud thump. I once again remember that Southeast Asia’s public transportation doubles as the national mail and delivery services. Only a short while later, we arrive at our destination.

Like the Spanish couple, I too want to travel to Cambodia after Don Det. So we try to enquire about bus tickets. Unfortunately, there is no ticket office and no-one seems to speak English here. So we reluctantly make our way through the afternoon heat to the boat pier. During the bus ride, I received a message from Nerea, whom I met in Luang Prabang. She just arrived on the islands a few hours ago and kindly reserved a bungalow next to hers for me. Unfortunately, I don’t have any information on the name of the guest house. So once I disembark from the small wooden boat at the shore of Don Det, I resort to showing a picture of her in a hammock to the locals.

A kind expat recognizes the angle of the image and directs me to the other side of the small island. And at the end of a small dirt road I find “Mr Ky’s Sunset Bungalows”. The 5 huts are all facing the Mekong and each has its own little porch with a hammock swinging in the light breeze. Nerea is reading in the hammock in front of hut number 4 and the kind lady from the reception opens hut number 2 for me. After a refreshing shower and settling in, Nerea, the Dutch people in the other huts and me watch the gorgeous sunset together. The program for the next day is easily determined: we rent bikes for 1 USD each per day and are off down the dirt road.

Compared to the Bolaven Plateau the mid-day heat is brutal. But we have a visit to several waterfalls and a bath in the Mekong to look forward to. We cross the old railway bridge connecting Don Det and Don Khone and pass the teenage school kids in uniforms on the way to class. One of the Dutch guys leads the way and we soon arrive at the first waterfall. However, the bridge once leading across it has seen better days and the restaurant is closed too. Nerea and I are quite hungry, so we decide to return to the railway bridge where we’ve seen a nice restaurant. The Dutch people want to complete the circular route around the island and so we part ways for now.

After a delicious lunch with a view, we finally reach the Li Phi Somphamit Waterfalls, where we meet our 3 other friends again. After taking some pictures, the 5 of us hike down to a nearby beach and jump into the Mekong for a refreshing bath. For a while we play like kids with the stones, the sand and the current. Then it‘s already almost sunset time, for which we want to be back at our guesthouse. We pedal over the rail bridge and across Don Det. By now we‘re soaked in sweat once again so the next programme point is to shower. After another magnificent sunset, we head to dinner at one of the touristy place down the main road and end the day at the closeby reggae bar.

I decide to postpone my departure for another day and after buying my bus ticket for the crossing to Cambodia, return to the bike shop. The Dutch people are already on their kayak tour and Nerea wanted to sleep in. So I pay the 1 USD rental fee and drive off on the dirt track along the other side of the island by myself. I pass wooden stilt huts, men burning rubbish on the roadside, freely crazing cows, and lots of kids enjoying their extra day off from school due to Laos National Day. My first goal is the old French port at the very end of Don Khone. I arrive shortly before lunch, and after a quick excursion of the port ruins, decide to sit down at the restaurant on the top of the cliff. The view of the Mekong Delta separating Laos and Cambodia is amazing and the curry I order too.

Fullly stuffed, I make my way back north on the asphalt road. Shortly before reaching the waterfall form yesterday, I turn left onto the bumpy dirt road and at its end find Khongyai Beach. Its remote location and the closed restaurant make it a well hidden location where only few tourists and local couples come. After exploring the small makeshift harbour for fishing boats, I pass the afternoon swimming next to the water buffaloes and reading. I watch the longtail boats bringing families upstream and fishermen zipping through the currents to their preferred hunting spots. Then, I feel the first rain drops announcing the evening shower and quickly gather my things to return to my bungalow.

Fortunately, I make it back dry. As we‘re watching the sunset from our usual spot, we see the dark rain clouds drifting across the Mekong, just far enough north that we are spared from the downpour. That night, the Dutch people want to go back to the pizza place we went to on the first evening. As Nerea and I were not convinced, we join a Spanish guy who just arrived for a delicious dinner at the most popular burger restaurant on the islands. The food is delicious, but the typical 2 hour waiting time in Laos feels even longer than usual. A welcome source of entertainment is a visit to the toilet which is home to a wild chicken.

After another relaxing night in the comfortable bungalow, it’s time for me to say goodbye to Don Det, Nerea and Laos. But first, we go for a quick brunch at Mama Tanons. Then, while Nerea once again rents a bicycle for the day, I make my way to the beach where the boat that takes me back to Nakasong is already waiting. If you want to know how much I had to pay for bribes to make it to Cambodia, feel free to read my post on overland border crossings.