Share 4000 Islands – Paksay, Laos, November 2010
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What I did…
The beds were the tightest beds ever for one person, but wait a minute, we have to share! Me and Jase got paired up leaving Ed to spoon a very camp American guy! haha Me and Jase watched Matrix on my iPhone then called it a night. We got zero sleep! Mainly for the fact we were on top bunk and every time we went round a corner I was trying not to fall flat on the floor! Got to Paksay around 6.30 AM ready for the 4 hour seated bus journey to the 4000 Islands. I looked around for my bag, shit! Where was it, I hope it’s not been left behind! I look round to see it on the top of a random Tuk Tuk going off into the town of Paksay! Just in time I rescued my bag off the top! Phew.
Got a long tail boat across the Mekong river to Don Khon, one of the 4000. Jase played doctor for the 1st time and took great pleasure running iodine through my leg! We had a stroll then decided it was time for an afternoon beer. Nakhon beers all round please! We met up with the English and Auzzies we came from Vientiane with. We attempted to play some drinking games but no one could master the simplest of rules so we gave up and just drank at our own pace.
We explored the Island on push bikes to find a beach, rapids and an elusive waterfall that got away. Met a nice couple over dinner and exchanged travel stories… early night with a beer and Pulp Fiction off my iPhone.
Packed our bags and moved to another Island called Don Khong, this is the biggest of the 4000 Islands, but also has the least to do. We explored the island on push bikes but all we found were small villages and an endless straight road! Few beers on the balcony and to bed. I had the strangest dream about a giant strand of hair that I kept snapping in half and every time I snapped it it got dirtier and dirtier! That’s Doxy for you!
We got a boat then minibus to Paksay, we almost hit a cow on the way! We scoped out motorbikes for the following day, no Autos! Manual bikes only, you have to learn some time! My leg by the way, you can still see the bone in the middle, well near enough to the bone for me to keep moaning on about it!
Got up extra early for a mini motorbike trip (can I call them motorbikes with gears, without a clutch John Green?) round the local area. We headed off down route 23 out of Pakse towards Paksong. Along the way we stopped off at 4 different waterfalls, each very impressive in their own way. Jase and Ed had a dip in one, I had to give it a miss due to my knee! We saw the highest waterfall in Laos at 120 M high (in the photos there are 2 defined falls right next to each other). We got back just before dark as our bikes did not have any lights!
We grabbed a well deserved beer and then headed out for some food. We stumbled across a local restaurant near a bus station that was full of Laos people around our age. We sat down as the only white people in there and got stared at quite a bit! The menu was a little different to most places we had eat at, offering Cricket Fried Rice or Eels with Chili… hmmm, maybe next time! Jase and Ed had frog, I had Squid with Shrimp. They both came out in the same sauce which was good, but so hot I could not taste anything by the 3rd mouthful! A Cornetto on the way home took the sting out of it!
Night bus back to Vientiane was probably the best yet as I got a whole bed to myself and actually got some sleep! So we are back in the capital with a chilled day in mind. Might even go and get myself another one of those world famous Chocolate Swedish!
I have picked out a few photos from the many I have took (nearly 600) just to get a taste of what we saw. Tune in soon for Tubing! Will my leg be OK to get in the river? I hope so!