24 Hours Later
Now we're really south, as south as one can be in Laos. We're on the south end of Don Det, an island of Si Phan Don, otherwise known as 4,000 Islands, which border Cambodia. We're staying in a bungalow overlooking the Mekong, in which men and children throw castnets, set gillnets, and attempt other means of catching dinner. A bridge on this side of the island connects Don Det with Don Khone. Other than laying in hammocks on the deck reading, Scott and I also walked up along the side of the Mekong, jumped in, and floated back to our guesthouse - an activity I could spend hours doing.
Besides the fact that these islands inspire such low energy activity, Scott and I have a legitimate reason to be lazy - we traveled for 24 hours to get here.
Shortly after 11 am yesterday, we had to pry ourselves away from swimming in the refreshing river of Kong Lo, an awe-inspiring 7-kilometer cave, and walk back to our guesthouse for a noon checkout. Plus, depending on how it all worked out, there was a possibility of some traveling ahead of us.
As we walk out of our guesthouse all packed and ready, we see people loading up into a songthaew heading for Ba Na Him, the closest biggish village, so we jump on as well. It is around noon and we haven't eaten yet, but I assume sometime in the midst of waiting for public transportation, we will find a moment to scarf down food.
Shortly after pulling into the bus/taxi/songthaew stand in Ba Na Him, a huge bus pulls up and stops. It is headed for Vientiane, where we had come from the day prior. The bus is going in the wrong direction - north instead of south - but it will drop us at the junction where we'll find transportation south, so we jump on. By the time get to the junction, it is 2 pm.
There are a couple of restaurants at the junction and I am about to plop down at one of them and order when a man a man appears and says he has a songthaew going to Tha Keak - a town south. Since we don't know what other options south will present themselves, we jump on. During the ride, Scott and I decide we will try to get all the way to Pakse, which means finding another bus in Tha Keak.
Two hours later, our songthaew pulls into the Tha Keak bus station almost at the same time as a huge, filled-to-the-brim bus going to Pakse pulls in. We buy our tickets and cram our way into the already full bus packed with people, cargo on the roof, rice sacks, and at least four motorbikes in the aisle of the bus. Usually for people overflow, the busses have plastic stools to put in the aisle for people to sit on. With the scooters though, there is no room for the stools, so people sit on the scooters themselves.
The journey is crowded, uncomfortable, hot, and long, longer than we had anticipated. I had read the guidebook that Pakse was 6-7 hours from Tha Keak, putting our arrival into Pakse between 10:30-11 pm, late but not terribly late. Well, it isn't the first time the guidebook's been wrong. The trip takes 8-9 hours. Add that to 2 hours when the bus was stopped doing god-knows-what, and you have Scott and I arriving in Pakse around 3:15 am.
At this point, Scott's logic is that it's too late and not worth the money to get a guesthouse, so we find a gazebo to sit under and read. And wait.
Around 4:30 am, a tuktuk offers to take us to the bus station 8 kilometers away for a reasonable price so we hop on. We barely go 500 meters before we pull up to a bus going to Ban Nakasan - the jump off town for the 4,000 Islands.
Around 5 am, we find ourselves tired, a bit confused to be on an almost empty bus, but definitely heading in the right direction.
By 7:45 am, we're finally sitting down and eating a proper meal of noodle soup. With food in our stomachs, we walk the 3 kilometers in the morning heat to the ferry dock in Ban Nakasan. The ferry to Don Det is fast and painless. Once we arrive, we, again, walk the few kilometers to the other side of the island. By 11:30 am, we're both tired and sweating, but we're each laying in a hammock overlooking the Mekong, which makes the previous 24 hours totally worth it.
*
Now, it's night time. I hear the crickets and cicadas and geckos and the occassional scooter going over the bridge. I see the lights of Don Khone and the shimmering star-filled sky.
Besides the fact that these islands inspire such low energy activity, Scott and I have a legitimate reason to be lazy - we traveled for 24 hours to get here.
Shortly after 11 am yesterday, we had to pry ourselves away from swimming in the refreshing river of Kong Lo, an awe-inspiring 7-kilometer cave, and walk back to our guesthouse for a noon checkout. Plus, depending on how it all worked out, there was a possibility of some traveling ahead of us.
As we walk out of our guesthouse all packed and ready, we see people loading up into a songthaew heading for Ba Na Him, the closest biggish village, so we jump on as well. It is around noon and we haven't eaten yet, but I assume sometime in the midst of waiting for public transportation, we will find a moment to scarf down food.
Shortly after pulling into the bus/taxi/songthaew stand in Ba Na Him, a huge bus pulls up and stops. It is headed for Vientiane, where we had come from the day prior. The bus is going in the wrong direction - north instead of south - but it will drop us at the junction where we'll find transportation south, so we jump on. By the time get to the junction, it is 2 pm.
There are a couple of restaurants at the junction and I am about to plop down at one of them and order when a man a man appears and says he has a songthaew going to Tha Keak - a town south. Since we don't know what other options south will present themselves, we jump on. During the ride, Scott and I decide we will try to get all the way to Pakse, which means finding another bus in Tha Keak.
Two hours later, our songthaew pulls into the Tha Keak bus station almost at the same time as a huge, filled-to-the-brim bus going to Pakse pulls in. We buy our tickets and cram our way into the already full bus packed with people, cargo on the roof, rice sacks, and at least four motorbikes in the aisle of the bus. Usually for people overflow, the busses have plastic stools to put in the aisle for people to sit on. With the scooters though, there is no room for the stools, so people sit on the scooters themselves.
The journey is crowded, uncomfortable, hot, and long, longer than we had anticipated. I had read the guidebook that Pakse was 6-7 hours from Tha Keak, putting our arrival into Pakse between 10:30-11 pm, late but not terribly late. Well, it isn't the first time the guidebook's been wrong. The trip takes 8-9 hours. Add that to 2 hours when the bus was stopped doing god-knows-what, and you have Scott and I arriving in Pakse around 3:15 am.
At this point, Scott's logic is that it's too late and not worth the money to get a guesthouse, so we find a gazebo to sit under and read. And wait.
Around 4:30 am, a tuktuk offers to take us to the bus station 8 kilometers away for a reasonable price so we hop on. We barely go 500 meters before we pull up to a bus going to Ban Nakasan - the jump off town for the 4,000 Islands.
Around 5 am, we find ourselves tired, a bit confused to be on an almost empty bus, but definitely heading in the right direction.
By 7:45 am, we're finally sitting down and eating a proper meal of noodle soup. With food in our stomachs, we walk the 3 kilometers in the morning heat to the ferry dock in Ban Nakasan. The ferry to Don Det is fast and painless. Once we arrive, we, again, walk the few kilometers to the other side of the island. By 11:30 am, we're both tired and sweating, but we're each laying in a hammock overlooking the Mekong, which makes the previous 24 hours totally worth it.
*
Now, it's night time. I hear the crickets and cicadas and geckos and the occassional scooter going over the bridge. I see the lights of Don Khone and the shimmering star-filled sky.
posted by Siapiau | 9:47 PM
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