4,000 Islands. What a dream...
We left Tad Lo village by bus the next morning and arrived in Pakse midday. As we were looking for a bus going to the islands, we only found a tuktuk cramped with a ton of locals, chickens and little pigs in a basket. Apparently we were out of options since it was late afternoon already so we threw or backpacks up on top and wiggled into our wooden seats in the back of a truck transformed into a passenger car with a roof and natural air conditioning from the wind. The locals were a bit apprehensive about being nice to us because they usually don't see falangs (tourists) taking local transportation with them. The four hour ride to Ban Nakasang, turned out to be a great experience of smiling at really old locals who were missing a bunch of teeth yet smiled the brightest smiles at us. And laughing with the kids siting next to us and making silly faces at them. After repairing a flat tire on the way and picking up a huge stack of roof squares made out of leaves and piling them on top of the truck, we finally arrived into town in one piece. As the local people from the tuktuk were getting off at their villages, they all waved goodbye to us and said some words that we assumed to be a bon voyage type of things.
After walking down the street to the boat landing, we paid or our ticket to cross over to the Don Det island. Once we loaded our bags in the little wooden boat, we took off to the island. After a couple minutes though the boatman turned around for some reason. But as soon as we saw the pier, we realized why. There was another tourist there so the boat driver didn't want to make two separate trips. It turned out to be Jake from Boston, the first American I met on my trip. After making introductions we all decided to look for a guesthouse together. We settled on riverfront bungalows at Mr. Phao's Riverview with Raquel and I sharing a bungalow once again and Jake being a couple bungalows down from us. A true bargain was what we got; 20,000kip for a bungalow without a bathroom. And the location was truly lovely. So serene and beautiful. As soon as we dropped our bags inside, we went in for a dip in the river since the day was an absolute scorcher. Later on, the three of us went out for a delicious dinner at an Indian restaurant. We all were beat from the day's journey so we turned in early.
The next morning Raquel, Jake and I rented bicycles and headed South of the island to see waterfalls and freshwater dolphins. The dolphins were a bit a disappointment and a scam though. He boat men said that they take us out far into the Cambodian waters to see the dolphins, but then what they did was take us across to the closest piece of land which they called the viewing point. We saw a couple dolphins from far away, but I wouldn't really call it dolphin watching. Then we got back on the boat, hovered far away from the dolphins and then headed back. Not the best experience but I guess being on the boat was fun. After that we cycled over to where the big waterfall was. The riding part would've been much better of the bicycles were actually the right side for tall adults. Yeah, my legs were hurting properly after the day. We ended our tour of the area at a small sandy beach where the fishermen were pulling in after a day of working.
I was starving by the time we got back to our guesthouse and all three of us ordered Mr. Phao's Happy Pizzas and mojitos. Sadly, the mojito was not really a mojito, but a lot of Laolao with some mint leaves, sugar and soda water. Wayy too strong. Oh well, at least the pizza was good and happy it was indeed. We were fighting some serious munchies later on. That night ended with some relaxation time in the hammock while listening to my Bungalow Tunes playlist. A compilation of nice and relaxing happy music.
The next day was spent swimming in the river all day, uploading pictures, swinging in a hammock and looking up flights for my next destinations. And what a relaxing day it was. No worries, nothing to do, just enjoying life.
Unfortunately, towards the evening I started feeling a bit sick and lightheaded. My stomach was going crazy and by the time the evening came, I was really out of it. So I took some medicine, had some plain rice for dinner and went to sleep early. I was hoping that I would feel better in the morning but it was the opposite. I woke up at around 5am feeling quite sick with an even worse headache than the night before. Raquel said I had a bit of a fever. This morning was when I was crossing into Cambodia and heading to Phnom Penh so it was not exactly the best day to travel... I went in the river to wake up a bit and hopefully feel a bit more refreshed. It was a good idea because I felt a bit better, it didn't las long though. Soon after the river I went back to feeling like my head was so heavy and made of rumbling rocks and I just felt weak. I hung out with my little piggy which lived under the restaurant of the guesthouse right near the water. Being around animals always makes me feel better. And it did, but only for a little bit. I gave piggy a banana this morning so he was super happy. I had some bread and lemon juice for breakfast, said goodbye to Raquel and shortly after that, I boarded a boat with Mr. Phao who took me to the boat landing and the delivered me to the bus company which would take over from here on out. And then began my journey to Cambodia.
After walking down the street to the boat landing, we paid or our ticket to cross over to the Don Det island. Once we loaded our bags in the little wooden boat, we took off to the island. After a couple minutes though the boatman turned around for some reason. But as soon as we saw the pier, we realized why. There was another tourist there so the boat driver didn't want to make two separate trips. It turned out to be Jake from Boston, the first American I met on my trip. After making introductions we all decided to look for a guesthouse together. We settled on riverfront bungalows at Mr. Phao's Riverview with Raquel and I sharing a bungalow once again and Jake being a couple bungalows down from us. A true bargain was what we got; 20,000kip for a bungalow without a bathroom. And the location was truly lovely. So serene and beautiful. As soon as we dropped our bags inside, we went in for a dip in the river since the day was an absolute scorcher. Later on, the three of us went out for a delicious dinner at an Indian restaurant. We all were beat from the day's journey so we turned in early.
The next morning Raquel, Jake and I rented bicycles and headed South of the island to see waterfalls and freshwater dolphins. The dolphins were a bit a disappointment and a scam though. He boat men said that they take us out far into the Cambodian waters to see the dolphins, but then what they did was take us across to the closest piece of land which they called the viewing point. We saw a couple dolphins from far away, but I wouldn't really call it dolphin watching. Then we got back on the boat, hovered far away from the dolphins and then headed back. Not the best experience but I guess being on the boat was fun. After that we cycled over to where the big waterfall was. The riding part would've been much better of the bicycles were actually the right side for tall adults. Yeah, my legs were hurting properly after the day. We ended our tour of the area at a small sandy beach where the fishermen were pulling in after a day of working.
I was starving by the time we got back to our guesthouse and all three of us ordered Mr. Phao's Happy Pizzas and mojitos. Sadly, the mojito was not really a mojito, but a lot of Laolao with some mint leaves, sugar and soda water. Wayy too strong. Oh well, at least the pizza was good and happy it was indeed. We were fighting some serious munchies later on. That night ended with some relaxation time in the hammock while listening to my Bungalow Tunes playlist. A compilation of nice and relaxing happy music.
The next day was spent swimming in the river all day, uploading pictures, swinging in a hammock and looking up flights for my next destinations. And what a relaxing day it was. No worries, nothing to do, just enjoying life.
Unfortunately, towards the evening I started feeling a bit sick and lightheaded. My stomach was going crazy and by the time the evening came, I was really out of it. So I took some medicine, had some plain rice for dinner and went to sleep early. I was hoping that I would feel better in the morning but it was the opposite. I woke up at around 5am feeling quite sick with an even worse headache than the night before. Raquel said I had a bit of a fever. This morning was when I was crossing into Cambodia and heading to Phnom Penh so it was not exactly the best day to travel... I went in the river to wake up a bit and hopefully feel a bit more refreshed. It was a good idea because I felt a bit better, it didn't las long though. Soon after the river I went back to feeling like my head was so heavy and made of rumbling rocks and I just felt weak. I hung out with my little piggy which lived under the restaurant of the guesthouse right near the water. Being around animals always makes me feel better. And it did, but only for a little bit. I gave piggy a banana this morning so he was super happy. I had some bread and lemon juice for breakfast, said goodbye to Raquel and shortly after that, I boarded a boat with Mr. Phao who took me to the boat landing and the delivered me to the bus company which would take over from here on out. And then began my journey to Cambodia.
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