A haphazard chronicle of my inevitable misadventures during a year in Vietnam and points east.

p.s. I'll be pitifully grateful if you send me email during my exile: TravelerKaty@hotmail.com

October 2002 November 2002 December 2002 January 2003 February 2003 March 2003 April 2003 May 2003 June 2003 July 2003 August 2003 September 2003 October 2003 November 2003 February 2006 March 2006 May 2006

 
Don Det, Laos

I liked southern Laos far more than I expected. Over the months I've grown somewhat jaded on the whole massive Asian river thing. Two days on the Ayerayewaddy in Myanmar was stultifying, and I've done boat trips on the Mekong in three different countries. I've seen more than my share of tropical agricultural basins and slow-moving brown water.

The Mekong in southern Laos is a whole different bag of rice, however, and forced me to see the river not as a meandering source of bathing facilities and irrigation, but as an unbelievably powerful force complicating as well as aiding trade in the region. The Mekong here is vast and yet moves dangerously quickly. The area surrounding Si Phan Don, or The 4000 Islands, is perhaps the most treacherous part of the river system. During the dry season when the river is low, this 50 km section between the Lao and Cambodian border sprouts hundreds of islands, thousands if you count every sand bar. Larger islands remain above water year around and contain self-sufficient Lao villages making a living by fishing the Mekong and growing their own rice, vegetables and farm animals in the interior.

But it is not the islands that make the Mekong virtually unnavigable along this border, it's the 15km of rapids and waterfalls as the river makes its most significant drop in elevation. These are not your serene waterfalls with lovely reflective pools to frolic in below. These are the sorts of waterfalls from which you keep a healthy distance for fear you will topple down a steep bank and be crushed to powder in the overwhelming rocky churning violence of the silt-filled water. The combined power of the Mekong itself, its tributaries and a good monsoon season makes for incredible viewing.

By contrast, everything on these islands is in slow motion apart from the river. On Don Det, the most rural and undeveloped of the islands that serve tourists, getting the drink you ordered is easily a half hour to 45 minute process, and the wise traveller orders her dinner at least an hour before she expects to be hungry. The delay is not generally due to a great demand or strain on the restaurant, either. The island was practically deserted, with no more than 25 tourists in total. After 3 days I pretty much knew them all at least by sight, and had had meals with over half of them.

After 12 months in Asia that kind of thing no longer bothers me, however. Speedy (or indeed accurate) service is not a familiar concept in Asia, particularly in Laos where they're fine with the fact that tourists have shown up unexpectedly but don't see any particular reason to alter their normal routines. My blood pressure would be through the roof if I let these things annoy me. Besides, when it takes 45 minutes to get the correct drink it means you drink less and chat more. Three hour meals are the norm rather than the exception among travellers who have found their way to this remote area.

Don Det is not the ideal destination for every tourist, I must admit, though it was perfect for me. It is reachable only by boat (duh, it's an island) and has no motorized land transportation. Indeed it possesses no roads whatsoever, just windy dirt paths that develop rather daunting mud puddles after the rain, which is frequent. Consequently, you must carry your luggage from the boat landing (a generous name for it, since it consists of a slippery bank with a couple of poles to tie the boats to) to the guesthouse of your choice, which could be anywhere from 20 yards to a mile and a half away. Fortunately there are many choices, all $1 a night regardless of their state of decrepitude and virtually identical in design -- stilted bamboo huts with bed, balcony, hammock, mosquito net and small oil lamp. Shared shower and toilet facilities (usually of the Chinese squat variety) are down the path, and it's wise to bathe before dark as the bathroom light is mysteriously located on the outside rather than the inside. I found out my 3rd day that the water we used was pumped straight from the Mekong. My hair could definitely be cleaner, but since mirrors and even sinks were obviously considered unneccessary luxuries, I didn't give it too much thought. I didn't see a mirror in 4 days and all the male tourists on the island were starting to grow beards.

It's a bit primitive for the average non-backpacking western tourist, but the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks. My bungalow was right on the river; I spit my toothpaste into the Mekong each morning. After a grueling day of lying in the hammock, taking a walk/bike ride/boat trip, and sharing a three hour lunch, I could sit in the restaurant of my guesthouse and watch the sun set opulently over the Mekong and the tropical mountains beyond while sipping iced lime juice (sometimes laced with Lao rice whisky --whew, is that strong!) and talking travel with people from all over the world. Don Det isn't paradise, but with indoor plumbing it could come pretty darned close.

Copyright 2003 Katy Warren
posted by Katy at 7:52 PM