This is Robin and Cramer walking to the long boat that takes us to Don Det.
This is the dock and beach.
Our plan is to wake up, bring the scooters back, buy a bus ticket to the 4,000 Islands in southern Lao, and grab some breakfast. Its only about 2 hours away and we think that there is a bus that leaves at 9am. Luckily we're up pretty early at about 7:30am. We take the scooters back and try to get a ticket. One problem the only buses are at 7:45am and 8:00am. It is now about 8:00am. A mini van is just turning the corner and the guy runs over and waves him down. We grab our stuff from our room and pay the bill and hop in the mini van just in time. I guess no breakfast today. Plus when I jump in the van, Robin, our Dutch friend from the other night is sitting there. Things seem to be working out. There are some other English kids in the back. The ride is smooth. We make one stop half way for a bathroom break and little kids and old ladies are there to sell us water, bananas, chicken, and even some tasty looking grasshoppers on a stick. I grab a banana on a stick for breakfast and we're off again. The guy lets us out at a little village on the river. We walk down and buy a ticket for the long boat ferry. About 8 of us jump in the boat with our packs and 10 minutes later we pull up to Don Det. The place is kind of crazy. It looks like a shanty town resort or some kind of summer camp in the tropics for adults. Little shacks running down both sides of the island. Tons of little guest houses (more like little huts), small bars and restaurants line the narrow dirt road on both sides. We take a recommendation from the mini van driver and grab a room at the Souksan Hotel, which is directly to the right when we hop off the boat. After paying about $15 a night so far on the trip the guy tells us a fan room on the river for 3 people is 40,000 kip per night. Which actually comes out to $5/ night. I guess we can save some money on lodging. The room has 3 beds since our buddy Robin is trying to go as cheap as possible so he's in too. There are two fans in the room, we have a porch overlooking the Mekong River, and a shared bathrooms and showers that are about 30 feet away. After having AC everynight to fall asleep to, I'm thinking this may have some drawbacks.
One thing about being over here, or at least at this latitude is that the heat, humidity, and the tropical sun never let up. Cramer and I just seem to be sweating a lot more than everyone else. Must be because we're fat Americans or something. The only time is cools down is when it rains. The rain may last for 30 minutes, but as soon as it stops... BAM: heat, humidity, and sweating. We decide to take a swim in the river. We meet an English girl named Kim whose 21. She's been over here for 6 months then she's going to the states for another 6 months. She actually knows Wisconsin, because she absolutely loves the 70's Show. We also meet 2 other people from the Netherlands: Adinda and Claride, 18 and 19 respectively. They are really sweet girls who are traveling the area (Lao and Vietnam) for 3 months. Adinda had already been in South America for 3 months before this. Robin and a few other people jump in too. River beach party! After checking out the island a little bit we start drinking once the sun sets, which is about 6:30pm here. Since we're close to the equator its about even amount of light and dark per day. Sunrise around 6am, sunset around 6:30pm. After a few drinks Cramer, Robin, and I are joined by the two Dutch girls. The beers start flowing and we're having a great time. We walk down the path where most of the restaurants, bars, and huts are. We stop at a place quite aways down, grab some food, more beer, and have some intense conversation. The manager of the bar/resaurant is a Lao lady named Annie. She is pretty cool and thinks I'm crazy, which I probably am at this point. We make one final stop at the Reggae Bar. They are cranking out the Bob Marley and the place is packed with Europeans backpackers. I buy some beers for our group and notice the menu has many things that make you "happy". After awhile we head back to pass out in our new room.
This is main street on Don Det.
This is called the sunrise side of the island, where most all the little guest shacks and restaurants are.
Invasion of the Dutch: Robin, Adinda, Claride getting crazy.
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