Jun 2, 2019

Don Det, Laos

There is a bridge connecting Don Det with Don Khon, another island on the south. These islands are perfect to be explored by bicycle. You'll meet plenty of friendly locals, waving kids, and water buffalos along the way. Pick one of the bars at the East side of the island to catch an awesome sunset.

Jun 1, 2019

Don Det, Laos

The Mekong Irrawaddy dolphin is an endangered species, with less than 100 individuals remaining. From those, only 3 can be found in the southern Laos. When I learned this, I decided to do the full-day waterfall tour. It consisted of kayaking in the Mekong river, going to two massive waterfall, and the highlight of the tour, seeing the dolphins. Quite an intense but awesome day.

May 31, 2019

Don Det, Laos

Traveling in low season has its pros and cons. Obviously the pros are that places aren't flooded with tourists and prices are usually cheaper. However that comes with a price: most boats, buses, tours, etc. require a minimum of people to be profitable. So in low season they just aren't available, or you have to pay full price. That's what happened today: the ferry from Don Khong to Don Det wasn't available, so I had to pay an "expensive" motorcycle ride instead.

May 30, 2019

Don Khong, Laos

Today was quite an adventure! I traveled more than 400km to the very south of Laos. I started the day with an early bus to Pakse, then a very precarious passenger truck got me to Hat Xai Khun. At this point it's already pitch black, and I had to walk around a small village where no one spoke English to find a way to cross the Mekong river. Eventually some one woke up the boat driver that took me to Don Khong.

May 29, 2019

Thakhek, Laos

Thakhek is mostly known as the start and end of "The Laos Loop", a 400km loop that goes through beautiful caves and landscape. However, from the beginning of this trip, I said to myself I wouldn't ride a motorcycle. I was warned by several friends about how dangerous it is, and all the injured tourists I keep seeing in hostels confirmed this. But where there's a will, there's a way. So I rented a bicycle today and biked about 50km to visit 2 of the closest caves of the loop. It was amazing, and quite a good workout!

May 28, 2019

Thakhek, Laos

Another day spent almost entirely on a bus. I made the rookie mistake of taking a local bus, which stopped in every single village on the road. A couple extra dollars would have saved me two hours, or even more. Lesson learned. I made it to Thakhek by the end of the day.

May 27, 2019

Vientiane, Laos

Today I visited Buddha Park, a park with dozens statues of Buddha, mixing Buddhism and Hinduism. Quite an odd place, especially for the complete lack of explanation. I changed hostels today as well. I rarely do so, but as it was written in the vandalized bathroom of my previous hostel: "If you don't like where you are, move. You're not a tree". Wisest words I've read in a bathroom stall.