4,000 Islands (Again), June 16th – 20th, 2019

Sunday, June 16:

On Sunday we woke up early and ventured into Pakse, we were very excited as our friends Laura and Duncan’s airplane was landing in the afternoon. Duncan is around my age so I was looking forward to actually being able to talk to a friend in English! We greeted Laura and Duncan at the airport and then all had dinner together back at our hotel. We then got a good nights sleep, as the next morning we would be heading down to one of the 4,000 islands – Don Khone.

Monday, June 17:

In the morning we took a van down to the 4,000 islands ferry. It was a long drive but Duncan and I were able to talk to keep ourselves entertained. We soon arrived at the ferry dock and took the little boat to Don Khone.

Unfortunately, the driver dropped us off on the opposite side of the island from our resort… so we had a little bit of a walk. We stopped for lunch and then continued to the Sengaloone Resort which you may remember is the same place Mom and I stayed last time with my Auntie Nancy and Uncle Pat. At the Sengaloone Duncan and I both went for a refreshing swim in the pool. We then all walked down the road and came across a funky temple that we nicknamed the “cat temple” because there were so many cats there.

Tuesday, June 18:

Today we got up bright and early and had delicious crepes for breakfast. We then got on our rental bikes and peddled down to the waterfalls, which were the same waterfalls that we went to last time – but we wanted to show them to Laura and Duncan. Unlike our last visit to the falls we decided to go on the zip line course that was offered. So we got harnessed up and climbed up a lot of steps to get to the platform. The zip lining was really fun, and I wasn’t too scared either having done the very high-up zip lining at Tad Fane already, the scariest parts were probably a couple of very wobbly bridges that we had to cross over. It was also nice because I could speak Lao with our zip line guides, I ended up teaching one of the guides a few words in English. The only downside to the zip lining was that a couple of the platforms were covered in giant, red fire ants that really hurt when they bite.

After the zip lining we walked along the beach near the waterfalls.

We were then going to take a boat to see the Irrawaddy dolphins – but we were very tired, and hungry so we decided to go back to the hotel. We relaxed for the rest of the afternoon and then went out for dinner with Pat (the Cuso volunteer that came to Laos at the same time as us), as she was also at Don Khone with her friend. At dinner my Mom and I tried the classic Lao “Sweet sticky rice and mango” dessert for the first time. It was soooo good, and I can’t believe I waited the eight months we’ve been here before trying it!

Wednesday, June 19:

For our last full day down at the islands we knew that we needed to show Laura and Duncan the dolphins. So we biked out to the edge of the island and took a boat to the dolphin spot. Even though I had already done the boat ride I really enjoyed it the second time, as it was absolutely beautiful and I think we saw even more of the dolphins than we did the first time. We cycled back and over the bridge to the neighbouring island “Don Det” where we had lunch (a delicious chicken and ginger stir fry!). From there we biked around Don Det and we got to see more of the island, we even found a shop that sold “Quebec approved poutine”. On our bike ride, we also saw many animals (cows, water buffalo, geese, dogs, and cats to name a few!).

In the evening we walked to a restaurant for dinner and Mom and I couldn’t resist having another sticky rice and mango dish (they’re just too good!). Before bed we all watched a movie together.

Thursday, June 20:

It was now time to leave Don Khone for good, we were picked up on the little “ferry boat” early in the morning and shuttled back to the mainland. We then caught the van back to Pakse. From Pakse we went to the rental car shop (as Laura was renting a car for us to take to Laongam) and started the drive to Laongam.

That’s all for 4,000 islands, I really miss the place and the atmosphere and I hope I can go back in the future. I have a little bit to post about our time in Laongam with Laura and Duncan so that will be coming soon. Bye for now!

*Word of the Day: Khao niaow mak muang (Pronounced: Kao-nee-ow-mak-moo-ung), it is the name of the sticky rice and mango dish. In Lao “Khao niaow” means “Sticky rice” and “Mak muang” means “Mango”!