Motoadventures2up: Four Thousand Islands

In Laos, near the end of the Mekong River and around 4300 km from its origin, is the archipelago called Four Thousand Islands. Here the river starts to dump some of the silt it has collected along its journey, creating dots of islands surrounded by fingers of water. Many of the islands are inhabited by locals with only a generator for power but a few are set up for tourists. We chose the island of Don Khon for our stay, it has only a dozen or so guesthouses and restaurants with not much more to do than relax, read, rent a bike for a day ride (we rented bikes and circumvented both the island of Don Khon and Don Det) and visit a waterfall or two. We stayed 4 nights and enjoyed the island life. Just a reminder to anyone who is on their way, there are no ATMs or banks so bring all the money you will need! and be prepared to stay longer than you planned!

One of the many fingers of the Mekong River as it flows by the island of Don Khon.

Ken sits on the verandah of Pan's Guesthouse, 120,000 kip/night (a little more expensive than some but worth it!)

A fisherman paddling his long boat. Behind him you can see the bridge that joins Don Khon to Don Det islands. The bridge is an old railway bridge that was built by the French when they were running boats up the Mekong river. Because the Tat Somphamit waterfall was impassable by boat, they dismantled the boats, put them on a train and transported them upriver safely past the waterfall where they were put back together and put back in the water to continue upstream.

The Laos children are adorable and mostly very happy, but this little girl caught my eye because she was very shy. Notice that the toy she is playing with is a syringe???not my idea of a great educational tool.