Laos: Don Det

Yesterday and today were pretty similar days here in Don Det. After spending some time in the mirror laughing at my previous night's stair-sailing injuries, I hopped in the river for a quick morning swim before breakfast. Erin and I then rented bicycles, found two of our guy friends, Neal and Ally, and the four of us peddled through cow pastures and over a bridge to neighboring Don Khon Island.

We rolled up to a sandy white beach, and after I swam out and checked the depth of the water, we proceeded to partake in some cliff jumping from the top of a massive rock jutting out of the middle of the river. After we were all jumped out, we ate lunch at a little cafe before peddling to an impressive waterfall in the forest.

After multiple bike-chain mishaps along the way home, we finally arrived back at our bungalow just after sunset. Erin and I had another quiet dinner, met up with the others, and just hung out with our four favorite boys outside their bungalows to the glow of candlelight. Erin was tired and called it a night around midnight while I was too lazy to get out of my hammock. The next thing I knew, I awoke, still in my hammock in the pitch-black silence of night. I dragged my tired self back to our bungalow and into bed, shocked to realize that I had slept for over three hours outside.

This morning I once again went for a quick swim out to my little island in the river before Erin and I rented bikes and met the boys back on the riverside beach. They were in the middle of more cliff jumping, but Erin and I were too bruised and battered from yesterday to join them.

After lunch, we chartered two small boats that took us out to a small rock in the middle of the river a few kilometers away near the Cambodian border. Here, we kept our eyes open for a glimpse of the rare Irawaddy Dolphins. We were not disappointed in our efforts, as the dolphins occassionally poked their heads out of the water. I cannot say I was ecstatic about my dolphin sighting, as I did grow up near Florida, but it was thrilling to realize that there are only a handgul of Irawaddy Dolphins left in the world, and even though they were far away, I was fortunate to see them.

Erin and I managed to peddle home in time to watch the sunset over the river from our hammocks. We then ate dinner with our group, once again finding ourselves, in hammocks, outside their bungalows that evening. Finally around midnight, Erin and I said our final goodbyes (we have been traveling with some of these boys for a couple weeks now!) and drifted back to our bungalow, preparing for tomorrow's journey to Cambodia.

Laos has been fifteen days of pure paradise, and I am going to be so sad to have to leave, especially Si Phan Don. There is no doubt in my mind that I will come back one day, but I do not want to envision what tourism would have done to the place by then! However, I am looking forward to Cambodia, as well!