May 1, 2016
Pakse to Don Khon
We left the hotel at about 7:15 and cycled down to the southern bus station near the market called "8 km Market" which is,suprise suprise, 8 kms from the centre of Pakse down route 13. As we pulled into the bus bus station we had two touts shouting "Nakasong, Nakasong" at us so we chose the one with the slightly better looking Songthaew (40K kip each including bikes). We loaded the bicycles, bought some breakfast (sticky rice, chicken kebabs and sliced green mangos) and hopped into the back of the Songthaew, squeezing passed the bags of rice to just behind the cab.
Apart from the bags of rice we also had a large box of pre-used motor spares, a large floor-standing fan, various bags and boxes of unidentifiable goods and a cage with some chickens. There was also a large fighting cock that was being lovingly cared for by a Laotion in a manner one would think would be more appropriate if the rooster was his favourite girlfriend. I have no idea what was on the roof in addition to our bicycles.
Opposite us and separated from us by a row of rice bags sat a young Vietnamese lady and her father (well, that what I think the relationship was) and towards the back of the Songthaew were all the Laotians. Very much a scene of racial segregation.
Upon arrival in Ban Nakasong, we loaded the bikes and cycled the 400 meters from the bus station down to the dock where we bought tickets for a long-tail boat across to Don Det (15K each plus 5K for each bicycle). The road from the Don Det landing to the French Brudge and onto Don Khon is a roughish track but is only about 3 kms. At the bridge crossing is a sign stating that falangs are supposed to pay 35K to gain access to the island but there was nobody at the sign so we simply cycled onto Don Khon.
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
I must admit, the first few guesthouses we looked at seemed very rough and ready and none too clean. It also looks like the "happy" restaurants have invaded Don Khon, something I understood was restricted to Don Det. Since our plan was to spend a couple of days here doing very little, we felt we needed something better so we decided to fork out the 40 dollars a night for one of the floating rooms at Sala Done Khone. At least twice the price we would normally pay but they are large, clean and each one has a private balcony where one can enjoy a quiet drink in a lounger or have a dip in the Mekhong. There is also a lovely pool. It does give one a sense of being excluded from the rest of the island's inhabitants and visitors but maybe, to some degree, that is what we were looking for after.
The 15 days leading up to today have all been cycling days and today was the first time we have used transport other than our bicycles since the 10th of April. It is also the first time we will be spending more than one night in a town since Vientiane so we felt that it was not out of order to spoil ourselves a bit.
Today's ride: 15 km (9 miles)
Total: 2,265 km (1,407 miles)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 0 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 0 |