Si Phon Don - Been There, Don Det

or "Hammock Time, The Remix"

Si Phon Don is a chain of islands in the Mekong River at the southern most point in Laos.  Only a few are inhabited; they are about the chillest of spots as can be found on this great globe of ours.   Talk about lazy days - hanging in hammocks overlooking the river, under the shade of palm trees, with emerald green rice fields, speckled with slothful water buffalo and sundry other livestock.   It's so peaceful and authentic (i.e., living with locals without that normally palpable divide) that you immediately relax with restful smile across your face, a feeling that never leaves until you do.

We took a bus down to these islands, and by "bus," I mean this thing:

Seriously, this was Kate at the 'bus station' standing next to our 'bus.'  We would later cram 30 people on this thing, along with fowl, carburetors, random electronics, boxes of who knows what, and this monk.  The distribution channels over there are incredibly efficient.  You're never just on a bus or a tour, you also stop at a random, roadside shop or hut and pick up some chickens or drop off a stack of buckets at another. It wasn't too bad of a ride, and we were even offered these snacks at stops along the way (biggest regret of the trip was not sampling 3 inch grilled crickets):

But, then Kate got stung by a bee-like thing, and for those who don't know, she's allergic.  We tried to hold off panic as I read her Epipen instructions, and then I crawled up on top of the truck to fish some benedryl out of our bags, stepping on top of people and belongings (no one really called me out on it because they could tell something was wrong).  Luckily she did not have a bad reaction.  Crisis averted, and by crisis, I mean that would've been a serious fricken crisis (hopping off the bus/truck, paying someone to drive us hours back up north to the nearest town with a decent looking clinic - lord knows how far that would be - yikes).

So arriving safe and sound, we hit up two of these islands.  The first was Don Khong, which is the biggest but also the most sleepy. We stayed in a beautifully old wood guesthouse on a strip of dusty road overlooking the river.  All we did on this island was rent some scooters and cruise around the outside of the island, dipping into little towns and getting greeted by all the kids, who would shout "Sabaidee!!" (hello) waving their hands - we felt like celebrities.

This was the "gas station": (man, I'm using a lot of quotes in this one - it's just that kind of place)

Kate actually took a pretty good spill, skidding out in some fine dirt.  She bounced back well, but while we were at dinner on the river, the guy we rented from came up to us complaining that we ruined his bike (it was easy to find us since there were only 3 restaurants, and they're all right next to each other).  I rubbed the dirt off that he pointed out, but then he was going on about the alignment being off.  He wanted $15 bucks, but I was not buying that crapola because I mean part of our rental payment goes to maintenance and there are just too many scammers in SE Asia to go handing money to anyone who cries about his little scooter.  But not wanting to ruin this place for the next westerner, I gave him $6 and he seemed sincerely thankful - so I could return to my dinner.

After one night at this island we headed down to Don Det for 3 nights (part of that catchy title), where we stayed at a bungalow on the river with dual hammocks running us a cool $3.25 a night.  There's me and then the bungalow next to us is where our Chicago buddies stayed (we met up with them at 3 different spots in Laos and Cambodia).

We biked around, walked the path along the river:

Watched sunsets from the bridge:

Ate "happy pizza" and drank "happy shakes" in our hammocks (they put a little something in it that starts with "p" and rhymes with "hot"):

And cavorted with water buffalo, kinda... we cavorted, the buffaloes ate.

Oh, and of course the rice fields and our neighbors:

We were very sad to leave this chillaxing and move on to Cambodia, especially because that's when I got dengue fever.  Kate will take over the Cambodia blogging since I wasn't really participating in that part of the journey, just existing, really... barely.  Sunrise from our bungalow the morning we left:

One more pic because it was so awesome:

Luang Prabang

Luang Prabang was one of our favorite spots on the trip.  It's a quaint blend of French colonialism (architecture, cafes, food) and Lao hospitality.  The streets are beautiful, the food is amazing, and there are cute little monks walking around everywhere (not trying to patronize Buddhism, here, they're just so cute!).  And there is a lot to do around and outside town.

Eating great street food:

Eating street food with our American pals, Aaron and Tamar.  

The quaint streets and temples on our bikes:

Me finding my Budha.  

Our little street:  Our guesthouse lady cooked us an amazing meal, including fish laap, a traditional Lao dish made of chopped meat, and a mix of spices and herbs - so delicious!  

See, look at those cute little monks.

Checking out and swimming in a nearby waterfall - definitely up there with the most beautiful places I've seen:

Then we rode, fed, and bathed elephants... you know, the usual:

It's amazing how strong they are and how tough their skin is.  You literally climb up them to get on and sit on their neck.  You even stand on their heads sometimes.  But they don't care, beats the hell out of the logging business from which they were rescued, where they'd work 12 hour days getting whipped as they dragged trees out of the forest.

Feeding the elephants was a highlight, especially watching Kate get attacked by trunks, I mean feed them:

Don't worry, she got more comfortable around these probing noses:

We highly recommend Laos and Luang Prabang.  Good times indeed.

Gibbon Experience Zip Lining Videos

Enjoy some of our zip lining videos:

OK, this video is taking forever, if it ever loads.  I was trying to post 4 killer vids, but it's almost happy hour and Beer Lao be calling my name.  You know how that goes.  I'll try to add more later.

Slow Boat to Luang Prabang including a Night in Pak Beng

A popular rite of passage for travelers in Laos is taking a two-day slow boat trip down the Mekong River between Huay Xai, a border town with Thailand, to Luang Prabang. Since the trip takes so long it is broken up into two days, which includes an obligatory night in Pak Beng, a town halfway between the 2 places that I think has been entirely set up to accommodate slow boat riders. As usual, we were given very few details about the trip, the boat, the length of the journey, etc. Everything here is on a very need to know basis.

The ride was quite relaxing and the scenery throughout the trip was beautiful. However, the seating arrangements are quite trying as we were given a plastic chair the first day (which everyone discarded and just sat on the hard floor....the lesser of two evils) and a hard wooden bench the second day. No matter how many cushions you you get talked into buying to sit on for the trip, your ass is going to kill you. Nevertheless, it was definitely worth the trip and the boat is a pretty social scene. This is where we met the first Americans we have met on the entire trip. We even met a guy in Pak Beng that lives in Snowmass, CO and went to Boston College, once again confirming what a small world it is. Another person we met in Pak Beng referred to himself as "Mr. Money" and introduced himself by asking if you wanted to buy opium. I guess this is a part of life in the Golden Triangle.

Oh, and an addendum to the "beautiful scenery" line above: on the second day we saw a dead man floating in the river.  We passed it about 10 feet away from the boat.  It was super bloated.  Quite eerie.  And although Kate has seen a dead body or two in her social work days, this was the first dead body I've seen not in a coffin.  Good ole' Mekong river - probably a while before the catfish finish that one off...

Below are some pictures from the 2-day trip:

This was a fellow slow boat on the river.   Everyone hanging on the boat - hard to stay comfortable:

Kids trying to sell us all sorts of snacks and beer and shit.

Good opportunity to make some headway in "War and Peace."

Sun going down on the Mekong.

Our view from our one night layover in Pakbeng.

And sunset as we finally arrived in Luang Prabang:

The Gibbon Experience..from two perspectives

The Gibbon Experience: The Things You Do for Love
By Kate Rubert

The moment I first read about the Gibbon Experience in our guide book several months ago I instantly knew Duncan was going to make me do this 3 day, 2 night trek in the rain forest. Now that it is over, all I have to say is that he owes me....big time. Here's why:
- We were assigned to the oldster, couples group. 2 of the 4 couples were on their honeymoons and one night we had to endure one of these couples having sex. (Everyone was sleeping in one big room in the treehouse). I was actually scared that the treehouse was going to fall down due to the shaking. To make matters worse, there was another group of 7 young internationals that left on the same day but since only 8 could be in the group we had to stay in the group we were assigned.
- Fear of leeches for 3 straight days. Many people refer to this jokingly as "The Leech Experience", as you spend a majority of the trip flicking leeches off your shoes and skin. I was determined not to get a single leech bite and thus had to wear the dorkiest outfit I have ever worn for three days - including high socks over pants. I am still undecided on whether I will release these pictures for public viewing.
- No toilet for 3 days. Only holes...in the ground or out the treehouse, many of which were filled with bees. Oh, there was also no toilet paper and my personal supply for the trip was dwindling.
- Sleeping with spiders the size of Duncan's hand in the treehouse.
- Hours of hiking everyday through muddy jungle trails.
- Ridiculous amounts of mosquitos that no amount of bug spray could prevent.
- Sore ab muscles from ziplining in order to keep up my speed over the 1/4 mile lines.
- Eating rice and vegetables for 3 meals per day.

Despite these issues, it was a once in a lifetime experience, which I'm sure Duncan will go into full detail about below.

The Gibbon Experience: Fucking Awesome!
by Duncan Delano

Picture zip lines crossing deep jungle valleys, piercing through the canopy foliage, up to 300 feet off the ground and up to a quarter mile in length.  Then, picture arriving at your treehouse for the evening--you zip in from some hillside in the rainforest, unable to see 30 feet in front of you as the cable disappears into the bush.  But you clip in and zip away, busting out the trees, and see your treehouse standing at the top of a giant tree.  Fricken Swiss Family Robinson stuff.  And once at your treehouse, the guides let you loose to zip around the jungle at your leisure with no supervision (there are about 30 cables set up).  This goes on for 3 days (which is great, but I'd rather like 8).  I have dreamed of such a place all my life, and finally I found it.  And then the icing on the cake: there is a waterfall near one of the treehouses with a gorgeous swimming hole where you can dunk in and let the whole experience soak in.  Fucking awesome! 

And what's more, it was kinda cool getting bit by leeches.


Our treehouse:

Not a bad place to wake up:

The authors ziplining.  Kate ziplines in argyle sox, very stylish (also protective from leeches). 

Kate searching for animals at dawn, without success. 

A misty dawn from our lofty perch:

Dropping from the treehouse at 6:30 in the morning is quite a rush; no need for coffee:

Some say it should be called "The Leech Experience."  This was my first of four leeches:

Kate hiking through the rainforest:
[Sorry, got too slow to upload pics. Eds].