Flashback to Don Det: Visions of Relaxing Riversides Danced in Our Heads

Nick and I hadn’t figured out where to spend Christmas before we began the Pakse Loop. I had vague ideas of perhaps just staying in Pakse, or maybe choosing a town a few hours closer to Siem Reap, our next big destination. But more than one backpacker that we met along the way had really good things to say about Si Phan Don: Four Thousand Islands.

Khone Phapheng Falls on Don Khon

We were told the group of islands on the Mekong, near the Cambodian border, were a peaceful place where you can just relax in a hammock at a riverside bungalow and chill out for the week. After two back-to-back motorbike trips, this sounded like a great way to spend Christmas. So even though it was a detour from the direct route to Siem Reap, we decided to go for it. I searched online for accomodations on any of the islands (we were told that Don Det was the nicest,though), but found that almost everything was booked solid over Christmas. I felt like we got super lucky when I eventually found a few riverside bungalows at Mr. Tho’s still available! The reviews on Tripadvisor looked good, so I booked it and we sorted out our transportation.

Flashback to the Pakse Loop: Day 5

Champasak turned out to be the most wonderful experience! I'm really glad we decided to add extra time for it. My main motivation in going to Champasak was to see Wat Phu, the UNESCO World Heritage site.

Sunrise from out guesthouse

But it turns out there's a lot more to Champasak than just Wat Phu! The good day started with the most beautiful sunrise over the Mekong. Then we were off to explore "The Mountain Temple".

Flashback to the Pakse Loop: Day 4

It's Day 4 and the amazing waterfall tour continues. There are so many stunning waterfalls here that we are starting to take them for granted! We began the day with a visit to Tad Champee. We were the only ones there and it was the most magical little spot! Had we timed the visit for later in the day, it would have been the perfect place for a swim!

Tad Champee

The steps down to Tad Champee