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 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

Flashback to the Pakse Loop: Day 3

If you are sleeping in a bamboo hut in what feels like the middle of the jungle, one expects to wake up to the sounds of the birds. And insects. And maybe a rooster. What one does not expect to be roused by is loud music. But roused we were, courtesy of the three french guys next door.

Normally we would have been quite peeved to wake up this way. But all was forgiven on this particular morning as the song they played was so beautiful. We had been away from home for 3+ months at this point, and had lost touch with the rest of the world. We had no idea what song it was, only that it was mesmerizing. At breakfast, we discovered that we had well and truly been living under a rock, as it turned out to be one of the best-selling singles of all time: "Hello", by Adele! We owe those french guys a big thank you as they managed to make this otherwise mundane morning something special enough that I remember it in vivid detail even now, 7 years later. Everytime I hear "Hello", I'm transported back to Laos.

Our day only got better from here. The well-marked trail from the guesthouse took us to 7 different waterfalls, some of which were truly stunning.

Waterfall #2, our favourite. That's Nick's head on the bottom right

Flashback to the Pakse Loop: Day 2

Apparently a bite from this spider will cause temporary paralysis!

Our first stop of the day was a village tour with Captain Hook. No, really, he goes by the name Captain Hook.

He is a bit of a character and definitely the rebel of his village. He is quite open about his personal story which I think needs to be heard directly from him to be appreciated. I got the impression that although he is tolerated within his village, the others are not too happy about the fact that so many outsiders tromp through every day. That said, his tour was incredibly interesting (and at times, shocking).

We learned a lot about the way of life, practices and beliefs of his people. I'm really glad we stopped here and can highly recommend it.

After Captain Hook, we hit the road again. As both Nick and I had been on silk making tours in China, we opted to skip the silk stops along the way and just find a place to swim.

Tad Faek was just the ticket: quiet, peaceful and relaxing.

Tad Faek

Bamboo shelters with quite the view

Flashback to the Pakse Loop: Day 1

​We had so much fun on the Thakhaek loop that we decided to do the other popular Lao motorbike trip as well: The Pakse Loop.

Like everyone else on the Lonely Planet circuit, we dutifully showed up at Miss Noy's to try and rent a motorbike.

I have to say, this was the smoothest bike rental experience we had in SE Asia. The entire operation runs like a well-oiled machine. You show up at some point during the day to make sure you can get a motorbike for the next day. If you manage to snag one, then you show up again in the evening for a detailed info session.

Yves, who conducted our pre-trip info session, was amazing. He was spot on with his advice in terms of which waterfalls were the nicest, which farms/side-trips were worth doing. We stopped at a few waterfalls that he said were just so-so and he was totally right.

The next morning, you return to the shop, put your bags in storage at the back, hop onto a freshly washed motorbike and off you go! Easy Peasy!

Tad Lo: One of the many waterfalls on the Pakse Loop

Am I part of the problem?

Luang Prabang is one of the most popular destinations in Laos and a UNESCO World Heritage site for a very good reason. Culturally and historically, there is so much worth preserving: beautiful temples and statues, a royal palace, colonial architecture and villages that still maintain and practice age old traditions.

We had a really great time bicycling around the area. We found cute riverside cafes, crossed the Mekong on bamboo bridges, shopped at the colourful and lively night market, enjoyed a sunset cruise, climbed to the temple on top of Mount Phou Si and more.

Tat Kuang Si

Bamboo Bridges in Luang Prabang

One of the highlights was the day we rented a scooter and went to Kuang Si, a gorgeous waterfall an hour outside the city. In fact, I think we hit up almost every major “to do” in Luang Prabang in our four days there…save the most famous: The sunrise alms giving ceremony.

This is one of the top “attractions” in the city. Young monks (with their bright orange robes) pass through the streets collecting alms — donations of sticky rice — from local residents. If I understand the tradition correctly, the alms-givers believe it will earn them favour in their next life, while the monks themselves rely on the donations to feed themselves in this life (at least historically. I’m not sure if this is still the case in modern times).

Many travelers have described a quiet and solemn tradition that they felt privileged to witness. However, I felt incredibly uncomfortable about going to see this ritual and opted out.

Flashback to Iguazu: Brazil vs. Argentina

We were in Brazil for our friends' wedding over Christmas and were lucky enough to have 3 full days to explore both the Brazilian and Argentinian side of Iguazu Falls.

The scenery here is absolutely stunning! Even with all the people and the tourist infrastructure, it felt like we had stepped back in time somehow. If a dinosaur casually strolled into view, not only would I not be surprised, but *I* am the one who would feel out of place!

Iguazu Falls from the Brazilian side

When we were originally planning our trip, it looked like we would only be able to spend 24 hours in Iguazu. So we asked a bunch of people who had been to both sides which they would choose if they only had 24 hours. To a man (or woman!) they gave us the diplomatic answer that "both sides are nice".

While this proved to be perfectly true, I found it really frustrating at the time, as it didn't help us make our decision! Lonely Planet, Trip Advisor and the rest of the internet also made it hard to choose.