Although there probably are about 4,000 mini islands here, only a few are actually inhabited. We're on a small one called Don Det. On the way here we stopped at a town called Kratie in Cambodia to break up our journey to the Laos border from Siem Reap. It was a strange town, but was right on the Mekong river, and we were able to go and see some rare Irawaddy freshwater dolphins. The dolphin spot was about an hours very pretty cycle ride away, whizzing through lots of Cambodian villages on the way. Kids everywhere shout 'Hello!' as you go by, and although you try and wave to them all, you also have to keep an eye out for moto drivers, cows, tractors and random dogs that meander along the road as well. Although the dolphins are rare, we did manage to see quite a few of them coming up for air and swimming around. They are quite shy though and keep away from the boats, as the boatmen sometimes use their propellors in the 'protected' dolphin zone, even though they are supposed to be rowing. It was a lovely experience though, and the Mekong is a very peaceful river. We cycled back to Kratie town centre just in time to watch the sunset whilst drinking a beer at a riverside bar.
After a day in Kratie we got another bus up to the Laos border. Actually we got 3 seperate buses, and then once over the border, a longtail boat up to to Don Det island. We stayed there a couple of days, and went to see the nearby waterfall and river beach, and cycled around the island, past lots of paddy fields and water buffalo. There's animals everywhere, which i LOVE, but Andrew does get kind of tired of me taking umpteenth photos of baby cows and chickens. We saw a bunny versus tiny dog fight yesterday which was random but hilarious. The dog had its hair tied up in a bow, and kept trying to hump the rabbit and nibble its ears. The rabbit seemed pretty non plussed though, so the dog resorted to humping a cushion instead. Unfortunately today Andrew has come down with some nasty food poisoning, and is in bed right now having had a bit of sick. We're not really sure what it was that he ate, maybe it was just a salad washed in dodgy water.
Other complications since getting to Laos include getting ripped off at the border for extra visa 'fees' which we paid to our bus driver thinking he would assist in us getting our visas quicker, but in the end there were no queues and we could have done it ourselves. So Andrew said to the guy we wanted our extra fees back, and wouldn't leave him alone until he had them. He wasn't being angry, just annoying, so eventually the guy relented. It got him a reputation by the time we got to the island though and stupidly we got our washing done at a place where the guy running it knew andrew was the 'problem guy' at the border. Unsurprisingly some of our white clothes came back blue. Hmm. Still, none of the clothes I have for travelling are particuarly precious to me, and extra clothes are cheap to buy out here. As well as that, I have been short changed no less than 3 times already at restaurants on this island. Still not sure whether people just cant add up, or are taking the piss. Just need to be careful and check our change I guess.
Otherwise though, I am really enjoying Laos, and its a really beautiful country. We're hoping to do some jungle eco trekking when we get up to north Laos where we will stay with local families in remote villages. The companies running the treks make sure as much money as possible goes back to the local communities, and also puts money towards eco friendly schemes in the local area.
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