8 December 2017. Pakse to Don Khon

It was a fairly early start to be ready for the bus at 7.30. It was a somewhat packed minibus that did the usual circuit of the town for the first hour picking people up and then liaising with a couple of other buses. This resulted in a Dutch couple who were bound for the same destination as me being put on another bus – much to their mystification. We ended up packed like sardines in the minivan and I was lucky to have been one of the first to get on and secure a single seat. The journey to Nakasang – with a break – took about three hours.

Once at the quayside you exchange the bus ticket for a boat voucher and I quickly boarded a boat and was off. The river was very pleasant with nice views on the way to Don Det.

There we disembarked the party crown and a somewhat older clientele carried on to Don Khone.







I was staying at the far end of the Island and had been told to expect to pay 50,000 – 80,000 for the tuk tuk. In the event, 100,000 was demanded and I settled very reluctantly on 90,000. These were London prices and it is a pity that the tourist ends up feeling like he’s seen only as a gullible open wallet.

Anyway putting that aside the 15 minute ride to the hotel was fine and I met the Swiss owner and settled in my room overlloking the Mekong across to Cambodia. That afternoon I looked around the village and had a nice lunch atr a riverside restaurant. Everything about the village seemed untouched by tourism and people carried on their lives – apart, obviously,  from those selling boat trips to see the irriwady dolphins and otherwise making a living from visitors.







In the evening I had a meal at the guesthouse and got a taste for everything closing down by 9.00. People live by the sun and so it is early to bed and early to rise. 

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