Island Life - When We Couldn’t Part with Don Det
Don Det - the place we turned up to with the intention of staying for a short visit but ended up extending thrice and staying two weeks. Here’s why!
So, we went to Don Det because the thought of relaxing on an island in the middle of the Mekong River sounded absolutely delightful, and we knew we wanted to explore some of the other islands there. Don Det is one of the “four thousand islands” that reside in the Mekong in the South of Laos. It’s one of the bigger islands, despite the walking path around it being only 7.2km long. We didn’t do a hell of a lot of research before we went, but we knew we wanted to kick back and relax for around five days before heading over to Vietnam. Well, five days turned into 13, as we couldn’t seem to bring ourselves away from the place.
As we spoke to more and more people, it became apparent that the theme of extending a stay in Don Det was quite a common one - some people just never leave! We spoke to quite a few people who’d been before, some were already into their first extension, and then there was us who also fell into the trap. There’s just something about the island that puts you at ease, and after travelling around Southeast Asia for almost three months by this point, we were due a rest.
Another pull for us to get down to the island was that Caroline and Michael, who we met on the Slow Boat to Laos from Thailand, were also going to be there and their stay overlapped with ours by a couple of days. What a great opportunity to catch up with them and hear about their adventures since we last saw them in Luang Prabang.
We met up with Caroline and Michael the first night we got to Don Det. We checked in at our fancy little guesthouse and went out for an Indian meal at Hathim Indian Food. From here, you could see the most magical sunset! I think it has to be the best sunset I’ve ever seen. We had a seat on the balcony overhanging the Mekong, and we could see a tiny island where some people were fishing/making a BBQ/swimming in the river - everyone was just having a great time, then the sun went down behind the mountains and left a gorgeous orange hue amongst the clouds for a little while. The food at Hathim was delicious, too, and we were in a great mood to go and meet up with our pals from the boat.
We had a great evening with Caroline and Michael in the Reggae Bar, just sharing stories and drinking a few cocktails, before they retired and jumped on their bicycles to head back to the hotel while they could still see straight (kind of). While we were with them, they recommended hiring bicycles as it was a great way to get around the island, explore some of the small beaches and go over to the closest island, Don Khon.
We followed their advice and hired some bikes the next day from Mama Tanon Guest House and Restaurant, where we enjoyed breakfast pretty much every day. The staff there were so lovely - a couple from Slovakia - William, the main host, greeted us each morning, remembering our order and even the tweaks we’d made on previous days, and shared recommendations as to what to do with our days there.
On the first day visiting Mama Tanon’s, one of us needed the loo, and much to our surprise, there was a pig in the foyer between the restaurant and toilets, and she had 12 piglets that were born only two days before we got there!! They were absolutely adorable. She was knackered, poor thing, just lying there feeding the piglets, but she didn’t hold back when she was sick of them - a little kick from her trotter and they were put back in their places.
Anyway, off on our bikes, we found that Don Khon is a bigger island than Don Det, and has a few more things to do on it. There’s a waterfall there that you can cycle near to, but then you must cross a ridiculously sketchy bridge.
It was so freeing, being on our bikes and cycling through the fresh countryside, school kids waving and giggling at us as we pedalled past their school. We stopped at a couple of beaches on our way over to Don Khon, and rested our sweaty selves by the river for short periods. We passed through rice paddies, saw a load of farm animals and crossed over the historical bridge that connects Don Det to Don Khon.
We finally made it to the dishevelled bridge that we had been warned about. There’s a sign saying it’s closed for maintenance, but after speaking to some locals, we found that the sign had been there for years and nobody had started any work on it and it’d be our choice to cross it or not…
As this was the final hurdle before the waterfall, we decided to proceed, with caution, to cross it. It wasn’t that bad to be fair, but if you’ve got a fear of heights, then I’d recommend sitting this one out. Seeing the water gushing full force beneath the floor-less bridge was quite a fear-inducing sight - thinking that if you fall, you’re a gonner. But, we were quite used to sketchy bridges by now, after the one in Vang Vieng, so we weren’t too phased.
After getting back alive and returning our bikes, it was time for a beer and a game of pool. We stopped by Adam’s Bar - the bar that quickly became our favourite one on the island, as we were there almost every day, and ended up getting to know the family who run it. Plus, pool! It was here that one of the lads who worked there mentioned they were having a beach party in a couple of days’ time, and there’d be tubing, drinks, BBQ and games. We were in!
While we were there, we also got chatting to an American lad called Brandon. He was quite an eccentric character, and had a big heart. He told us he was going on a kayaking trip the next day, and as this is something we’d been fancying, we thought we may as well go on the same trip as him.
We got up bright and early ready for our trip and headed to the meeting point; a little restaurant overlooking the Mekong where they whipped us up a quick breakfast, some coffee and some bottles of fruity cider for our travels. The route took us past so many little islands - some with water buffalo grazing, others with fishermen who’d just set up for the day, but the majority just stood empty. We cruised down the Mekong and came to a stop on a beach where we got out of the kayaks, they were loaded up onto a truck, and we went for a walk to a magnificent waterfall. Afterwards, we went to another beach where we were met by some other guides who’d carted a load of food and had a fire on the go so we could all chill out and enjoy some nice BBQ food.
Bellies full, we got back on the kayaks and it was time to hit some rapids - just what we needed! It was great fun. The guides watched eagerly as they anticipated at least one of us tipping over, but we all stood our ground against the mighty rapids and got through them without any slip-ups (much to the guides’ disappointment).
Back to Don Det, and we enjoyed more of Brandon’s company in Adam’s Bar where it all started the night before - Brandon telling us all about his sailing adventures, his girlfriend in Cuba who he was so in love with and excited to fly out and reunite with, and other stories of his travels. He’s one of the good ones.
Another day, another adventure, and the latest one was the beach party we’d booked onto, a couple of days prior with Adam’s Bar. It was such a good laugh. We made friends with two girls from London, and there was another group of four younger people from Canada. One of the kids from the bar came with us - she was probably about 12 or 13 and was so sassy. She kept creeping up behind us when we were on the rubber rings, and splashing us, finding herself hilarious. We’d paddle after her and give her a splash right back! She didn’t speak English, but we communicated through laughing and messing around in the Mekong - young and free.
Once all the fun on the beach was over with, we popped our arses into tubes, held a rope tied to the boat, and floated back down the Mekong at sunset. We were all fairly tipsy by this point so everyone was finding everything hilarious and we just basically laughed our way back to Don Det.
All in all, during our time, we formed close bonds with tourists, local people and we can't leave out the stray cats and dogs - I even adopted a cat for one night. He followed me all the way back to the hotel after purring on my knee all night in the bar, and I couldn't just shut the door on him! He slept curled up with us all night (on Tora's face at one point, which really did their allergies the world of good!) In typical cat fashion, though, morning came and he swanned out of the hotel room without so much as a look back at me. It felt like a filthy one-night-stand!! Don Det was really the ultimate place to chill out and just exist for a while.