Day 63 - Arrival in Cambodia

So last I wrote we were in the southern most part of Laos, in a place called 4000 islands created by the Mekong river being at a lower level in this the dry season. There are several permanent islands that have year-round residents, and we we're staying on the largest - Don Khon. Our first full-day here we decided to hire push bikes and do a tour of the island - something like 20km+ round-trip. Lukas got up at a ridiculous hour to make use of the limited good light in the unforgiving weather out here, while Peter and I took our time, and went it alone in the other direction.

Seeing the island by bike was the best way, on a motorbike you’d cross it in mere minutes. Also Laos is a very relaxed place, more so than anywhere I've ever experienced, and down here in the islands – life barely crawls along, they really do take the easy-going lifestyle to a new level. And in keeping with the way of life here, we were cycling at a pace to match – if not only to stop ourselves from sweating to death in the heat. Everyone here is 'off-the-scale friendly', with every household you pass shouting “Sabadi” (hello/general greeting) and waving as you pass. Kids especially are great again here – always really interested to meet you – jumping on your bikes back seat to get a lift somewhere – always joking and playing around.

We stopped at very hospitable man's riverside shed where we enquired if it was all right to rest. He seemed pleased to accommodate and brought us a mat and pillows to catch a power-nap in the shade. We were awoken by the town drunk (whom we always seem to attract), who caused a spot of bother with our host, and so we carried on our way soon after he was moved on.

The south of the island was more populated, and as we continued into the north in the afternoon; the gaps between villages (and shade) became greater, and we soon started to feel fatigued in the searing heat. Eventually we made it back, after stopping at every possible location for a beer-lao to cool.

That night we met a nice group of fellow travellers, who'd come together from all over the place. We had Brits, South-African's, American, Dutch, and Austrian. We had dinner and drinks together exchanging stories and tips for the various destinations people had been or were going, and also talked a lot of bollocks.. as you do.

The following day we'd booked ourselves in on a day-tour to get a glimpse of the southern islands we wouldn’t get a chance to stay in. We took a boat, toured the islands, saw some old French-colonial railways, some villages, some cool waterfalls, swam in the river (clear of the falls of course) to cool off, and went dolphin watching. The second of the two falls we saw was pretty impressive – the whole Mekong falls over a ledge near the Cambodian border, it’s not that high, but it's wide and the largest in S.E.Asia (by volume of water). The dolphin watching consisted of dumping us on a small rock/island in the middle fo the river, standing in silence looking for a river-dolphin to surface for air. They were always at least 100m away, so difficult to see in any detail (or photograph), but going for a swim allowed you to hear them which was much more incredible – it was so loud and sounded like a duck/cow combo noise in your ear.

We met our friends form the previous night again after dinner for drinks and conversation, before hitting the sack for the last time in Laos, as this morning we were booked on a minibus down into our third country – Cambodia. We crossed the border today, sorted our Visas and are now in a small town south of the Laos border. Our plan is to spend tonight here before heading East to see some of the rural side of the country before committing ourselves to what looks like 2 weeks of touristy activities including Angkor Wat, and some coastal towns before returning to southern Vietnam for our final stretch.

Over 2/3 of the way through now...