Bootsnall blogs come in handy not only for entertainment purposes but also for useful information. I had been following Llew from "Llew Wanders the World" and knew that he had made the infamous quasi-official border crossing between Cambodia and Laos a few weeks back so we checked out his blog before we attempted it ourselves. The problem with this particular border crossing is that a) it’s out in the middle of nowhere very far from the administrative centers that might oversee the officials, and b) Cambodia and Laos have never really agreed on where the real border is so things are a little up in the air out there. So anyway, border officials are pretty much in charge and can demand whatever payment they want. From reading Llew’s blog, however, we determined that the Cambodian officials who give you and exit stamp can be ignored when they ask for money, but the Laotian officials cannot.

Our boatload of 8 people (2 Germans, 3 Canucks, 1 Aussie and us) set off on the “slow boat” - 2.5 hours - from Strung Treng in Cambodia to the border. We arrived at the last Cambodian outpost on the west bank of the mighty Mekong and handed in our passports as a group for an exit stamp. The officials deliberated for a while and then called us into their cramped office one by one. First to go in was one of the Germans guys who came out of the office and said the payment was $2. The Australian woman (Christy) got out of the office without paying but was promptly called back in and had to cough up the $2. The Canadian woman traveling on her own (Barb) also paid $2. The Canadian couple (Gino & Tobi) were able to negotiate $1 each and then they called my name. Since Pearse & I are traveling on different passports (Irish & US) and we have different last names, people don’t realize that we’re married. But since it’s common for the man to be the boss in this region, I dragged Pearse in to confront the officials with me. They said the fee was $2 each but Pearse said “No, I’m sorry, that’s against my policy,” picked up our passports and walked out. I don’t remember this all that clearly, but I’m pretty sure all three officials in that room dropped their jaws when he just walked out. Pearse and I on the other hand were sweating profusely and walking away from the hut to the boat as quickly as possible, expecting an official to stop us at any moment. When we got to the boat we checked the passports and, to our relief, the exit stamps were in there. We escaped but we were none to popular with our fellow travelers who all had to pay. Pearse didn’t help the situation by calling them all suckers.

We traveled by boat directly across the river to the Laotian outpost on the east bank of the Mekong and walked 1 km to the official border. The Laotian guard – a very friendly chap – told us the “stamp fee” was $2 an amount we gladly paid, especially since we had heard horror stories of people who had been refused entry and we knew we would not have been welcome back at the Cambodian border.

After a 5 km pick up truck ride and a 15 minute boat journey, we were dropped off on Don Det, one of the 4,000 islands in the Mekong known as Si Phan Don. The Mekong is a wondrous river and at this point in it’s 4,000 km journey from Tibet to the sea, it separates into thousands of channels and forms a network of islands that fluctuate in size depending on the season. Don Det is one of the most southern inhabited islands and is a backpackers’ paradise where you can find hundreds of small bamboo huts with a hammock on a porch overlooking the river all for $1.50 a night. Of course, we had to splurge for the most expensive place on the island - $5.00 for a solid construction wooden hut with a proper bed, screens on the windows and a fan & light that worked from 6pm-10pm (when the generator was running). Oh, they also have the island’s only refrigerator so the 90 cent 650 ml bottles of Beer Lao were always cold. There’s not much to do on Don Det except swim in the Mekong (which we didn’t do – visions of schistosomiasis kept us on dry land), float on the Mekong in an inner tube (ditto), rent bikes to explore the island, walk, or swing on a hammock. We mostly did the latter two.

We did walk up to an old French railway bridge connecting Don Det to Don Kong where we found a waterfall crashing down some pretty amazing rocks. Now, coming from the Pacific NW, I’m somewhat of a waterfall snob and it takes quite a nice waterfall to impress me. I was definitely impressed with the volume and beauty of this waterfall, especially considering that this is the dry season.

Pearse’s goal in Si Phan Don was to try his hand at kayaking but it seems most people only offered a day tour on the water. Because staying out of the sun is a priority for us (ever since we got sunstroke in Sihanoukville), he convinced one operator to rent him a kayak for just an hour. I watched from the shore as my beloved (who can’t swim and who had never kayaked before) attacked the mighty Mekong with his one man kayak. As he became a speck in the distance I began to worry, but since the current was flowing towards me (and the waterfall) I figured that I could spot his lifeless body on the way back and drag him to safety. Of course, he was perfectly fine, had a blast and was never in any danger since the kayak owner insisted he wear a life jacket and helmet and the Mekong is never more than 5 feet deep around there anyway.

Don Det is also apparently a meeting place for travelers since we ran into several people we had last seen weeks earlier in Cambodia. All in all, it’s a fun place to relax but it’s a little basic and I was glad to get back to the mainland where they have electricity 24 hours a day and I can get my pineapple shakes anytime of the day.

Facts about Laos:

The official name of the country is "Lao People's Democratic Republic" which (of course) means it's a communist country. The population is 5.8 million people.

It's a landlocked country surrounded by China to the north, Vietnam to the East, Burma and Thailand to the West and Thailand and Cambodia to the South.

The official currency here is the kip which is currently being traded at 10,000 to one dollar (which makes us now millionaires) but Thai baht and US dollars are also accepted.