Vacation on Four Thousand Islands

My porch with my hammock

I took a brief vacation on Four Thousand Islands. I know, I’m supposed to be on vacation already, since I went on this trip. But traveling is not really a vacation. I have so much to do each day that I barely have time to just relax, read, write, or do any of those activities I had lined up to do when I thought I would have too much free time on my hands.

When traveling, there is always the route planning, the reading of travel guides and researching where to go next and how to get there, where to stay, how to find the guesthouse, get my orientation, find food, decide which sights to see and how to get there, remember where my guest house is to be able to return, pack and unpack, get my laundry done, chat with other travelers to get firsthand information, and so on. Usually, if I take a day off, to just sit and do nothing in particular, I still go out to wander around, at least to eat.

I decided to have my vacation on the Don Det island on the Mekong River in an area in the very south of Laos called Four Thousand Islands. I rented a bungalow on the riverfront. There was a porch from where to observe the river and the sunrise, a hammock to swing in, as well as electricity to power my fan and my light and charge all my electronic devices. There was even WiFi, slow and unreliable, but I could be connected if I wanted to. I finally got around to reading books in the hammock.

It was hot, very hot, even swinging in the hammock on the porch in the shade with Beerlao was unbearable. I fell into a rhythm of taking a siesta during the hottest part of the day when I took a nap with the fan turned on. I got up at dawn at around 5:30 in the morning to go running, which is the only time of day running is possible in these regions, although it’s already hot even so early in the morning. The island was perfect for running because there is no traffic.

Dawn on the Mekong River

Of course I couldn’t keep still, even while on vacation. I had to rent a bicycle for a day to visit the adjoining island and see the sights: a waterfall, a beach where no one was bathing because it was just too hot, the remains of an old railroad that ran on the islands, a few temples and cemeteries.

The waterfall is actually the largest waterfall in Southeast Asia measured by water volume. I don't know, it didn't leave much of an impression on me. Perhaps I wasn't there at the right time of year to view it in its full glory.

Khone Phapeng waterfall

The islands are an eclectic mix of local inhabitants who have lived there probably for generations and a booming tourist industry. Everything seems to be under construction, new restaurants are being built and existing bungalows are being modernized with brick ensuite bathroom additions.

Bungalow modernization

The local people are all up and busy at 5:30 in the morning, which I could observe when I went running. Some of them start working in their rice fields, others go to market on the mainland by boat, and children take the cows to pasture before school starts. There are two schools, a primary and a secondary, on the islands.

But it’s still on the islands, far away from the chaos of Asian cities, relaxed and easy. A real vacation.