Along the southern boarder of Laos, bumping up against northeastern Cambodia there's a group of islands, smack dab in the middle of the Mekong River. The mass is named after the sheer quantity of islands... supposedly 4,000, but I wouldn't know, I stopped counting after 12. Of the 4,000 islands you only hear about three of them and we chose to spend our time on Dong Khon, the southernly most island.


The highlight of the islands is that there is no highlight. It has to be the most relaxed and chilled out place we've encountered on our entire journey (perhaps only usurped by Pai, but we'll get to that later). We spent 4 relaxed days mainly on our bungalow's porch overlooking the Mekong watching life go by, when not catching up on reading and writing (who am I kidding, I didn't write a word) but seriously folks, the place was a small sleepy fishing and farming village, with just enough tourism comforts to be convenient without being tacky or overrun. It was magic... and in addition the people were spectacular! The place we stayed at was a small operation, four bungalows total. Three generations lived on the premasis, which was perfectly set right on the river, as well as being adjacent to the island's only wat (Buddhist Temple).... that's how I spell p-e-a-c-e-f-u-l. Most interesting about the family as well as the majority of households is that tourism is not the main source of income. They're all doing other things in order to make ends-meat... for most the main source was fishing. The fishing market ended up being across from our accommodation. When I say market I mean people congregate with their last night's catch (mostly catfish) on the ground, it's weighed out, people are paid appropriately, some is immediately sold to interested parties, and the rest is stacked into baskets and carried to a boat which is headed to the mainland. On good mornings, I'd get back from a run to see the guys celebrating with the local beverage of choice called laolao, rice whiskey... yeah that's at about 7:30 AM, and of course you can't say no to celebrating Laos gents.

But that was it. We spent time with the family, one night sitting around husking nuts used with betle, which once husked only gets them about $2 per kg.. NOTHING! and spending time with the kids of the family... throwing a cd back and forth was a good one, until we gave the boys a tennis ball, which they loved.

We actually did do one touristy thing... we went to see the fresh water dolphins. There are supposedly under 40 left in the world and this set lives right along the Laos, Cambodian boarder. You take a 30 min long nose boat ride out to the viewing area. We chose to pay the extra $1 to run aground on the Cambodian side of the river have a couple of Beerlao and watch the dolphins from ashore... just as the sun set. It was magic and a great way to start our last evening. We then proceeded to be invited to the boat driver's beach side restaurant for dinner with his family. It ended up being a type of hot pot with fish and vegetables, oh and laolao of course. It was so quinessential Laos, making it difficult for us to leave.

But alas plans called and we had to head north. Luang Prabang was our next stop and our party was about to grow to 4, then 6. We said good-bye to Dong Khone with fond memories and the hope that this fairly unspoilt spot would keep its charm and innocence until our next visit, in a few years.

After spending some quality time in Vietnam we realized if we wanted to taste the other three countries on our itinerary we would have to skip some intricate exploration.  Entering Cambodia we realized right away that we would have to return to get a the full flavor of the lives these people live and decided to make Siem Reap our focus after a brief stop in Phnom Penh. 
  Siem Reap is conveniently set up for tourists and backpackers making their way through Cambodia. So not to get confused they've even labeled a street 'Pub Street' with happy hours from open to late with buy one $.50 draft get a second free.  The town has a carefree Southeast Asia feel to it with night markets selling silk, silver and just about anything you can write Angkor Wat on.  There are many western comforts lining the streets from pizza and hamburgers to massage tables and convenient stores.  The true attraction and often why so many people stop in this town is because less then 10km outside of town lies the lost city of Angkor. 
  What was once a bustling city is now only remnants of the finest artisans in history.  The carvings that remain in the sandstone and plaster describes their lives in amazing detail and tell stories of gods that these people devoted their lives to.  Angkor is the most hands-on experience you will ever have with art from thousands of years ago.  You feel mischievous as you climb over large pieces of sandstone with elephants and buddas carved into them, almost as if you snuck into the museum after hours and crossed the velvet rope.  In the land of Angkor nothing is off limits as you wander through the Khmer world. 
  Although we had an incredible time exploring this piece of Cambodia's past it pains me to look around and realize that everyone my age and older has lived through one of the most horrific periods in our worlds history.  We know that we must return to this beautiful country to get a deeper feeling for the battle these people have had to fight in their lifetime.  There is so much beauty in Cambodia and the people are amazing in their generosity as we travel through a land that is so foreign to us.  It makes me step back and think about how solid the ground is in our country and how shaken it has been for so many to this day.