SE Asia XXIII - Si Phan Don

Si Phan Don translated means 4,000 islands. The 4,000 islands sit in the Mekong at a wide stretch on the border with Cambodia. The majority of the 4,000 islands appear when the Meking is at its lowest in the dry season, I spent a wonderfully relaxing and enjoyable week there. A big part of why I had such a good time and why I stayed longer than I planned was Papa and his Souksanh Guesthouse.

Papa, aka Mr Souksanh, runs with his family his namesake guesthouse. He is a 50 year old, has three children, and expecting a fourth with his second wife (his first wife died last year). One of the stranger culture gaps I found was Papa showing a photo album from his first wife's funeral, including pictures of him and his children crying infront of her urn. Papa is a small guy but surprisingly strong highlighted by his ability to drag you off to meet other guests. He has incredibly cracked feet, generally he walks around with plasters on. I think its due to being in and out of the long boat into the water regularly. Papa's English is tempremental, depending upon what you are asking and how much lao-lao he has had to drink. I spent ten minutes trying to explain walking across a log (which we had done on a boat trip with him that morning) with my phrasebook, which turned into charades. The people of Laos like to drink, either the legendary Beer Lao or the more potent lao-lao. The drinking of rice wine is popular throughout South-East Asia. However, unlike Western consumption of alcohol it doesn't seem to lead to violence. Papa liked his lao-lao more than most. Lao-lao is the Laos take on rice whiskey distilled by local people from femented rice. It is a strong spirit that bears more in relation to vodka than whiskey. Papa spent most of his time drunk. I went on boat trips with him driving the long boat and he was very competent at what he was doing whilst still being drunk. I did two boats with him one to Khon Phapeng (75,000 Kip), and the other to Don Som (50,000 Kip plus 10,000 Kip entry fee levied by the local villagers). There are lots of tours offered to Khon Phapeng, however, all of these tours go along the mainland and drop you at a viewing gallery. Papa on the other hand takes you by boat on a very scenic journey, down the Mekong through the ebb and flow of the islands and rapids. He 'docks' the longboat in a shallow inlet, where upon he lead us down a dried out arm of the waterfall over old fish traps to appear right infront of the waterfall. Up close and personal Khon Phapeng is particularly impressive. There was the obligatory lao-lao to honour the souls of the dead that the Lao and Thai believe are trapped in Khon Phapeng. On the trip to Don Som Papa took us down the Mekong to another island where we walked, climbed and scrambled our way to a small waterfall and rapids. We swam in the fast current and jumped into the plunge pool. I swallowed alot of Mekong water during this and when I surfaced from the jump Papa gave me a glass of stronger than normal lao-lao. Papa caught us a fish and we barbecued it at the rapids. On the journey back Papa anchored us on a bush in the Mekong and jumped in to collect snails from the river bed. A couple of guys followed him in and weren't quite as successful. Papa is extremely proud of the guests who stay for a long time. It is almost guaranteed that you will end up staying longer than you originally plan. Papa is very persuasive. One guy stayed for 2 months, others a month at a time. While I was there a French couple who stayed a month last year were back and again staying for a month. They had intended to stay for 2 weeks and then go to Cambodia but were persuaded otherwise. Papa regularly invited me to join him for lunch or snacks, and he didn't charge me. If the Beer Lao gets flowing then Papa will contribute a couple of bottles. On my first day he dragged me over to a bungalow where the French couple and an Anglo-Swiss couple were chatting. The French couple tried to explain my name to Papa so it would be easy for him to pronounce. They used 'steamed' becuase of the similar sound, which became 'Steamed rice not sticky rice', shortened to simply 'sticky rice' for the duration of my stay. He brought some Beer Lao bottles and then invited us inside to watch Thai boxing with him and his family. We ended up betting bottles of Beer Lao on the various fights, Si Fa or Si Daeng (Red or Blue). When I left for Cambodia Papa took me by boat to the mainland. Before I left we settled the bill which they had an under charged me, by not adding in the cost of the accommodation, I added it and paid them the correct amount. Papa then tied a piece of string around my wrist, so did Mama, and so did the French couple, followed by an obligatory shot of lao-lao (at 8am). The string tying ceremony is a Lao custom. The French couple were having a new long boat built for Papa (they were paying half, Papa was paying the other half). The building of the boat involved so many string tying ceremonies that it looked like they had plastercasts on both of their wrists.

Souksanh Guesthouse is very much a family affar. The older children and the wife do most of the work. They are very friendly. The food is pretty good and a good price. Although what you ordered and what you received weren't always the same thing. The girls taking your order would smile and laugh and I couldn't discern whether that was because I was sticky rice or whether it was because they didn't understand what I was going on about. There are better places to eat on Don Khon though they are more expensive. The accommodation is excellent value. There are three bungalows with ensuites for 50,000 Kip and double rooms with shared bathrooms for 30,000 Kip. Papa was in the process of building ensuites on to the double rooms (so prices will go up). There is a shared veranda that streches across the front of the double rooms. The only problem with the double rooms is they can get quite hot come the evening after heating up during the day, and the fans for the room (and the lights) remain on until around 9pm or when the film the girls are watching on TV finishes. The bungalows are made from traditional materials so are cooler.

There are two main inhabited islands where most of the accommodation options are, they are Don Dhet and Don Khon. Don Dhet has been colonised by the Vang Vieng tribe. The northeast corner of the island is packed with bungalows, bars, and cafes, which slowly disperse along the eatsern and southern shores. Don Dhet, like Vang Vieng, caters to the lowest common denominator and would make you wonder where in the world you actually are. Don Khon on the other hand still retains its Lao charm. That isn't to say it is untouched by tourism. Guesthouses line the northern shore from the French bridge east. The French bridge is a legacy of the French railway that used to run across the two islands and is the only link between the two islands. The guesthouses on Don Khon are much more in keeping with the local buildings around them and you feel part of the local community rather than an incongrous backpacker resort. During the day tourists come from Don Khon and Thai daytrippers visit. From the southern tip of Don Khon it is possible to go Irrawaddy Dolphin watching. There are an amazing set of tiered waterfalls, Li Phi Falls. There are beaches of sorts and it is possible to go for a swim. The water is clear and appears to be clean, although considering it has made its way down from China, through Laos and Thailand, I wouldn't want to be drinking it. Although you end up showering in water from the Mekong anyway. The interior is untouched by tourism, other than the odd Falang cycling round. Most visitors stick to the path along the former French railway or out to the East with Li Phi Falls. There are a few French buildings and a rusting locomotive near the bridge. The interior is filled with dried paddy fields and villages, even a couple of Wats. If you follow the route of the French railway you pass through forest and can chance upon a Buffalo wandering through. The people on Don Khon don't take a great deal of notice of Falang, I think it is because of the number of visitors they receive every day. I do not want to suggest that Don Khon is packed with daytrippers. For a small place there will be Falang around the attractions but even in the middle of the day the island still remains peaceful. I spent a great deal of my time sitting by the water enjoying the serenity while drinking iced Lao coffee (very strong coffee with a think layer of sweetened condensed milk at the bottom). It was very hot during the day and could be quite humid. At night Don Khon is very quiet. The only way to get electricity on the island is to run a generator and most of these shut down around 9pm.

I got a tourist bus from Pakse to Si Phan Don. It cost 60,000 Kip from the centre of town to the boat landing. Double the price of the local bus but once you worked in the cost of tuk-tuks at either end it wasn't too bad. It had the added advantage of getting you to the boat landing with other Westerners to share the cost out to the islands (shared it cost 20,000 Kip each to Don Khon, alone would have been 60,000 Kip). Even though it was a service targeted at Westerners the bus was not for wetsern sized people and as ever every bit of available space was used. The only way to reach the islands is to catch a long boat from the mainland.