On
the next day, I just thought of staying another night in here since I didn't
have much Kip left. If I need more local money, the only way is to go for
“ATM Service by boat”. After yesterday’s incident, I was paranoid if this
method is safe too. I have almost lost my confidence with the villagers here. I did not really plan where to go so I just follow the flow. I knew most of the traveler spots are located in Don Khon island so the best way to explore it is by bicycle.
My itinerary was as following :
- Rent a bicycle @ Don Det- Ride to the French bridge @ Don Khon (2-3km)
- Ride to Li Phi waterfall
- Lunch by the river
- Tubing
The
view of a Lao kampong from my chalet. One thing I noticed they prefer to build taller stilt houses for
living where as the low houses (chalets) are meant for the backpackers. My own
understanding on such stilt houses built is to withstand any big floods during the wet season. But the height of the pillars are way too high, I supposed they are going to renovate the bottom floor for other usage.
Don Det island is small enough that you can walk. But in order to reach Don Khon island, riding a bicycle is essential especially under the midday sun.
So I rented a bicycle from the chalet owner. There is a bridge built to link Don Det Island to Don Khon Island.
So I rented a bicycle from the chalet owner. There is a bridge built to link Don Det Island to Don Khon Island.
The dirty road along the way.
A) FRENCH BRIDGE
A
notice board showing the ticket price for both a local and a foreigner. There was a person from the shop beside the bridge collected money from me. There's a counter at the Don Khon side so bypassing both sides is not possible. Unless you could swim across the river.
After
passing the bridge, I came to this junction showing the way to Li Phi
(Somphamit) waterfall (2km away) and Irrawaddy Dolphin (4km away).
The
way along was extremely dirty and muddy. A van’s wheel was even stuck in the
mud; some villagers were helping out to push the van. I supposed the road
condition might be even worse after heavy rain.
B) Li Phi Waterfalls (Tat Somphamit)
After passing by a Lao temple, I have reached the entrance of the waterfall.
B) Li Phi Waterfalls (Tat Somphamit)
After passing by a Lao temple, I have reached the entrance of the waterfall.
TICKET : NONE (included with French bridge ticket)
TIME : 08:00 AM - 17:30 PM
Beside
the ticket counter is the bamboo coffee bar that sells Lao coffee. I just realized they do have kayaking and dolphin watching tour. But later looking at the flow of the waterfall. Kayaking seemed to be really risky.
Not
faraway I could notice there’s a huge waterfall before my eyes. This dramatic
waterfall is officially called Tat Somphamit waterfalls. However, some local
signs simply shown as "Li Phi" waterfalls, "Li Phi” which means “spirit trap” cause
the locals here believe bad spirits are trapped here as they wash downstream. According to info, there are two travelers have drown here.
Those endless liters of water keep surging down to the stream, it was extremely magnificent! But looking closer into the waterfall, it was frightening to be real too.
Those endless liters of water keep surging down to the stream, it was extremely magnificent! But looking closer into the waterfall, it was frightening to be real too.
The mighty works of Mother Nature!
By just standing near the cliff, I could really feel it. The
flow of the waterfall isn’t “play play”! Many danger signs are set up near the
cliff area.
Veni, Vidi, Vici.
I had a sense of pride of coming here by my own!
Many slippery rocks around the fences too.
The sign is showing GONE to the BEACH.
Life’s
A B**ch.
The
whole stretch of the waterfall seemed to be endless! The great Mekong river
doesn’t seem to end here. The continuous flow is heading south towards
Cambodia. How can kayaking be done in here??
So
this is the beach??
Taking
some time to sit by the cliff enjoying the priceless view of Li Phi waterfalls. The whole waterfall was so impressive! I was wondering if the government could
utilize the potential hydropower here to generate energy for commercial use.
Out
of the 10 Highlights of Si Phan Don, I merely visited a few of them.
I read there’s another biggest waterfall in S.E.A, Khon Pha pheng waterfalls. In order to reach to this waterfall, a boat trip is required. I have no interest to check it out since hiring a boat is expensive and risky!
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On
the way back, I rode pass a traditional “petrol station” (I assumed). There are
2 types of fuels in different colours. I couldn’t understand the lady’s words but her smile was
genuine.
The
French had built the French bridge to link to Don Det Island?
Things to do in Don Khon island are stated on the board. Sadly after visiting the waterfalls I have almost burnt all my calorie! =.=
The
scene by the Mekong river.
Some
school children were playing the rubber band hopping game.
The
French bridge has brought much business or social contacts between the
villagers of Don Det and Don Khon.
I
was enjoying my late lunch by the river.
A
dated locomotive train was used on the island? But I didn't notice any train
track on the island.
The
view from the French bridge. A
chalet was built on the river. I wonder if any backpacker dares to stay in it. Any crocodile or snake??
On the way back, I
was in the middle of nowhere. The surrounding view was so countryside,
obviously. I seemed to have traveled back in the time, into a complete agrarian
society. On this island, most agricultural lands dominate the landscape, i.e., paddy fields and bamboo plantations. I wondered how was a farmer’s day-to-day
life style gonna be in 4000 Islands before any backpacker invaded here?
There
were some cattle/buffaloes gathering by the paddy fields. Few of them were just staring
at me and I just tried to keep a distance from them. (Have they ever attacked any curious looking people?)
I
was back to Don Det island again. I felt sick with the weather! A nice looking restaurant and guesthouse by the river.
It was late evening. Soon I went for tubing instead of the dolphin watching. That was the last outdoor activity I did for the day. Tubing by the Mekong River was a great experience. I just enjoyed my time floating on the river...
I have bought a bus ticket to go Phnom Penh that night.
Note : The dolphin watching is a whole day trip; they charged me at least $15 to go there by boat and is available on the next day. But I had only planned to stay one night! Anyhow, I met a backpacker that went to see the dolphins. Some tourists may expect to see similar dolphin show like in the zoo. According to him, it’s totally the opposite. It was like a complete wildlife experience. While watching these dolphins live from boat, all can be seen was the dolphin's head came up from the water surface to take some breathe for mere minutes. All these can only be seen during the late evening and may also depends on your luck. Taking photo may be difficult as the boat keeps a distance away from the dolphin so that it won’t disturb their habitat.
I have done my research previously about these dolphins. According
to info, these types of freshwater dolphins are called Irrawaddy Dolphins (Orcaella
brevirostris). They are tame animals that don’t attack human. They live in the
Mekong River, mostly can be found in places : 4000 islands (the area near Cambodia’s border),
Kratie (a town in Cambodia), Indonesia or even Sarawak (Malaysia). They are known
to be now highly endangered species due to on-going fishing activities around
Asia. In Cambodia, during the Khmer Rouge those people have killed many of the
dolphins to get the fat from their body for military usage. This had caused these
dolphins in the Mekong River came close to extinction.
More info on Irrawaddy Dolphins :http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irrawaddy_dolphin
MY THOUGHT:
Although
I stayed in 4000 islands for 3 days, I have had the adventurer’s survival experience
of staying on this island. My first night in 4000 islands was the most frightening
experience ever in my life. I hardly forget the whole incident till now. But I
felt it was really a blessing in disguise after moving to a new chalet, as there
was a heavy thunderstorm on the last night. I didn’t face any unpredictable incident
after changing to this lucky cottage house. On the next day, I heard a story from a backpacker couple about their chalet had rain water dripping on the floor the whole night . And
after the rain, the road in town just looked very muddy. Sigh! Perhaps, I made
the right choice to cut short my stay and leave earlier. Anyhow, it was a pity to miss the chance to
observe the wildlife river dolphin on Mekong River. I wish in the future I have the
chance to take a glimpse of these wonderful species.
 |
| Solid Cottage House. |
Entrance Tickets in Laos PDR
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CONTINUE MY JOURNEY TO CAMBODIA
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