Done Khone..4,000 islands, Laos

We decided to explore the 'deep south' of Laos, so organised a 2-day trip to Done Khone and the '4,000 islands' through our hotel. The hotel provided a driver, Mr Kampak, whose spoken english was limited, but we were advised that he knew the itinerary like 'the back of his hand' and, we were up for the challenge!!!
So, an early start and off we went in what must have been our most luxurious transport to-date.(a 4-wheel drive Diahatsu space-wagon) to Wat Phou an ancient Khmer style temple in the Champasak region. This is even older than Angkor Wat in neighbouring Cambodia and involved a very interesting Ferry crossing of the Mekong on a rather unusual craft, looking like it had been cobbled together from a 'Blue Peter' kit!!!!

On our return to the east bank, we sped off to another equally old temple called Wat Oumong, whose ruins lay in an forested spot, famous for its butterflies(a stern test for Pam).

We then took a long-tail boat(minus Mr. Kampak) from Ban Hatsaikoune down the Mekong to Ban Nakasang, where we again picked up Mr Kampak for the final stretch of the Mekong to Don Khone, where we were to spend the night.

However, on landing at Don Khone, we promptly jumped on cycles for the 1.5 mile ride down to the impressive Li Phi falls, which make this stretch of the Mekong un-navigable!

Day 2 saw us heading back to Route 13 via the Mekong and 4-wheel drive to Khonephapheng falls an even more impressive natural phenomena which stretches almost 20k across the Mekong river and is known locally as the Niagara of SE Asia. The sheer size and noise levels experienced here gave an incredible feeling of un-bridled power.

After a look around the local market we headed back north to a final temple, where a baci ceremony was held for us both.

After lunch at a road-side cafe(soup again) we headed North for a final elephant ride at Phu Asa, where we got a good soaking from our beast as it decided to spray cool water on its back(not far from where we were sitting!!).

On then, back to Pakse where a local market visit was the last thing on the agenda.