“That’ll be $2,” we were told by the border agent. We asked for what and were told that it was the ‘holiday’ fee because it was a Sunday. Never mind that neither Cambodia nor Laos are Christian countries or that any such fee officially exists, this is the way this border is run and there is no choice given but to participate. Requests for receipts go unanswered as the border agent, wearing his undershirt, can’t even look you in the eye. The bus who arrived the next day, late because of mechanical difficulties, was charged $7 per person.
We arrived to Laos around dusk and were let off of our bus in the dark. Somehow we made our way to the island ‘paradise’ we were set to explore for the next few days. We found Don Det to be so wonderful that we couldn’t stand to wait to leave…so the next day around noon that’s what we did, and that’s when we started to have even more problems.
Once on the mainland I realized we’d left the cell phone behind and called for it to be sent over on the next boat. We’d left it behind at the agency who sold us our bus ticket and the agent still had it, identified it, and said I’d need to pay the boatman…to which I agreed. A few minutes later he called the person with us back and said it was ‘stolen’ in the 2 minutes he was on the phone with me.
Right. Not only was that @$$ probably talking to me while using our phone, but his accomplice, the man standing with me whose phone I was using, repeatedly asked me how much it was worth.
Next up. The bus was late. It should have arrived before 4pm. It didn’t arrive until nearly 9pm, about 5 hours late. Over that time, my friend the cell phone thief has had many beers. It is now very dark and we’ve been waiting on the side of the road for the bus for hours. Around 7pm he decides he is hungry and wants to put us all in his car and we’ll wait for the bus at the restaurant 3km up the road. He is drunk so we say no. He keeps trying. It is dark. I sneak around the side of the car and feel around for….yup….the keys are sitting right in the ignition. So I steal them. We’re not going anywhere.
Is that grand theft auto? Beats me!
I stay out of the ensuing argument, as I have the man’s car keys in my pocket. Somehow though, he realizes we’re not going anywhere and give up. Then decides to light a fire using rice stalks (fresh ones, ya’know, still green and filled with…water) and shake burning sticks at us as they go out. He is upset when we are unimpressed, you wouldn’t have been either. He was still drunk but as Winston Churchill might remark, in the morning he was still going to be stupid.
I ended up hiding the car keys right in front of the driver’s side tire. It was dark and they wouldn’t be seen until they were looked for. It was good I did this because as we were boarding our bus when it did finally come he came in our direction and started yelling and screaming about his car keys. I just told him he was drunk and he should go away. His friend quickly stopped him, we assume because he found the keys on the ground where I’d left them. He may have helped to steal our cell phone, but we got a good laugh at his expense.
IF YOU GO: On the Islands you will find nothing to do but sit in a hammock in a mosquito filled area. There are some waterfalls to look at (nice) and the river dolphins to see if you didn’t do so in Cambodia, but all this will only take you a day tops. When you decide its time to leave your mosquito and roach infested bungalow (cheap, but that is literally the only option) just take the VIP bus in the AM north, don’t take the afternoon bus that is coming from Cambodia.
I can’t believe how different your experience was to mine! I loved the islands – had no worse problem with roaches or mosquitoes than anywhere else in South East Asia, had some lovely accommodation, and had an amazing time exploring the islands, seeing the old French trains, the rice paddies and villages – it was incredibly peaceful, quiet and relaxing.
Also – there is loads more to do in the area – if you head up to Paxke you can use it as a base to explore the beautiful Bolaven Plateau with its coffee farms, excellent hiking and great waterfalls
We did head up to Paxke and had a much nicer time up there. Although we didn’t get to the Plateau, we opted to head further north and rent motos instead, it was clear to us that the islands just weren’t right for us. We nearly went to the big island but then were told that it was ‘same same’ so we passed.
What time of the year were you there, traveling in the dry season we’ve hardly dealt with the creepy crawlies and I’m guessing you were there in the wet season? Even our trip on the Mekong in Vietnam was free of bugs by comparison to Don Det.
No, I was there over December, at the height of the dry season, and the bugs weren’t an issue at all. Weird, wonder if I was lucky and something was different when I was there? All in all though it just goes to show that everyone has very different tastes when it comes to travel! (Glad to see you enjoyed Vang Vieng though and got to see ‘the other side’ – sadly I think the tubing / drinking / friends side gets too much attention and puts people off)
@Geoff- I think you hit the nail on the head. Everyone has different tastes, but it also depends on who is there, where you stay and when you go. It’s just a snapshot of a moment in time!