It is hard to think of a place more laid back than Four Thousand Islands. There are hundreds of travellers and tourists here, many guest houses are full. Meanwhile it is nice to see how village life goes on Lao style as we were not here at all. The Lao have many children, and they play with sticks and bamboo poles, often by the river. They never beg for money, never ask to see my computer, never ever say they would need a Nintendo game or want to know what I work with or how much I earn. Very nicely they say 'sabaidee' when I meet them but they never bother me with anything. Most adult Lao do their traditional thing as well. Certainly our being here has boosted the local economy with healthy injections of cash, but so far it does not seem to have upset village life very much.
Having heard that the stretch from Kratie to Stung Treng, and on to the border, is not that important to see from the bike I took a bus all the way to Nakasang. From there it is half an hours boatride to Don Det. Someone had told me not to stop at the Northernmost guest houses but rather continue a bit South before settling down. Once I got my bike reassembled I could easily outrun the rest of my fellow bus passengers hunting for the nicest place to stay. All through my 4-day stop here I have had good use for my bike exploring the islands.
No comments:
Post a Comment