Sunset
A golden river.
Basile Morin — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Basile Morin — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Basile Morin — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Basile Morin — CC BY-SA 4.0
A river archipelago in the far south of Laos, where the Mekong widens to about fourteen kilometres and scatters among thousands of islands and islets, half of them drowned when the river floods in the rainy season; hence the name, the four thousand islands. The largest is Don Khong, and the best known to visitors are Don Det and Don Khon. Life here moves at the river's pace: wooden stilt houses among palms and rice fields, fishermen in narrow boats, water buffalo wallowing in the shallows and sunsets that turn the river gold. Visitors get around by bike on dirt tracks between villages, or by boat between islands. Don Det and Don Khon keep the traces of an 1890s French railway, its old stone bridge between the two islands and a rusty steam locomotive still in place. From here you visit the nearby Li Phi falls and Khone Phapheng on the east bank. Get there from Pakse by bus to Nakasang village, then a short boat ride to the islands. The best months are November to February, when the river is calm and the weather milder.
A golden river.
Between villages.
Bridge and engine.
Mekong river, Champasak province, near the Cambodian border
By bus from Pakse to Nakasang village in about three hours, then a short boat to Don Det or Don Khon.