Si Phan Don – The 4,000 Islands of Adventure

Si Phan Don is a collection of 4,000 islands and islets on the Mekong River on the Laos–Cambodian border and is great for backpacking.  Half of these islands are submerged when the Mekong floods.  The main island at Si Phan Don to travel to is Don Khong and to a lesser extent,  Don Det and Don Khon.

The main activity to do is boating, swimming, clambering around the rapids and watching the locals at play and at work.  The Khone Phapheng waterfalls are a great place to go sightseeing and to take a dip.  It is the biggest waterfall and rapids in Southeast Asia. This is where the Mekong River falls down through the rapids to continue on to Cambodia. Here we can see the remains of the narrow gauge railway that the French built to enable transportation along the Mekong by passing the Khone Phapeng falls.  It is these falls that prevent direct navigation from Vietnam to China.

Irrawady dolphins can be spotted here and the giant catfish, the largest freshwater fish in the world can also be spotted here.  Both are highly endangered, especially the giant catfish which is rarely caught now.

There is not much else in entertainment nor electricity.  So be prepared for romantic candle lit nights at the guest houses when the generators switch off.  Most of the accommodation are kind of rustic little stilt huts by the locals, just nice for backpackers.  Not to worry, civilisation is just 3 hours away to Pakse, the third largest city in Laos.

Here is a video by swsanderson on the adventures at Si Phan Don in Laos.

Luang Prabang

Luang Prabang is the ancient royal capital of Laos.  It sits at the confluence of the Khan and Mekong rivers, where the Khan flows into mighty Mekong.  This city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Luang Prabang is sleepy yet majestic with its ancient past.  The royal palace is still intact, and is now a museum, the Haw Kham Royal Palace Museum.  There are many Buddhists temples and daily at dawn, hundreds of monks ritually walk through the city to collect alms with their begging bowls.  Wat Xieng Thong is one of the more prominent temples and a must see for tourists.

This video by Laotian23 gives a pretty good overview of the things to do and see in Luang Prabang.  The audio is a bit crackly, but the words are legible.