South of Laos the Mekong finds its way to Cambodia through thousands of islands, that is why this area is called the "4000 Islands". The landscapes are beautiful and the atmosphere is very relaxed. Don Det and Don Khone are two islands that are very popular with travellers, they both counts numerous guesthouses (most of them called Mr something!), it seems that all the locals have opened a guesthouse! North of Don Det there is like a little village where are the cheapest (15.000 / 20.000 Kips) but not the nicest/cleanest bungalows. On Don Khone next to the bridge linking the island to Don Det there are more expensive but much nicer bungalows (we met a French couple who stayed at Pan's Guesthouse and they really had a lovely room). To visit the islands we opted to hire a bicycle (10.000 Kips a day). In the morning we went to the Li Phi waterfalls on Don Khone. We had to pay the 9.000 Kips fee to cross the bridge coming from Don Det to Don Khone, however we met a lot of tourists who crossed the bridge for free as the ticket man was having a nap! At the waterfall we did not have to pay the 9.000 Kips entrance fee as there was nobody to collect it, even if we arrived at 10am! When we left the site the ticket man had finally arrived but he did not ask us to stop. We then wanted to visit the village of Don Khone but ended up spending a couple of hours with Isabelle and Anthony a French couple we had met the day before. We had a lovely time sharing our travel experiences and we also had a very good meal at the restaurant of Pan's Guesthouse. In the afternoon we went to the village North of Don Det to exchange some money. In Laos it is not like in Cambodia where the "official" currency is the dollar and the riel is used to give the change (1$=4000 riels). In Laos they use their national currency which is the Kip, they will accept the dollar in shops and restaurants but at a very low rate of $1=8.000 Kips when in banks it is $1=8700 Kips. Reading our guide book we understood that Laos was like Cambodia but it is not true, in Laos it is better to change money in banks to get the best rates and pay in Kips. In the evening we catch up with Isabelle and Anthony and went to the Pan's Restaurant, probably the best restaurant of both islands.
