Si Pan Don-- 4,000 Disappointments

In the very south of Laos, the Mekong River splits and braids around hundreds of tiny islands and forms an area named Si Pan Don (literally 4,000 Islands). Touted by Lonely Planet and recommended by my hostel-mate in Vientiane as a cheap, back-packer friendly must see for gorgeous island scenery and quaint river life. I was expecting $1 river-front bungalows, cheap food, friendly fishermen, and some more of the quiet relaxation I had experienced in the south of Thailand and my river trip from Luang Prabang to Vientiane. Hoping to stretch $50 for a week or more here, I was nickel and dimed at every turn of the journey (bus to Pakse, mini-bus to the village near the river, ferry to the island...) and what I found was disgruntled feeling locals, full $2 river-front bungalows, and expensive food that continues to disagree with my tummy. Rather than enjoying a taste of paradise, I felt like an unwelcome alien invader (which of course, I am).

I walked about 20 minutes down the bungalow-strewn riverside of Don Det, supposedly the smallest, least developed of the three tourist islands, and find a quieter, more isolated guesthouse with full bungalows, but a free room in the main house for $1.50. I am tired of walking, figure the rest of the bungalows are probably full, too, like the price, and the woman knows my friend Nata from Vientiane, so I stay.

For lunch, I order pineapple fried rice, which is not on the menu, but comes out pretty well, and I appreciate Ms. Boune Tip's efforts. Consistant with my culinary opinons here, I prefer the Thai version to the Laos.

Again I find myself alone on an island during my travels on Valentine's day. The holiday does not seem to be celebrated here, and I did not recently go through a messy break up (as preceeded my excruciatingly lonely Valentine's experience on Venice during Carnival in 2003), so I am not upset. I borrow a small boat from my guesthouse owner and try to paddle myself about the river, prudently heading upstream first and discovering that my one-man boat seems a lot more interested in going back and forth when I paddle than in going straight upstream and I wish I had someone with me to paddle on the opposite side. I give up struggling against the current and paddle sideways to a gap in the islands across from my guesthouse I had seen some locals enter for fishing. It was beautiful and quiet, but the river was pretty low and there were a lot of rocks and sticks covered in algae. I now understand why the slow boat to Luang Prabang took such a zig-zaggy path down the Mekong, and what Air, my Mekong guide, meant when he said his head was full of rocks--he has to know where all the rocks are in the river so he does not damage his boat or his prop, because they are not necessarily visible on the surface. I am thankful the man that almost sold me a boat in Luang Prabang didn't and encouraged me to go with a guide for safety.

I spent two nights on Si Pan Don... enough to walk down and see the French rail-road bridge, watch a few sunsets (one mediocre, one stunning) and the most amazing full moon rise I've ever seen--the huge face of the full moon rose a vibrant red through the clouds of the Eastern horizon. Such things defy description and must be seen for one's self. I leave today $8 lighter and again facinated by my environment's continuing reflection of my emotional state (I feel like I'm running out of money and want to get by as cheaply as possible, and the people around me become more greedy...what do you know!).