Woke up very early this morning to pack our bags, eat breakfast at the guesthouse, settle our bill (Reasonable! $32 for 2 days of lodging, meals, laundry and bicycle rental), say goodbye to our hosts and take the family’s boat to the port town of Ban Nakasang. We then took a series of mini-buses and air-conditioned buses to cross into Cambodia on our way to Siem Reap. The journey included breakdowns of two different buses and ended up with the passengers doing an in-bus, roadside sleepover 50km north of Phnom Penh.

Today we decided to explore the island across from us, Don Det. For the price of $1 a day you can rent a bicycle which is the best way to explore this area. We rode to Don Det and took a tour to see the Khon Phaoheng Falls (largest waterfall is south East Asia by volume, not height) and the rare Irrawaddy dolphins. Watched another wonderful sunset and chilled on the veranda eating a wonderful Lao dinner.

After 19 hours of travel from Luang Prabang by plane, bus, boat and tuk tuk we finally arrived in Don Khon – an island in Si Phan Don, in Southern Laos. The island is a small piece of paradise dotted with bungalows and restaurants by the Mekong River, featuring amazing sunsets. The island only has electricity for a few hours during the day. It is quiet beyond belief and for the first time in what feels like years-we can see a sky full of stars.