DON DET, relaxing on one of the 4.000 Islands

Arrived with the lontail around 11:00. Walked around for 1,5 hour to look for a nice guesthouse. All the same, 20.000 - 30.000 KIP, very basic, lot's of shared bathrooms, holes in the walls and hard matrasses. Just met somebody from Portugal and took her bike to check the island. It was cool mountainbiking again. Crossed the bridge to Don Khon, Lonely Planet and some other backpackers told me that they had to pay, but I didn't see anyone. Don Khon had this spectacular waterfall (Li Phi Fall or Tat Somphamit, a raging set of rapids) and more good mountainbike tracks (old railwaytrack, though but with a good mountainbike it's okay). Just forgot about time after meetin g some new people and a lot of cycling. Met some Israeli girl (Saray) and we gonna have some special Israeli dinner at Josh Place in Don Det.

Went back, got a flat tire, and decided to stay somewhere at Sunsetboulevard.

This morning I didn't like it here, to quiet and not much to do. But you have to take another better look. Rent a bike and find it out. There are no real roads on this island and that gives it it's rustique and quiet Lao atmosphere. The Government is planning to make a road around the island, but that should destroy it's atmoshere. The islands just have electricity since 1 month ago, before that only generators and candles.

Met some relaxed people today and now it's okay :-) In the evening 2 good meals and a nice falafelmeal. Just a good backpacker atmosphere.

VANG VIENG - VIENTIANE - PAKSE - DON DET, 22 hours of busdriving

Time to leave. At least, that's what you expect when they say you leave at 13:15...but this is Laos. Be patient. Even when you are waiting in a crappy bus with no aircon and it's between 60 and 80 degrees Celsius inside...it was a sauna! Took 1 hour before the decided to leave. First to Vientiane, what a ride...everything was fallen apart of this bus. Driver was driving like a drunken F1 racer...so just close your eyes :-) At 18:00 I arrived in Vientiane, nobody knows if the bus (and which one) leaves from this busterminal or the Southern one. Finally there is somebody that knows, they put us in a sleeper VIP bus. But this is made for Lao people, so small sizes. We went to the Southern Busterminal and it left at 20:30. I was surprised what the transport with these buses, for example; a complete barbershop and a few motorbikes on the roof of a bus.

We left, and I hoped that I didn't had to share my way too small bed with somebody. At 20:30 I thought I was lucky...not this time. There was this Lao guy sleeping next to me. And the empte bed below was booked by one person that bought 2 tickets...smart, but not cheap. What a night, this snorring guy next to me, using all the space and playing with his loud telephone. So put the earplugs in and after a while a found the right position to sleep. They give free food, drinks and candy in the bus. I payed 220.000 KIP and even got a free meal while a was waiting for the bus in Vang Vieng. At 06:00 we arrived in Pakse, adn again we had to change busses. The minivan takes you to the opffice to have breakfast. At 08:00 you leave with a smaller bus to Don Det (one of the 4.000 islands). Ask them for a boatticket as well. At 11:00 arrived at the boatpier after hours of horning busdriver, scooters that didn't want to move aside, cows on the road and more...

VANG VIENG, day after, bicycle, caves and blue lagoons

Town is dead after the crazy Christmass. Many people left today. There was no electricity in town for a long time. So our idea for watching Family Guy al moprning to chill out wasn't working. Me and Roland hired a bike and went on the road for mountainbiking, caves and blue lagoons. Don't expects blue lagoons in caves, they are not in the caves. Just some blue refreshing waterpools near the caves. Don't pay the kids that join you in the caves, they tried to charge us money for helping with torches and guiding. We didn't ask for it so go away :-)

I just had some ropeswings in the blue lagoons. And before dark we went back to town watching the spectacular sceneries. Today I went with Roland and some Belgians to another bar for our last night in Vang Vieng. It has been long enough :-)

VANG VIENG, Best Christmass ever!

What a party! STarted at 12:00 and ended up in one fuckin' crazy day with drinking, dancing, screaming, swimming, tubing, swinging on rope swings, jumping off high platforms, Tiger buckets, stealing tubes, mud voleeyball, mud fights.... and more

Story will follow in a few days...

VANG VIENG, Hardcore cave tubing and mountainbiking like crazy

Full with energy after all the stress. We rented some mountainbikes with 7 people and went to some caves 20km from here. Those bastards ask money for everything! Money for parking your bike, money for crossing a selfmade bridge (they destroyed the offical bridge), money for entering every cave, money for a guide, money for toilet...money money money. But this Watercave was amazing. You will get a tube and a headlamp with a big battery. Don't worry, you won't be electrocuted. And then you go with a guide into the dark and cold rivertunnels of the cave. We wnet in the caves quite far, it was a good excersice paddling all the way. And at the end we had a big mudfight, very cool.

The other cave was the Elephant cave. Not very special but is was hardcore caving, crawling to tiny holes and narrow cliffs. This was the real rockclimbing. On our way back Kent and me were mouhntainbiking like it was the Worldcup, so fast. But we were the only two of the group that made it to bar #3 with tubing. In 1,5 hours we had more then 4 buckets and did some rope swings into the river. And everybody was so wasted here, it's just one big crazy party (like in Holland sometimes). We had to bring our bikes back before six. Normaly the distance takes half an hpour. But we did it in 7 minutes! We had taken over verybody on the road... cars, motorbikes. And that after all thoser buckets and partying.

In the evening it was just oney big Christmassparty in Vang Vieng. Mushroomtown filled with Chrismass hats.

But be awere in Vang Vieng. The police is very corrupt. They just pick people from the street and fine you 500 - 600 US Dollars and accusing you of something you didn't do. They tell you that you used drugs, but they will never do a drugtest. You just have to pay. Just be carefull and stay with your friends.

VANG VIENG - VIENTIANE - VANG VIENG, from bad luck to...

At 07:00 I had to call the buscompany again, called the busdriver at his homenumber. They didn't found anything in the bus. I also called the last restaurant where we stopped, but they didn't found my stuff :-( I had to go to the embassy in Thailand, but without any papers and money this was impossible. So I had to go to the police first. This is so fucked!

Just one last chance, go on the internet... Hell yeah! Somebody in the bus found my bag and checked if my name was on Facebook and send me a message. It were the Dutchies and they were in Ventiane. So I just wrote back that I catch the first bus to Ventiane. They didn't gave me a phonenumber but what the hell... 7 hours after that I was there and I met them very easy. Everything was still there. Damn, I'm so lucky! After some applecrunch and Italian sandwiches I went back to Vang Vieng. Attacked by a dog and chased by drugcouriers. And in the evening I was back in Vang Vieng and had this crazy party for 2 hours. This was such a good day! I missed alkl the tubing but who cares.

Roosmarijn and Anne, many thanks to you girls! You don't know how happy you made me today!

LUANG PRABANG - VANG VIENG... Lost everything, what's next?!

Woke up after a sleepless night in a camping tent. Kent and Flemming went for the elephant riding again. The guide told us we were gonna be picked up before 09:00, but that didn't happen. After a long discussion and phonecalls at the booking office they finally gave us back some money for the tour. Just 30 USD, a 3rd of the total price. So we jumped on the tuktuk to the busstation and got the VIP-bus to Ventienne. Bargaining for the bus till it was 95.000 Kip, still too much but okay. The ride was not too bad. After the dinner break I hooked up with 2 Dutch girls in the bus. After 8 hours we arrived in Vang Vieng and the bus left. We just checked in at the Phonesaksit Guesthouse that the 2 Dutchies recommended and that was the moment when I found out that there was a 'small' problem...

I lost everything during the last trip; passport, all my money, bank cards, creditcards, insurrance cards, licences, divingcard, simcards...just everything. It was impossible to reach the busdriver, after some locals spoke to the company. So I'm so lucky that I'm with my travelbuddies. But damn, this is fucked!

I tried to forget about it, but after a while I went back to the guesthouse and the other ones started to party in one of the best partyplaces in Laos: VANG VIENG! :-(

XANG XAY, Mahout Elephant Training...

We booked a 2 day Mahout training at an elephant camp. At least, the promised us a 2 day full day trainig program, all the time with the elephants, our own elephant for the 2 days, bathing and swiming with them, trekking with them, homestay with the locals. And we asked for a elephantcamp without seats on the elephants.

But we got the opposite of that. We arrived at a piece of small land with 2 sad looking elephants, chained and with huge wooden chairs on their backs. We did some loop arpound the area, just a half our walk in the chairs and didn't see more then barbwire and some dirts and cutdown trees. There were only 2 elephants for us and all the other tourists that came to that place. So we spend hours with doing nothing and sleeping to kill ythe time. The traing was just saying 'Stop, Go' and explain how to turn left and right. But the elephants didn't even res[poind on the so called trainers... They didn't want top go in the water because they have to do that 10 times a day. And we asked what the programs was for the next day and they said the same! Well, this is a rip-off! At the end we had a small walk throught the garden and we went into the 'Jungle'. Just walking between some trees to leave the 2 elephants there, chained to a tree so they could spend the night there.

Oh, the homestay was not really homestay. You just stay oin a concrete building next to Whiskey Village. They also promised us celebrating the New Years activities with the locals (from 17 - 27th of December in Laos) but they just didn't wanted to do it. Because drinking whiskey at the campfire was more important for the guide, who had some alcoholproblem.

What a wonderfull boring and non-exciting day!