4000 islands and Don Det to Vang Vieng and Vientiane, Laos 1 to 15 April 2025

My original plan, after the Thakhek and Pakse Loop, was to head back up North to ride around there. But I had received a WhatsApp from Style Motors. Thanh, the co owner, and some of the staff were mapping out new dirt trails and were up there riding around. They told me to head south. Visibility and the air was really bad in the north. Burning season was in full swing. So, time to change the plan. I decided to head down south to Don Det and the Si Phan Don or the 4,000 islands, as it is commonly called. This is an archipelago in the Mekong River and borders on Cambodia. Both cultures are linked to the people living here, they are an apart community. Half the islands are submerged when the Mekong is in flood. The main islands are Don Khong, Don Som, Don Det and Don Khon. It is a well known and loved area by the biker and backpacking community. As yet relatively unvisited by the mainstream tourists. This makes it really unique. This area was not on my original itinerary, so had done no real research.

It was a short ride, 153km or 4 hours according to Google. But Maps.me showed a different route than Google, so I decided to head down in the general direction and see what happens. Once again it was route 13 the whole way. Then came a junction with a sign for straight on for Don Det and right for Dong Khon. Maps.me was also straight on but Google said turn right. The Google route, set for motorbike, looked interesting, island hopping with ferry boats, so we turned right…. What can possibly go wrong.

Don Khong.

So I turned right. The road led to a bridge connecting the island of Don Khong to the mainland. This was one of the larger islands in the group. The road was hard dirt so was okay. I followed Google Maps to the ferry. The ferry, if you could call it that, had just pulled away. We were on a hill looking down at the river. The ferry harbour was a dirt road leading, steeply, down to a small flat piece of land and a narrow plank of wood. I was staring in dismay at this when I noticed the captain of the ferry gesticulating to me asking if I wanted to get on. I waved yes and they turned back. The ferry was a large piece of wood on top of two sampan boats. There were a couple of scooters already on board. I started a slow descent, the occupants of the boat were watching in amusement. They put a small narrow plank down for me and moved a scooter. I aimed for this, piece of wood and the small space, and we made it, without riding straight across, this frail contraption, into the river. This raft was incredible. There was a long tail motor pushing it across the delta. Navigating between the small islands. It was some journey.

Then on the other side was once again a small narrow plank to another sandy upward track. I let the scooters go first, then took a run at it. Got up ok and once again dirt tracks, but really narrow. Google Maps was giving a distance of 15 km to the other ferry terminal, on the bottom of the island and a time of 1 hour and 34 minutes. I had made good time up until now, so I decided to enjoy the ride. It turned out to be brilliant. Small rutted trails, some a bit muddy, some a bit sandy but passing through inhabited areas and isolated houses. It offered a rare glance into rural island life. Fertile land, rice fields and grazing land. Some of the tracks were barricaded to keep the buffaloes in. But you just stopped, opened the gate, go through and shut the gate after you. This turned out to be a fantastic ride. I was fairly flying along. The difference between the CRF and Tiggy Moondust, my Triumph Tiger was enormous. I was able to literally throw the Honda around; it was so light. It inspired confidence.

Made it to the next boat pickup spot, but there was no boat to be seen. Once again, I was on a hilltop and below was a small strip that looked like the landing spot. I could see across to Don Det. I stood waiting wondering what to do when I saw another raft like contraption coming towards me. It pulled up and once again a narrow plank of wood was put down and they signalled me to come down. Once again slowly I made it and got onboard, and we set off. The landing on Don Det was a bit more civilized. It was paved.

On the way to Don Det

Don Det ahoy

I rented a little hut on the sunrise side of the island. It had a little balcony on the river with a hammock. It offered a superb view of the sunrise and invited me to chill out and relax for a couple of days.

My little hut on the Mekong.

There is not a lot to do here. The main activities being kayaking, hiking, tubing and bicycling around the island, which you can easily do in two hours. Visiting the waterfall on the next island, Don Khon, there is a bridge connecting these two islands and that is about it. The biggest attraction is the peace and quiet. It is a brilliant place to chill out and relax. Tubing is a popular pastime under the younger backpackers. It involves floating down the river in truck inner tubes. This is done when you are drunk or wasted on other substances and carrying and drinking a local brewed alcohol beverage.

Waterfall Don Khon.

Bicycle is the easiest way to travel around Don Det

Sunset Don Det

Sunset Don Det

Whilst chilling and relaxing I had made another plan. I was going to head up North. My days in Laos were limited and I wanted to fit a few more things in. So, it was time to head up North. This time I took the ferry straight from Don Det to the mainland. This one was a bit more civilized, in that the ramp was paved. According to the schedule the boat was set to leave at 09.30. I was there really early as I wanted to park the bike up at the ferry and to let them know that a bike was going. They directed me to park on the ramp, which I did.

Waiting to load

I was walking away to go and get some breakfast when the boatman ran after me and told me to put the bike onboard as they were going to leave…. Really early. Anyway, I returned and loaded the bike and we set off. There were a group of other people, backpackers, onboard who had booked a minibus to go somewhere. That was the reason why this sailing was put on. The ferry was a large wooden platform, lashed across two sampan, shallow draught boats, with a longtail outboard engine. The delta is pretty wide at this point, about 2 kms and takes 10 to 15 minutes on the boat. It was sand, cement and chaos at Nakasong, but it was fun. Early morning village life at a river town on the border with Cambodia.

Navigating the Mekong

Nakasong jetty

After a breakfast of an omelette, rice and coffee, it was time to set off to a town called Champassak, 142 km away. I wanted to visit an old temple called Vat Phou. Vat Phou or Vat Phu means mountain temple and is constructed at the base of mountain Phao Khao. It is one of the oldest places of worship in Southeast Asia. It is now a ruined Khmer Hindu temple complex. It dates back to prehistoric times when it was regarded as a sacred place to offer sacrifices and the first building was placed at a spring that was also regarded as being sacred. In the 7th century the first pre-Angkor stone building was constructed, with the rest of the complex being built in the Angkor period, 11th to 13th century. There is a hiking trail that leads to Angkor Wat, in Cambodia from here. This trail and some other ones are only accessible with a compulsory guide. The ruins are pretty impressive and take at least half a day to wander around them. Champassak is also a nice little town on the banks of the Mekong.

Vat Phou or Vat Phu

Vat Phou or Vat Phu

Vat Phou or Vat Phu

It was a long, hot and boring run to our next stop. A town called Savannakhet, 243 km and four and a half hours away. This was a nice little town with a good night market, on the banks of the Mekong. We were on the way back up to Vientiane. But the road was really boring, route 13. So, a change was called for. The next day we set off bright and early. The first bit on the 13 then changed over to the 12 and then to the 1E. Inland. We were back on the Thakhek Loop but going the other way round. It was going to be longer and slower but a lot more fun. This time we are not stopping anywhere, just enjoying the ride and the scenery. I stopped in Sabaidee guesthouse for the night. Once again, an amazing stay, with nice people. Next morning left bright and early after a really good breakfast. It was going to be a long run. Vientiane was 384km away. I had a few options to stop for the night, but it was a really good ride, so I just kept going and arrived in Vientiane by late afternoon. Style was still open, so brought the bike back. They were going out to dinner with family and friends and they invited me to come along. Once again, a super night in company with some really great Vietnamese people and of course Ben, who was becoming a local.

Thanh, Ben, family, friends and the crew from Style motorbike renatal

Spent the next 2 days resting and doing laundry, also planning my exit from Laos. But before we exit one more little ride in Laos. were heading to Vang Vieng in the mountains of Northern Laos. There is a new expressway built joining these two places, but motorbikes are not allowed onto it. So I had to use the old road. It is a distance of 153km and takes nearly 4 hours. The road is heavily potholed in places. Picked the CRF up the day before so could load up early in the morning. It was a slow ride with smoke and haze.

But the scenery is spectacular, at least what I could see. Vang Vieng lies in a valley on the Nam Song River and is surrounded by Karst limestone formations. Really an idyllic setting. It is an agriculture town but gained fame as a party centre. It reached its heyday for the party scene in the late 1990’s with anything goes parties. The riverside is lined with cheap hotels and bars. Restaurants selling western food are everywhere. In 2011 the local town’s hospital recorded 27 deaths related to people drowning and or bashing themselves on the sharp jagged rocks after jumping into the river from one of the many swings located in the riverside bars. In 2012 the Laos government finally stepped in and closed a lot of the more notorious makeshift, riverside, wooden bars with their dangerous river swings and slides and the tubing establishments and initiated a curfew. No more blaring music after 10pm. That effectively ended the crazy party scene.Vang Vieng was then promoted as an adventure travel destination. Kayaking, rock climbing, caving and hot air ballooning replacing the party scene, Vang Vieng is now becoming a destination for nature and culture lovers. There are still a number of backpacker party people, but the 10pm curfew means that it is a peaceful place to visit. The party scene, though much subdued is still there and unfortunately once again Laos was in the news with the deaths of 6 backpackers, November 2024, after drinking methanol laced drinks.

There is a lot to do in Vang Vieng, but I was only here for a day and two nights. I went in the evening to watch the hot air balloons taking off. They offer flights for sunrise and sunset. It is an extremely popular activity, whilst not exactly cheap it is still one of the most affordable places to get airborne in a balloon.

Vang Vieng

Vang Vieng

There are a number of caves in the area. I visited the Tam Cham Cave. This was just a little exploratory trip for me. More for the ride than anything.

Blue Lagoon Tam Cham Cave

Tam Cham Cave

Tam Cham Cave

Tam Cham Cave

The return run was just as enjoyable and made good time. Stopped off at Xieng Khuan or Buddha Park, 25km from Vientiane. This park, in a grassy area on the Mekong, contains over 200 images from Hindu and Buddhist deities. It suffered badly in the floods last year, when the Mekong overflowed flooding large parts of the area.

Xieng Khuan or Buddha park

Xieng Khuan or Buddha park

Returned the bike and had dinner with the Ben and the co-owner. The festival of Songkran had also just started. I spent the first day of the festival in Vientiane and then crossed the Mekong to enter Thailand and spend the rest of the festival there. Songkran is a Khmer (Sangkran in Khmer) festival and is widely celebrated in Laos, Cambodia and Thailand. It is a 3-day festival with those countries shutting down as businesses close and people celebrate. The monks wash the statues and traditionally the younger generation pour scented water over the hands of the elders. But nowadays it is a 3-day battle with water cannons, hosepipes and buckets. People go wild on the streets. It is the world’s biggest water fight. Thailand takes the lead in this, so I had planned my trip to take this in.

Thanh, Style motorbikes Laos and Vietnam

Songkran, Vientiane Laos

Songkran, Vientiane Laos

Songkran, Nong Khai Thailand

Songkran, Nong Khai Thailand

I am finishing this trip on that note. It was a fantastic little ride with some really good meetings and experiences. I got the chance to take part in so many different cultures and experienced so many fantastic things and I am glad to share it with you. I also got to try out some really fantastic cuisine.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post and sharing in a fantastic journey with me.

If you would like to see the above-mentioned sights then click on the link below to the like named photo album, and once again I have to apologize for the quality of the action cam photos. This trip I was having a lot of trouble with it, it is a new one.

Facebook album 4000 islands and Don Det to Vang Vieng and Vientiane Laos 1-15 Apr 25

But first make a nice wee cup of tea, fluff up the cushion in your favourite chair, grab a nice big sticky bun and click your way through and enjoy Laos.

Take care, stay safe and have fun. Until next blog Bye Bye