When we left for Si Phan Don (4000 Islands), which is a group of islands on the Mekong River just over the boarder in Laos, we were not prepared for the length, or the heat, of the bus ride. We were literally on the bus all day, and about four hours into the journey the air conditioning broke. Instead of being relatively cool as we watched the countryside fly by, we were stuck in a crowded bus in the blazing Cambodian sun. It was insane: It was actually cooler outside when we stopped for lunch than it was in the bus. Every time we got back on the bus and sat down, I’d immediately fall asleep it was so hot.
4000 Islands was nice though: we stayed on the island of Don Det, the backpacker hangout spot. One of the days we were there we rented bikes and rode all over Don Det and Don Kohn, eventually finding a place to go swimming in the Mekong. We ate at this little restaurant right on the edge of the river, and then biked back to Don Det to see the sunset.
After we had exhausted the options of things to do on the islands, we moved on to Pakse. Pakse is the quietest town I have been in since coming to Southeast Asia. The only thing to do is go to the market whose claim to fame is that it is supposedly the biggest market in Asia (though we are 100% sure that is not true). It does have deeeeelicious food though. We had the best spring rolls ever, the most delectable rice and stir-fried vegetables, and these melt-in-your-mouth sesame pastries. The sesame pastries were ridiculously: they are a light, hollow ball of dough with sesame seeds on the outside, and inside the pastry is a smaller ball of a coconut paste of sorts. Before you eat it, you smash the ball with the heel of your hand, the paste smooshes, the dough flattens, and you have this warm, slightly sweet, nutty circle of heaven to eat. I’m still not sure as to why we only bought one each (and I’m really sad I haven’t seen them in Cambodia).
After 24 hours in Pakse, we had had enough and were ready to move on, so we booked tickets on the night bus to Vientiane, and headed out.
Looks like the heat has gotten to ya, and especially to your friend! Food looks great. Whats are those little round things in the bowl, leechee nuts?
ReplyDeleteThose are the amazing sesame pastry things! And yes, at this point, we were bored out of our minds - we had just finished some naan bread, and we didn't know what else to do with ourselves...
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