Mekong Hammock Therapy: Our Si Phan Don Escape

The view from my hammock on Donn Khon

Why We Needed an Exit from Thailand

At the end of September 2015, I needed to get out of Thailand. I was there with my family, and while we had six-month visas, we couldn’t remain in Thailand for more than 90 days without leaving the country.

Our 90 days were just about up, so we needed an exit.

And to tell the truth, I needed a break. I was coming to the end of the semester abroad program I had been leading. For the previous three months, I had been running all over Thailand with ten students, not only trying to make sure they were safe and having fun, but also having a set of significant learning experiences.

The experience was great.

But it was a lot of work.

And it was a LOT of stress.

So I planned an escape to Si Phan Don in Laos — a set of chill islands in the Mekong River. The perfect place to just spend some time swinging lazily in a hammock and only getting up for meals and bathroom breaks.

Getting from Bangkok to Si Phan Don

I said goodbye to my students and saw them safely on their onward travels. Then my family went to the train station. We love trains, especially overnight trains, so we took the overnight train from Bangkok to Ubon Ratchathani.

The train went smoothly, and the next morning we went to the bus station in Ubon and took the bus across the Lao border to the city of Pakse (200 baht). The bus took about four hours.

At the border, we left our bags on the bus and filed into the Thai immigration building. We passed quickly through immigration, crossed through a spooky, underground tunnel to get the the Lao side, and were stamped into Laos with a 30-day visa ($35--had to pay is US$--but check entry requirements before you come).

Arriving in Pakse, we got our first introduction to one of the more annoying aspects of travel in Laos: the taxi mafia. The bus station was a good five kilometers outside the city, and drivers were out to gouge everyone who needed to get from the station to the city. At first, the driver insisted we pay 70,000 kip (about $8US at the time) PER PERSON!!! The entire four hour ride from the border cost about $5.50US each (and that bus was more comforatble than the trucks the drivers had on offer).

After intense bargaining that was far more aggressive than I was used to, we ended up paying 300 Thai baht for the very short ride into town. But when the driver dropped us off, he insisted I had agreed to pay more. Things got tense. In the end, we just walked away.

This would not be the last time we would experience this kind of gouging in Laos.

Onward to Don Khon Island

In Pakse, it was easy to buy combination minivan/boat tickets to Don Khon, one of the quieter islands in Si Phan Don (“si phan don” means “four thousand islands”) for 65,000 kip (about $8 US at the time).

It was low season on Don Khon — and by low season, I mean there were almost no other tourists. The tourism infrastructure was just waking up from its off-season slumber. Many hotels weren’t yet open. Same for restaurants.

But that was fine with me. I wanted peace and quiet.

Finding Our Hammocks

We knew things would be slow, so we hadn’t booked ahead. We poked our heads into a few different places and finally settled on Somphamit Guesthouse. We got two rooms, a double and a triple, right on the river with hammocks on the front porches for 200,000 kip per night total.

I think we were the only guests there.

For the next five days, I barely moved from my hammock.

At one point, I finished the book I was reading on my Kindle. I tethered my Kindle to my phone, used my mobile data, and downloaded a new book from my library back home.

Without ever leaving my hammock.

Technology is great.

Daughter 2 in her hammock (those are my feet behind her)

Life on Don Khon

We had some sunny days and some rainy days. It didn't much matter as we swung in our hammocks on the porch.

We ate meals at backpacker restaurants, sitting on cushions at low tables — a throwback to the days of the “Banana Pancake Trail.”

We walked through the rural part of the island just enough to make sure our legs didn’t actually atrophy. Which wasn't very much.

And before long, Mekong-Hammock therapy did its job and I felt ready to get out there and see some of Laos other than the Mekong.

Sure, I had gotten worn down because travel.

But, because travel, I rebounded, too!