Saturday, November 05, 2011

4,000 Islands Rainy Biking (Li Phi Waterfalls)

vietnam, cambodia and laos 11th solo backpacking tour
august 24 - september 1, 2011 wednesday to thursday


objective: to visit the best tourist spot that fits to my budget at limited amount of time.
additional tasks: lost half of my pocket-money in day 1... show must go on for the planned itinerary no matter how it takes

champasak province (southern laos) solo day-tour

continued...

strolling alone in the morning by biking (having a lose-bolt seat) the not so outskirts area of southern laos while raining, not to mention asking the direction to 99% non-english speaking locals....

The Si Phan Don (Lao word means The 4000 islands) is a riverine archipelago located in the Mekong River, Champasak Province in southern Laos. Si Phan Don is characterised by numerous islands, half of which are submerged when the Mekong River is in flood. The principle islands of Si Phan Don are Don Khong (the largest), and Don Det and Don Khon.

bike trip along don khon

still rainy morning goign to li phi waterfalls

Key features of the Si Phan Don archipelago include:
- The remains of the first railway in Laos, the Don Det - Don Khon narrow gauge railway, built by the French to bypass the Khone Phapheng Falls and enable vessels, freight and passengers to travel along the Mekong River.
- Freshwater Irrawaddy dolphins (Pakha) that can be viewed by boat off Don Khon island. They are considered highly endangered.
- The Khone Phapheng Falls, a succession of impassable raging rapids that gave rise to the construction of the railway

trail going to li phi waterfalls

viewing deck to li phi waterfalls

li phi waterfalls

i woke-up 0600H for a bike trip navigating the trail to the li phi falls. bike hired costs $1(10,000 kips) for whole day. though rains occured, the passion to tour the falls was still there. i did not performed initial service check on the bike before bringing it to the trail. seat had a loose bolt that's why its hard to pedal and put my ass properly especially on very rogh road, what a mess!

li phi waterfalls

going back to don det

no entrance fee, lots of picnic area and stores nearby. approximately 7km distance from don det downtown, located in don khon. the Li Phi falls rage over ragged boulders. Although a drop of only several metres, the volume and power of the falls is impressive and the ambience agreeable. A second set of falls is located about 500 metres (1625 ft) further downstream.


khone phapheng falls (pearl of the mekong river)
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