4000 Islands; Don Det

So I'm back in Laos for a little holiday of sorts in the aptly named 4000 islands; The island of Don Det specifically. At the widest stretch of the mighty Mekong river, a large group of Islands cluster together, poking their sandy humps out of the water. They vary in size depending on the season and the height of the flowing waters but always form an impassable barrage across the width of the Mekong through their mass and the waterfall's which have formed in the passageways between them.
I have come to this beautiful spot for a bit of relaxation and it's the perfect place with bungalows dotted along the river banks, plenty of eateries overlooking the water and not too much to do! I do spend a couple of days sightseeing on a bicycle and its lovely cycling around the islands dusty paths, through peaceful forest. I visit a couple of the waterfalls on the bridge-connected islands of Don Khon and Don Khon Peisey which thunder with a tremendous force and explore the abandoned railway. Due to the impassibility of this section of the Mekong, a railway was constructed from the South of Don Khon to the East of Don Det (north of the waterfalls) and was used to transport 3 paddle steamers past the blockade and subsequently cargo for export and import to Laos. The remaining boat landings which connected to the railway can be reached by bicycle on both islands.

A group of the Mekong's Irrawady dolphins inhabit a section of the river just off the southern tip of Don Khon and I take a boat trip to see them. The boatman takes us to a small island and proceeds to tell us that we shouldn't actually be there as we are now illegally in Cambodia! As a boat of Cambodian officials makes it's way for us he hastily ushers us back into the boat and deposits us on a large rock which is apparently officially Laos. The dolphins however seem to favor the Cambodian side and the few we see are far away but the boat trip through the rocky islands is lovely none the less.
Other than water-bound activities such as swimming, kayaking or tubing in the river there isn't much else to do here and the rest of a visit can be spent relaxing in a hammock and enjoying the amazing sunsets over the islands.

Mekong Irrawady Dolphins; Kratie

Kratie is a provincial capital in the north-eastern part of Cambodia. Most tourists come here either on their way to Laos or to see the rare Irrawady dolphins of the Mekong River, and that's the reason I've come. We hire a tuk tuk in the late afternoon to travel up the river to Kampi where the dolphins live. We stop first at a popular swimming spot in some 'rapids'. We pay a $1 entrance fee and our driver then leads us 10 minutes away from the attraction to a quiet spot presumably so we can swim in our bikinis although he strips off and jumps in too. The havoc we walked past consisted of bamboo pagoda type shelters extending across the width of the river and rapids. They were full of celebrating locals (due to the Khmer New Year), eating, drinking and jumping in the water. Unfortunately, this being Asia, most of their rubbish is carelessly discarded into the water and I am devastated by the sight of plastic bags, polystyrene containers and tin cans lining the banks and floating downstream into the rare Irrawady dolphins fragile home waters. It's tragic and can't be helping their plight for survival.

It's $7 each for the boat trip to see the dolphins, which seems expensive, considering they just take you 2 minutes into the river then wait for the dolphins to appear. But we've timed it for the sunset and as the dolphins appear we know it's worth it. The river reflects the pink of the setting sun as the beautiful dolphins breach the water around us, some just passing by and some coming closer to investigate. We hear the whoosh of their airholes and search the waters to catch a glimpse of their sleek bodies. I'm glad they're not perturbed by all their visitors. The Mekong here is beautiful, all the more because it's home to the rare dolphins, it's just a shame about the polluting rubbish making its way to them.