Hitchhiking in Laos: Xeno to Don Det
22 of October, 2024.
While I am still walking outside Xeno, a car stops. Asu is a forestry officer, who is going to Pakse to visit his father in a hospital. He can speak a bit of English and he tells me he is divorced and has three sons, one studying in Japan. He is from a little village nearby Thailand, called Song Mae Bao Tao. We stop in some food shops by the road and he buys some of my delicious crispy rice cakes, in Thailand, where they are originally from, they are called Khao Taen. The one Asu buys is green. And it’s delicious!
From Pakse onward I have to walk. And the sun is super hot! I am melting! A young man in a pick-up is considering to help me. I can see when he passes by me, then he stops to buy some food, and he starts driving slow… until he finally stops and tells me he is going to work a bit outside town, so he can take me there. Great!
At the new spot, I wait for a long time. Why is nobody stopping? On my sign, I wrote Don Khong, a bigger island than Don Det, and I thought people would know it better. I guess I was wrong, as I would get to know only later how famous Don Det Island is.
A family from Thailand finally rescues me. Of course they had to be from Thailand! Why? 1) they stop immediately as they see me; 2) the driver knows where to stop and how; 3) there are already some people in the back of the pick-up, who they are also helping. They are going only 40 Km, but I take it anyway. I sit with the others on the trunk, while The Hulk goes on top of the cabin.
The next people to stop actually save me from a strong rain, which falls a few minutes after I get in their car. This time they stopped quite quickly. Sanger and Antchep work for the government, and they are going to Don Khong. Ha!
On the way, they buy a very curious “fruit”, well, at least at first I thought it was a fruit. I would never guess it is edible, as it looks very weird. But I try, of course, as they kindly offer me. It tastes / looks like broad bean’s seeds. Laugh. What is it? Lotus seed. Yep! Apparently, the fun is more about the process of eating it (you have to break down the pieces, open the shell, and then eat the seeds inside), than actually the taste.
Once at the intersection between Don Khong and Don Det, I get confused. On stupid Google Maps, it shows I must get into Don Khong, and from there get a ferry to Don Det. But Sanger assures me, and also there’s a sign outside showing, that I must continue straight in another road, not to Don Khong, and in about 13 Km from here, there is the pier for the ferry.
A lovely mum called None, very young lady, and her young baby, Tito, drives me all the way to Nakasang Pier, from where everybody takes the ferries to Don Det.
I get there just in time to catch the ferry. Well, actually they are long tail boats. It costs 20.000 Kip, the equivalent to 1 USD. Luckily, I have one USD change, and they accept it.
The crossing is exciting, even though it is only a few minutes. Once in the island of Don Det, I walk towards my volunteer work destination. The road is actually a path, with many potholes and going into very rural areas. I love it! It actually gives me a good feeling that I will have a good time here.
10 Years Around the World 