Siphandon: 4,000 islands and 4 kayaks

Siphandon is an area formed by the spread of the Mekong in Southern Laos. Even though we'd kayaked ourselves silly we decided that it would be a great way to see the islands and set off with our new french companions and a young dutch couple.

The kayaks were of the inflatable variety and even though at times it felt like we were paddling a bus down the river it was a great adventure. We spent the night on Don Khon and woke up feeling slightly lethargic after reluctantly sharing a bottle of laos-laos with our guide Lay. Day 2 gave us a bit of culture with a lesson in Buddhism and a look at the only train ever to travel in Laos. We had lunch and a swim near Leephi Waterfall and then took on some rapids on our way down to the Cambodian border, where we hopped onto a rock with a handful of other tourists and watched a group of rare Irrawaddy Dolphins playing in the distance. To round off the trip we stopped at the impressive Phapeng Falls and then made our way back towards Pakse.