In the extreme south of Laos the Mekong river breaks down into a miriad of arms and channels, which surround countless islands and islets. This region is called "Si Phan Don", which in Lao means "4000 islands". In the area there is a small population of Irrawaddy (river) dolphins. The entire area is very scenic and attracts a large number of tourists, but navigation by ships becomes impossible, especially because the river passes through the Khon Phapheng waterfalls. This is why the French built a railway to bypass this region for the transportation of goods.
The major islands, the ones with the best tourist infrastructure and which attract most of the tourists, are Don Khong (the largest and most developed) and the Don Khon and Don Det islands further to the south, which are less developed and (in 2005) still had no electricity.
01 Palm trees along shore 02 Palm trees 03 Palm trees along shore 04 Palm trees along shore 05 Bungalows and palm trees
06 Bungalow and palm trees 07 Palm trees and bungalows 01 Bungalows and palm trees 02 Coconut palm trees along river bank 03 Coconut palm trees along river bank
04 View of Don Det island 05 Tat Somphamit rapids 06 Tat Somphamit rapids 07 Tat Somphamit rapids
08 Bay 09 Bay and boats 10 Old locomotive 11 Water buffalo and calf 12 Boat crossing river
13 Bungalows and palm trees 14 Bungalows and palm trees 15 Bungalows and palm trees 16 Bungalows and palm trees
17 Bungalows and palm trees 18 Bungalows and palm trees 19 Riverside and trees 20 Riverside and trees
01 Dry rice fields 02 Wat Phu Khao Kaew buddhist temple 03 Wat Phu Khao Kaew buddhist temple 04 Wat Phu Khao Kaew buddhist temple
05 Mou Ngse pumping station 06 Mou Ngse pumping station 07 Irrigation channel 08 Dry rice fields 09 Muang Saen village
10 Muang Saen village 11 Muang Saen village 12 Muang Saen village 13 Riverbank in Muang Saen village
14 Buddhist monks on boat 15 Buddhist monks on boat 16 Muang Saen village 17 Sugar palm trees 18 Harvesting sugar palm trees
19 Woman cooking palm sugar 20 Pieces of dried palm sugar 21 Pieces of dried palm sugar 22 Sunset and palm tree 23 Sunset
24 Sunset and palm tree 01 Khon Phapheng waterfalls 02 Khon Phapheng waterfalls 03 Khon Phapheng waterfalls
04 View from Don Khong island 05 View from Don Khong island 06 View from Don Khong island
07 Street and palm trees 08 Mekong in Muang Saen 09 View from Don Khong island 10 Islet near Nakasang 11 Japanese tourists waiting for the dolphins
12 View to the south 13 Riverbank and Buddhist temple 14 Mekong near Veunkham 15 Mekong near Veunkham
16 Mekong near Veunkham 17 Riverbank and trees 18 Riverbank and trees 19 Riverbank and trees
20 Boat with fishermen 21 Riverbank and coconut palms 22 Riverbank and trees 23 Riverbank and trees
24 Ferry to Don Khong 25 Riverbank and coconut palms 26 Lao flags 01 Houses 02 Boats
03 Riverbank and houses 04 Riverbank and houses 01 Road to Veunkham 02 Parking 03 Immigration office
04 Border of customs post
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©Copyright Alfred Molon