Don Daeng and onwards

12-2pm are the hottest hours, so we booked a boat for 6am.It was nearly 7 before it arrived. Nonetheless we expected to be on the next island by noon. So we were feeling a little tired when at 3pm we had still not reached the turnoff after over 90kms. Partly luck but mainly good GPS plotting by Jerry found us on a wide sandy track heading downwards.After 3kms  we entered a small village below which a few boats were pulled up onto the edge of the water. A smiling young woman, carrying her young child, walked down to us, we loaded the bikes onto the platform that covered 2 boats and we were off to Don Daeng island. Our hoped - for destination was Don Daeng eco homestay but as we we had no idea where on the island it was, we simply followed the only track that presented itself. As elsewhere, the ground was very dry and uncultivated. The only visible signs of farming was the frequent sight of cassava (manioc, tapioca) cut into small chunks and laid out to dry.
After a few kms we arrived at a T junction and the track was now lined by the traditional raised houses, the track utilised by young and old on scooters and bikes and various types of wildfowl. The homestay was right at the end of this village in the most beautiful of settings: a wide stretch of sand stretched to the tranquil waters of the Mekong, beyond which the heights of the Bolaven Plateau beckoned.
By now it was going dark. The homestay was a community lodge, locked up with a sign saying to ring Mr Kham in Pakse, which we were unable to do. So we retraced our steps to a place advertising food and the owner surprisingly spoke English.I could have hugged the little chappie!
He cooked us some tasty noodles while arranging for us to stay with families in the village. Viv and Jerry stayed with onee family while I stayed next door with another. In each case, we were warmly welcomed.They tried to ask us questions and communicate but we made little sense of each other.The shower was a bowl of water and the bed was a mattress on the floor of the one open plan room with a mosquito net spread over the top. The family slept the same way across the other side of the room.
The following morning, our little chappie cooked us an omelette, introduced us to his uncle who had a boat and rushed off on his bike to carry out his day duties as a taxi driver in Pakse.
(Photos to be added when there is a stronger single)