The ultimate relaxation

Everyone had told us about how relaxed Laos is, but the reality of just how laid back it is was a bit of a shock. We arrived in perhaps one of the most relaxed corners of Laos in a region called the four thousand islands, a cluster of islands in the middle of Mekong River. Instead of people chasing us down and begging us to come to their guesthouse, we sauntered leisurely around the island until we found the bungalows calling our names. A bamboo bungalow perched over the Mekong with hammocks strung up on the porch would be our home for the next few days while we decompressed from a mentally challenging visit to Cambodia. It was just a breath of fresh air after the desperate tourism we had experienced the previous few weeks. Our first evening in Laos, we watched the sun set from the big gnarled roots of a tree hanging out over the muddy river. Locals came down to bathe in the calm inlet as the sun sank below the horizon and put on a beautiful display of oranges and pinks. Slender wooden boats plied the waters that transformed into golden ripples. It was one of those exceptional experiences that makes you treasure being on the road. We spent our days rambling around the islands on small dirt footpaths amongst the rice paddies and water buffaloes...and spent plenty of time enjoying the river drift by from the perfect horizontal vantage point of our hammocks.