One In Four Thousand

4000 Islands Laos 7 4000 Islands Laos 6 4000 Islands Laos 5 4000 Islands Laos 4 4000 Islands Laos 3 4000 Islands Laos 2 4000 Islands Laos 1

Si Phan Don, Laos

My time on the Gili Islands so far has been a lot like the time I spent in Si Phan Don – otherwise known as the 4000 Islands. We wake up to watch the sunrise, then head back to bed for a few hours, getting up again in time for a greasy omelet and coffee breakfast. We take a quick cold shower, then head to the beach. We lie there for a while, perhaps we skip some stones or make castles in the sand. We lunch in a little organic cafe. We hire bicycles to wheel us around the island, following the coast the entire way, stopping only to drink a fresh coconut or pineapple juice. We head back to the beach to finish up yet another novel. We meander back to the hotel room, have another cold shower, put on our best clothes (the best meaning the least wrinkled from our backpacks). We walk back along the water, searching for happy hour deals and barbecued fish. We sit by the crashing waves, drinking arak out of water bottles, marvelling at the stars and the swells of the ocean and the fortune in our lives. We retire to bed, eager to start it all again, eager to experience another day in this peaceful place.

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