At the southern most tip of Laos, a couple kilometres away from the Cambodian border, lies the region of Si Phan Don, literally in Laotian, « 4000 islands ». Here, the Mekong slows its flow and spreads out onto the South Laotian plains, depositing tons of sand during each rainy season, thus creating a labyrinth of islands and channels. The golden river then enters a succession of canyons to eventually feed the great fertile plains of Cambodia. There are beautiful landscapes, and water as far as the eye can see. At Si Phan Don, the Mekong, depending on the season, can become 14 km in width. The source of this Asian giant is

The morning wind is now calm. The sun burns the sandy banks of Senga Bay and warms the clear water of the great lake. There is blue as far as the eye can see; only one single rocky island a couple kilometers away, Namalenje, breaks the horizon. At the beginning of the afternoon in the shade of some acacias, we wait for our boat, arranged the day before with local fishermen, impatient to get our fins wet around that little island. Time passes and with surprise and a bit of worry, we finally get on a large pirogue dugout of a baobab branch. Our two strong rowers synchronise their effort and after half an hour we reach the granitic reefs of the island.