My second day here started much like the first. Breakfast, and the nice though of chilling out on the hammock. Unfortunately someone was running all the gas out of a boat engine right below my room, but I figured it would be done in a few hours. So I spent a bit on the internet getting things caught up for about 2 hours due to slow speeds. When I got back the engine was till running, but I was in the mood to relax so I gave it a go anyway. To my surprise within 20 minutes it did turn off, and for the first time I was able to make use of the hammock. Didn't take long before I was in the motion with the water hitting the shore, all the sounds of the various birds etc. It really does bring you down. Maybe an hour and a half later I was overdue for lunch and just ate where I was staying. About half way through I ran into Sanna again who was looking into doing an evening boat trip. The price goes down with more people of coarse, but with just the two of us it was still only $5 a person. Not bad at all and our shopping around paid off. Departure times and prices varied wildly, but we got a 3pm departure until 6pm to take it the sunset on the open water.

 A quick run back to the room for my camera and checking things over, we met at the boat dock and were more than amazed when we actually left at 3pm, and not the usual hour late or everything here. With no top on the boat and just a rather long canoe shaped boat, within seconds I knew that the sun directly above me was going to be a problem, but eventually dismissed it. Passing islands after islands, the vast expanse of neverending scenery just seemed to go on forever. Whether it was really just wanting to take it all in or the annoying sun I put down the camera for most of the ride and just did my best to enjoy it. Aboat 2 hours later of relaxing, coasting up river, picking up 2 other people do drop them up river to do some tubing, and a few random stops of the engine to just float noise free it was time for the long awaited sunset. The engine was shut off and we just drifted sideways in full view of the setting sun. 

     Getting back to shore not long after the sun had fully set, I was ready to go grab something to eat It was immediately clear within minutes of sitting down that an oh to familar ill was coming. The sun had taken the tool I was worried it would, but there was no way of knowing it would be directly above the whole trip. Having zero desire to deal with the headaches and shivers that came along in exactly the same way as back in thailand, sleep wasn't too far away. I possibly tried the hammock for a little before going to bed very early, but really wasn't paying attenion and its kind of a blur.

      The morning came surprisily fast, although not without the occasianal tossing every hour or so, but not as bad as it could have been. Kind of groggy but all in all OK, I slept in till maybe 11am before getting up with every intenion of getting something to eat. Sitting on the hammock right outside the door for a minute however turned into lying on it, which turned into sleeping of and on and before I knew it 3pm had rolled around. Obviously still not in any prime, I still went and tried to eat and while I did make it a table I wasn't able to eat anything without feeling sick. So back to the bed it was. Simple enough I thought. Couldn't have been more wrong. From just after 3pm, to what would end up being 7am the following morning, it was nothing but the same sickness every hour or so, making for one hellish night. Of coarse in the morning I remembered I had some medicine given to me last time around, but no thoughts were being processed then. So withg really a day and half a wash and really not having the best of luck the other days, the islands weren't liking me too much.

     So up at 7am from one hell of a sleep if I can even call it that, I was determined to make something of the day regardless of feeling well or not. I had planned on renting a bicycle to go to a nearby waterfall the other day, so today seems as good a day as any to do just that. Very light breakfast before sitting on the balcony for quite some time before getting the energy to go rent the bike. Peddling away on the sand roads, it felt good to be back out and doing something. Passing small villages and riverside views, about 15 minutes down a straight road you hit the sign for the waterfall telling you to turn right and then its 500m. Parking my bike in a dirt patch as good as all the rest, I was off over the small bridge and a few minutes walk until the falls. Now The falls at Erawan in Thailand and its equally nice competitor in Luang Prabang can be described as elegant, magestic, beautiful etc. Well this beast here is nothing of the sort, although all the more amazing in opinion.Dozens of small water thrash and bash there way through giant multitudes of stone all merging into one massive fall just ripping through with sheer power. I was truly impressed.

     Now with the sheer volume of water being pushed through these rocks and the force that's evident standing watching them flow, I was stunned to see that just another few minutes walk following the water, all was came again. Almost no sign of the madness laying just upstream...

     So an iteresting and sometimes very frustrating few days, it seems like things are on the up and up, hopefull getting back to normal. Can't believe I didn't even realize it's 2010 now...... Schedule is really messed up though. Probably going to skip one island to make up my time here and then spend a day or two on Don Det.... But who knows........