Tastes like bubble gum

My travels in Southern Laos were indeed more successful in terms of being able to get out and see things than my time in the capital. I took an overnight bus with beds down to Pakse. This sounds like a really nice way to travel but as we found our beds, the only other westerner on the bus and I realized that these twin size mattresses were for two people, not one. We asked to be put together but there were no changes allowed so we spent the evening sleeping with strangers. This is not a recommended bus experience but we arrived in one piece at our destination and I suppose that's all you need.
In Pakse, four of us met up over breakfast and decided to rent motorbikes for the day and drive around the countryside to some nearby waterfalls. Two of the other travelers had experience with motorbikes so they drove the other two of us around. The scenery was spectacular and the waterfalls ranged from narrow falls with amazing height to wider and wilder falls. We stopped for mangoes at a fruitstand and escaped an afternoon shower by dining at a local roadside restaurant. I felt that I really got a taste of Southern Laos which is just what I was looking for.
My next stop was the 4,000 Island area in the Mekong. I took a ferry across the river to the island of Don Det - a mecca of relaxation with hammocks abounding, 3 hours of electricity a day and no cars or roads. There were, however, paths for biking and six of us headed out to explore another waterfall. The falls were great but seem like they would be at their grandest during the wet season. We found a swimming hole on the side of the river and took a dip before riding back to town. The afternoon was spent tubing down the river; the second time in Laos I was able to spend an afternoon on the river, - I think I need to find an appropriate tubing locale at home. The island is so relaxed that I managed to miss my boat since all the signs say 11am when it really leaves at 8am, oops. An extra day in a hammock by the river wasn't such a hardship.
Also, I just wanted to report, I finally tried the green fanta that I've been seeing everywhere and it tastes like bubble gum! Yuck!!! If you see green fanta, stay away.