We’ve spent the last few days on the island of Don Daeng, an island in the Mekong River off the mainland of Champasak. A year ago, if you wanted to stay in this most amazing of places, you would’ve needed to stay in one of the eight villages around the circumference of the island, either as a “home stay” or in what was the only guest house around. We stayed in the recently constructed La Folie, a high class lodge which is so new you can’t even see it fully on Google Earth yet…

Right from the outset, you know you’re in for something a bit different; getting from the mainland to the island consists of a boat ride like you won’t experience anywhere else, and the use of a duk duk to cart passengers up from the beach-like riverbank to reception gives you the impression that the lodge has incorporated the locals “make do with what you have” culture into it’s services.

Being the first (and probably only) tourist accommodation here, all the bases seem to be covered in spades. The restaurant serves a tasty lunch and dinner menu with a full bar, and he chalets are modern, spacious and comfortable; there’s even a mountain-view pool. Access to the internet is free of charge from a PC in reception, and there’s definitely no television of any kind (why would you need such a thing given your surroundings?)

Not enough good things can be said about the staff here. Polite, attentive and just a little bashful, the (very) young staff are obviously quite happy to work here, a lot of which can be attributed to the Lodge’s European manager. Taking on more of the role of a mentor rather than an employer, he engages with his staff in a respectful and encouraging fashion.

The grounds and surrounding area are nothing short of idyllic. From practically anywhere in the lodge, you get an awesome view of Phu Pasak and the surrounding area at any time of the day; you get the morning mist-over-the-Mekong vista when you’re eating your breakfast at the restaurant; the classic, mountains-in-monochrome panoramic in the mid-afternoon by the pool and you’re treated to a fantastic orange, gold and and deep-blue scene reflected in the water at twilight. There’s not a single time of the day when the view doesn’t look stunning.

For somewhere where general tourism is only about a year old, there seems to be plenty to see and do; the dirt track around the island gives you access to the (as yet unspoiled) lives of the local villages, with the population seemingly curious and only too eager to engage with foreign tourists (provided you follow the guidelines). Follow the track around in the opposite direction, and you find yourself at the northern riverbed, where fishermen work their nets in a near classic scene.

And if you really feel like it, you can just sit on the sand and build sandcastles.