The Motorcycle Diaries II
Trip Start
Jan 03, 2008
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7
22
Trip End
Feb 15, 2008
Tha Khek, Lao Peoples Dem Rep
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Started the morning in Lak Sao at 6am to the sound of the Vietnamese workers leaving the hotel. They were loud. There was no way I was getting out of bed even if I wanted to, it was too cold for me, about 10 degrees. My body is just not used to temperatures like that, so I decided to wait for the sun to warm things up.
Three hours later I emerged to a slightly warmer place and I was off in the direction of the fabled cave river, called Kong Lo. I reached the small village of Ban Khoun Khan ( also called Ban Na Hin) for breakfast. I ate a lot, really it was a lot. My plan was to head to the cave and back in a day. I met some people who had returned from the area, they advised that there is a new road being built and it would only take about an hour and a half to reach the cave. Off I went. Soon I realised that the only sign that pointed to the cave was facing the wrong direction so I rode right past it. I realised my error and finally made it onto the correct track. At this point the indigestion from the supersized breakfast kicked in.With no signs I just followed the main track until it stopped next to a river. Still no sign. I asked the people at the end of the road where I could find Kong Lo cave, they told me, "its here, you want to take a boat, mister, it costs 105000kip ($12) for one person". I decided to wait to see if there were any others wanting to share the cost. Two hours later nobody else arrived, they were probably all lost. The British couple I met in Tha Khek, Nick and Paula, returned from the boat trip and told me of their plans to complete the loop, they were heading in the oppposite direction to myself. I wished them all the best, they only had one stack on the way here. Cool.
With my two boat guides I went into this 7.5 kilometer long river that cuts its way through a limestone mountain range. My guide in front was the navigator. He was a chain smoker and as the boat went through I inhaled more smoke than a piece of ham in a deli. Not to mention that the boat is powered by a noisy motor. A serene experience it was not. There are several portages through the cave where the guides manhandle the boat through the rapids. I needed to get out of the boat at these times and get the old feet wet. At one point my eco guide took me to an area of the cave that was filled with dark brown stains where he had touched the stalagmites, I also observed several campfire ashes in this area. I hope that no tourists are partaking in camping in the cave and its just the locals. I must say that this one observation pissed me off, it detracted from the whole experience. After visiting the stalagtite wonderland (or is it wasteland) the navigator commenced his chain smoking again. After about an hour of speeding through the cave I was at the other end, daylight again. It ended up near another village, they apparently use the cave for transport from one village to the next. One of the locals offered to supply me with a beer. I declined, thinking that it was getting late and my guides would be off soon. I was wrong. The guides told me that we would be here for a while because they were hungry and were going for a short walk to have some food. An hour later they returned, I think it was an hour I slept for most of it. It only took half an hour to speed back. Must give credit to the guides, speeding along the river, in the dark only with the aid of small headlamps. Job well done.
I know of no other place on the planet like this. A 7.5 kilometer river flowing through a mountain range, insane. Apart for the lack of concern for the long term viability of using this cave it was a great experience.
By 5pm I arrived back at my trusty lime green bike. I gave one of the locals a lift to his village then I set out on what can only be described as the most scenic journey I have ever done. Limestone mountains on either side, sun setting on one side, the colors were very dramatic. Photos do not do justice to this area, the experience of riding through this area as the sun sets, priceless.
I made it back to the hotel to find that Nick and Paula had 3 flat tyres and were staying in town tonight. It will be a very long day fro them.
The next day I made it back to Tha Khek so completing "the loop", the 400 or so kilometer journey that so many before me have completed and so many other will complete. If you are reading this and planning to do this trip then all this information will be out of date. The road to Kong Lo cave will be completed by May 2008. If you are there then take the ride from the caves at sunset, magic. The road around the loop will be finished by the end of 2008. Will the trip be the same, who knows. One thing is for certain, it will be a lot easier making it more attractive to even more tourists. As for Nick and Paula they made it around the loop, limping into town late at night. Paula showing her rather large scapes on her left arm. I advised her that they were not scatches but souvenirs of the wonderful journey that is, "the loop"...
