Thakek and the amazing Kong Lor cave.

From Don Det we took a bus back north, this time to Thakek. We expected a long bus journey, so it was ok - especially with the front row seats. Less nice was the old woman throwing up next to Boyfriend and splashing him in vomit, and the lack of lunch/toilet breaks. We ended up eating fried balls of meat and other unidentifiable god-knows-when cooked bits of food sold by women who got on bus for a short ride to sell their wares, which was not the best for our tummies.

In Thakek we lodged at the Thakek Travel Lodge - otherwise lovely establishment, but a bit too businesslike and aware of their position as The Place to go to in Thakek. A lot of people staying where there for information about the Loop - an independent four day moto trek in stunning mountain views, but we didn't have so much time available (or any driving skills in my case). There were some moments of disappointment when they didn't have any food to offer when we arrived at 10 pm (luckily we had some potnoodles travelling with us since Sihanoukville), when the food they served was bad and when we didn't get seats in the night bus and had to spend another night at the lodge.

Thakek itself was pretty unexciting - a medium-sized Lao town by Mekong. But as soon as you were outside the town, the mountains were amazingly stunning. We spent one day doing a trip to the Kong Lor cave, a 7-km long cave formed by a river that runs underneath a mountain. And the way to explore the cave is obviously by boat!

Getting on the little rickety boat at the entrance of the cave was pretty nerving, realising that we would actually be going into a long cave full of water and there was a huge mountain on top of us, and it was pretty dark.

As soon as we were on boat - max three passengers, the driver and the guy in the front with a strong lamp - it took off much faster than I was expecting. It was scary, not seeing where we were going exactly, but the thrill of it turned quickly from fear to joy. It was amazing to sit in the boat in the dark and quiet (except for the motor), watching the endless cave walls pass by. The cave was quite tall and the space somehow reminded me of cathedrals.

We did one stop in the cave to look at stalagmites and stalactites - a larger section in the middle of two river branches had pathways and lights to show the amazingess of the cave. 

Some stages of the river were so shallow that we had to step out of the boat and wade through the water. Anyone planning to go - I warmly recommend sandals and shorts (not long trousers or trainers), and we kept thinking that trekking sandals would be better for they would not float off your feet at every given opportunity.

As we neared to the end of the cave, both of us grew disappointed - is this it already? We want to keep going on and on! Luckily for us, it was just the other side of the mountain and after a coffee break we would head back again! It also turned out that the river was a highway of deliveries - the village on the other side grew tobacco, and it was currently being harvested and shipped on the river. Apparently the over-land route to that village is lengthy and difficult - easier to use the river.

On the way back I felt much calmer, not anxious or thrilled any more. Somehow the calmness had got me, I was deep in my own thoughts and really enjoying it. After the ride back, we felt that we would happily do it again straightaway, or even return to Thakek for it. Definite highlight of our trip.

The Kong Lor cave is about two-hour drive away from Thakek, and there are incredible mountain views on the way. We chose to take a minivan there, but some others took motos and it seemed like wonderful scenery for it. Unfortunately our van driver was not exactly top of his profession, and when the motor overheated he had no idea what to do - we used all of our drinking water to the cooling system and made him stop in the next village for more water.

On our second day in Thakek we rented a moto after a whole day of wasting time. We managed to get a lovely evening ride out of it - more gorgeous mountains at the setting sun. We also spotted some water buffaloes bathing in the river.

And then finally when it came to leaving from Thakek and going to Vientiane, we didn't get seats (or rather, beds) in the nightbus and had to spend an extra night. The bus next morning was a bus from the hell - we had seats at very far back and I could not fit into mine as there was no leg space and the armwrest was a solid block. So I sat on the floor, on the armwrest, knees up resting at the seat in front... all possible conformations. Boyfriend had a tummy ache and kept wanting to run in the bushes. He also had a cold, and the bus was very hot. To top this seven-hour ride off, two kids next to us started throwing up, and in the traditional Lao way, no one was prepared for this. So there was vomit all over the floor and we had to keep all of our handluggage in our laps instead of the floor, as there obviously was so much room to do this! The rescue came in the form of an iPod and a book to take our minds off. I can tell you, every single airplane journey ever since has felt like a heaven!

Boyfriend has (c) to all photos.