Day 138: The Loop [day 3]

The last stop on our almost- Motorcycle Diaries adventure was a 7km long cave called Kong Lo and it was even more spectacular than we had imagined a cave that was 7km long would be.

We had opted for the more cost-effective method of sharing a car with some other travellers also staying at our hostel and so after a big breakfast (look how happy Rob is with his eggs and half-a-loaf of bread) we arrived in style and ambled our way to the river down a lovely wooded path.

At the rivers' edge the guys in the 'Boat Committee' (so the sign on the wooden hut read) sprang into action and armed with head torches and super stylish life jackets (Jeff, below, proving that day-glo is still very much en vogue) we sailed in longboats to the mouth of the cave where we climbed off and ventured inside.

Just inside the cave there were more boats waiting; engines were quickly carried into the boats by our two drivers, both with really bright head torches wired up to battery packs at the waist (safety first.) We climbed in and departed at full speed into the darkness.

The cave is incredible; you could barely see where the stony walls ended and the murky waters began. Stalactites hung from the ceiling while water dripped and bats flapped and squeaked overhead - just as I was wondering how on earth these guys navigated through the blackness we turned a corner and saw daylight, we also saw that some rapids had formed and we were heading straight for them. When you think about it; one little bump into the slimy walls isn't too bad. The boat tipped left and right and we took in some water but the engine powered through and we were back on course in no time. Actually; I think it was my favourite bit of the ride.

Stopping on the river bank we waded to shore and had a wander around the local village; which was a quaint and muddy experience - my boots had been well and truly broken into that kind of thing on day 1 and it was nice to squelch around again, really.

We were returned the same way again, still marveling at nature, and all-in-all the round trip was about 3 hours and well worth the visit. We were smoothly deposited back at our hostel; slightly cleaner and much drier than we had started our Laos-based motorcycling adventures, but we've definitely got a taste for it so expect plenty more two-wheeled trips from 365.

Day 137: The Loop [day 2]

Okay. We admit it. We cheated; The Loop is for hardened cyclists, the kind of people that want to burn rubber, come out caked in mud and have a thousand bugs die on their chiseled cheekbones as they roar through the country side at 100 mph on two screeching wheels.

We got the bus.

Actually we got two buses, and in true local fashion we made our way to Ban Na Him in jumbos (open-back truck with two benches along the side) travelling with a motorbike, a puppy, a ladyboy and - at it's peak - 19 other people. It was cosy and, as we discovered later, not actually the cheapest or quickest way to do it...ah well!

In Ban Na Him we found a hostel and dined with the owner and her extended friends and family over alot of Beer Lao and brushed up on our language skills; dun beer lao (drink beer) and jun jar (cheers) are now well and truely in our vocabularory.

We also arranged to visit the local attraction, Kong Lo Cave, with a Korean/French group that were also staying at the hostel; this meant going in the luxury of a car rather than on motorbikes as we had originally intended - but it was cheaper and easier and I was well on my way to being pretty hungover in the morning.

Day 136: The Loop [day 1]

'The Loop' is a off the beaten track route around the Bolikhamsai & Khammuan provinces. Most travellers will spend 3-4 days on a motorbike to complete the whole loop but after being rained-in and most definitely rained on while at the Bolavan Plateau we decided to adjust the itinerary a little.

We set off bright and early from Tha Khaek with Steve and Jeff and after an initial detour (which was literally taking the scenic route in this case) we found our way on the smooth roads of Route 12 to our first stop; Tham Pha Fa; a remote cave filled with Buddha statues. The amazing thing about this cave, apart from how so many stone statues got there when it was discovered by a local farmer in 2004, is that in the dry season it is accessible by foot. When we arrived kids were throwing themselves off a bridge into the swollen river and we had to access the cave by boat; we sailed above bars and tables and benches and scrambled up the rock face into the cave.

Our next stop meant some more boating and we sailed out of the glorious sunshine and into the darkened Xieng Liap; a stalactite-filled cave where a monk and a beautiful young lady were meant to have secretly met. The name literally means monk (xieng) and sneaking around (liap).

But the bike tour needed to go on and our third and penultimate stop was to be the most adventurous yet. We'd heard that the dirt track to The Falang could get a little hairy in the wet season so when we rolled off the tarmac and into thick sticky mud we quickly disguarded the motorbikes and took off on foot. The path that we hoped lead to the shady swimming spot went from muddy to very muddy and we eventually ended up wading through a puddle that was waist height - it was awesome. Luckily our navigation had been accurate and we found the cool spot and slid down the muddy bank into the cool waters of the Nam Don river for a swim.

The sun was out in force (hurray!) so the river was a welcomed break - and a good chance to confuse some bemused locals that were either telling us with hand actions that the path was impassible because the water was shoulder height, or they were happily telling us that they'd slit our throats. Thankfully neither occurred.

Our last and final stop in this, the southern section of The Loop, was at Tham Aen; a huge cave that we had to wade over a river to get to. As the sun set we made our way round the gloomy interior by incredibly useful, if a little un-aesthetically pleasing, staircases that had been built in.

Under a starry sky we sped back to Tha Khaek to enjoy a beer and dinner at one of our favourite spots on the Mekong; a place where you can in fact see Thailand. Which is pretty special really.

Day 1 on The Loop had been a outrageous success; and there was plenty more to come...