Lonely Planet: "Imagine a river disappearing at the edge of a monolithic limestone mountain and running 7km through a pitch-black, winding cave and you'll start to get an idea of Tham Kong Lo, truly one of the natural wonders of Laos. The cave-cum-tunnel is in the Phu Hin Bun NPA, a 1580-sq-km wilderness area of turquoise streams, monsoon forests and striking karst topography across central Khammuan. The cave is up to 100m wide in some places and almost as high. It takes a motorised canoe nearly an hour to pass through..."
Now, do you understand why I wanted to make this detour down into southern Laos? The road to Tham Kong Lo - about a 45 minute journey - was stunning enough to be a destination in itself:
Here is the entrance to the cave:
First, we had to get in one of those small canoe-like boats to get to the other side. Once on the other side, we had to climb up through the rocky entrance to bypass the rapids. Then, we got into another similar canoe-like boat, but with a motor. We had two boatmen, one in the front directing and helping guide us through the waters with a paddle, and one in the back steering the motor. Almost instantly, after entering the cave, it was totally pitch-black. Other than the roaring motor and raging rapids, the only sounds were drips that echoed through the mansion-sized cave. The two boatment both had head lights on, so wherever they were looking, I could see a little further into this cave. It feels so ancient.
A couple of times, the boatmen had to get out and help porter the boat through very shallow areas. One of those times, I also had to get out to lighten the load and walk across unknown cave floors... with Jai holding my hand. Below is a flash photo of the boatmen portering at one point. There's no fooling around in this cave.
About 1/2 way through, we get out on the interior banks of the cave, and gently tiptoe up through the cave to what looks like another planet. Lights, brought in through a single electricity wire that is pinned to the cave walls only up to this point, help to illuminate the stunning stalagmites. It really looks and feels like I'm on some distant planet:
About an hour after entering Tham Kong Lo cave, I can see a faint glimmer of natural light seeping in through the cave. We exit on the other side of the mountain, which feels like another world altogether. We pull up on the banks, and rest for fifteen minutes. Across a bridge, about 2km from this bank, is Natan Village. The inhabitants of this village used to have to make a 10 hour journey over the mountain to get to town, before the discovery of this cave passageway, only about 9 years ago. The village has no electricity. They rely on the tourist motor boats to get them to the other side, so that they may go to the market or stock up on other supplies. Villagers wanting to get to town wait on the banks for these boats to arrive, in hopes that there will be enough room for them. Each canoe only holds three passengers maximum. So, Jai and I picked up one of the villagers in our boat, and she made the journey back through the cave with us.
About to exit Tham Kong Lo cave, through the entrance opening point:
What an amazing journey! After we leave the cave grounds, Jai and I ride on the motorbike for about 15 minutes, when he asks if I am hungry. Yes. Good, because we can stop at this village restaurant for some traditional Laotian lunch. Below is a photo of where we pull in to stop for lunch:
Jai and I sit down at the one table, and a woman brings out a vat of sticky rice and tray with three bowls. One of these bowls consists of buffalo meat. Another bowl is a type of chicken soup. The third bowl is this:
This is buffalo blood. It has been boiled and then served in these coagulated balls. The texture is a cross between jelly and yoghurt. There is no specific smell. The end of the rainy season festival is being celebrated this entire weekend, and part of the celebration is killing and eating buffalo - not an everyday food. It is an honor to be offered buffalo - in any form. To be polite, and I can't believe I am even doing this! - I try the buffalo blood...
How is it? Well, I suppose there is no specific taste - that I can really describe, at least. The texture is uncomfortable in my mouth. But more than anything, it is the very thought of what I am swallowing that disgusts/ offends me. Yuck. Jai, and about three other villagers are all staring at me, looking for a reaction. I swallow, suck it down, smile, and politely say that it is OK, but I think I will stick to the buffalo meat. They laugh. Then, the woman serves us lào láo (Lao liquor, or rice whiskey) in a pink, styrofoam bowl, along with one glass. Jai and one of the male villagers, who is now sitting with us, explain to me that this is the real stuff; made right here in the village. This is sold commercially throughout Laos, but all bottled up, and as they explain - not the same as the local, village stuff. This is much stronger and better for you. I imagine it is similar to moonshine. The way this works is one person dips the glass into the bowl and then proceeds to chug. The glass is passed onto the next, chugged, and then to the next. I am third to go. To my surprise, it is quite good, but very strong.
Just behind us, out on the road, the young village women, whom are dressed in traditional Laos garb, are celebrating the festival. Loud Laotian music is playing from a stereo, set-up on a bamboo shade hut. There is a string that stretches across the road, with a paper bag tied in the middle. Whever a car, bicycle or motorbike passes by, the women pull the string, and the plastic bag waves in the air as a "stop" signal. They calmly dance over to the vehicle and pin passengers with a rubber flower to the shoulder-part of their shirt, in exchange for a donation. This donation is later forwarded onto the temples, for the monks. The string is lowered, and the vehicle moves on. There is a lot of laughing and smiling, singing and dancing. Below is a photo of the women stopping a truck full of men, pinning and collecting donations:
After this most interesting lunch, I ask how much. Jai whispers to me: "No, it is free. The villagers wanted to offer to you. There is no price." Once again, an act of generosity beyond what I can even call "generous". We thank the villagers and say our goodbyes. We hop back on to the motorbike, and go about 100 meters, before Jai pulls into a Guesthouse along this same road. He says he has a friend that owns this guesthouse, and asks if I'm hungry. Are you serious? We just ate. However, I did not stuff myself silly due to the food selection, so of course, I can eat more.
We sit down with Mr. Nir, the owner of Sailomyen Guesthouse, and his three daughters. We are sitting on the floor of the main room, watching t.v. and eating from a low-rise, bamboo table. There is a vat of sticky rice between each person. We are eating Larb Buffalo - one of my new favorites since I had been traveling in Laos. I had only eaten Larb chicken or Larb pork, so now I can try the special and celebratory buffalo. Delicious. Larb is the national dish of Laos, and is so yummaliciously popular, that it is now common to find in Thai restaurants. It is especially common to see in Isan, northeastern Thailand, where the cuisine is heavily influenced by Laos. In fact, I have had this dish before in the States, but always thought it to be Thai, as they serve it in Thai restaurants. It is usually considered an Isan food. While it is an Isan food, it originally comes from Laos, and Laos should definitely have some credit for this popular dish. It is a meat salad, made with various types of meat or fish (Larb pork, Larb seafood, Larb buffalo, etc.), and seasoned with lime and fish sauce. The meat is minced, and seasoned with chilli and mint, and sometimes varied vegetables. It is served at room temperature with sticky rice.
Eating lunch #2 with Jai, Mr. Nir and his three daughters
Mr. Nir has only opened up Sailomyen Guesthouse 2 months prior to my visit. He is extremely excited about the guesthouse and future guests. He shows me around, in the various rooms and the jaw-dropping limestone karst mountain views from each room's balcony. I took pictures of the rooms and guesthouse area, and promised to send to Lonely Planet. If you are reading this and know of any contacts that I may forward the information, please let me know via the "comments".
So now, I will do a bit of advertising: Sailomyen Guesthouse offers extremely clean rooms for 60,000 kip/ room/ night (with mosquito nets). Each room has a fan, hot water and a view to die for. One can take a nice village walk to the cave from this guesthouse. Mr. Nir also offers a homestay option for 50,000 kip/ person/ night, all food included. Also, a baki ceremony is included. If you want to feel the 'real Laos', a homestay is your best option, as you stay with a family in their village home, sleeping, eating and living just as they do. Be prepared to eat sticky rice for breakfast, sticky rice for lunch and sticky rice for dinner.
Jai and I thanked Mr. Nir and his daughters for their kind hospitality, said our goodbyes, and hopped back on the motorbike.
Jai drove me to Mi Thuna Guesthouse, where I picked up my rucksack and other various bags of collected traveling items (such as my slow boat pillow), and then offered to drive me to Vieng Kham. Vieng Kham????? Cannot I not just catch a sawngtao to Tha Khaek from Nahin? It is too late now, as the sawngtaos only through in the morning. Better to go to Vieng Kham and catch a bus. As I was packing up my stuff, and Jai waited for me on the road, the owner of my guesthouse advised me not to go to Vieng Kham, as Jai would charge me more money for taking me there. As soon as she mentioned this, I realized I knew better. And I trust Jai.
So, I got back on the motorbike with Jai, who placed my rucksack in front of him, between him and the steering handles. At first, I was unsure how we would handle carrying all this stuff on a motorbike, but it worked out fine. He drove me to Vieng Kham - my third time there! The bus was there waiting, picking people up. I asked Jai how much the ride was, and he said, "No! It is free. Thank you for your friendship!" Really, I cannot even begin to explain how I'm feeling... I then asked how much the last couple of days are, as Mr. Noy, of the tourist center and I only figured out the 400,000 kip for one day of traveling and seeing the cave. Jai responded that he did not talk with Mr. Noy about it, and that I can give whatever I feel is appropriate. I believe, if my memory serves me correct, I ended up giving Jai around 500,000 - 600,000 kip. I should have given more. I wish I could send him money now. (Just thinking, how he had to go back to Lak Xao, pay his grandfather for the international call, get his identity card, etc.)
Off to Tha Khaek, only a 1 1/2 hour journey. And it really was only one and a half hours!
The cave looked a little scary...almost like Alice down the rabbit hole...into another land, and almost as remote!
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