Phou Hin Boun - 2 Day trek

I joined a 2 day trek into the national protected area of Phou Hin Boun offered by the tourist office. I went to the office at 8am and met my trekking companions. They were Marcus and Christina from Germany and Rohan from New Zealand. We left Tha Kek by tuk tuk. We drove 5km out of town on a paved road and then branched off onto a dirt road for another 20km. We arrived at a small village were we got 2 local village guides. We stopped at the local primary school for a bit and then started our trek. We reached a small cave that had 4 entrances. This cave was full of daddy long leg spiders in huge numbers all over the ceiling. As the light from our flashlights hit them, they dropped to the floor. We had to watch out not to get covered in them!
Next we come to the Nam Don Resurgence. This beautiful spot has light greenish clear water and is the source of the nam don river. The river comes out of the ground at the back of the cave that is only 20m deep. Rohan and I swam in the water. It was very clear with lots of little fish. We had lunch at this spot, which consisted of local food and tasty grilled fish. After hiking through more dry forest we reach the massive Pa Chan cave. This cave is only about 200m long but is about 60m high with a 100m entrance. We walked right through the via secret passage thus avoiding the river running through the cave. This cave was used to hide sacred buddhas during raids on the local villagers a long time ago. The cave is the site of a huge 3 day festival in February. It was really spectacular and there was no one else around. We walked past a stupa dating from the 6th century on our way to a village were we spent the night. We stayed in an eco lodge, basically one large room with mats and mosquito nets. We ate on the large balcony. After dinner we were treated to a Baci ceremony were elder local villages tied white thread bracelots around our wrists and gave us gifts of sticky rice, banana and candy. They wished us and our families good health and a safe trip as they tied the bracelots on. Shots of the local fire water, laolao, were optional. I took 2 shots and that was enough. The night sky was brilliantly full of stars.

The next morning breakfast at 8am consisted of noodles and coffee. We packed up and hiked along a mostly easy trail for 3 and a half hours. The trek was in forest along the base of a karst mountain. We came to Ban Na Kheu village were we would have lunch. The village is also the base for visiting the stunning Khoun Kong lake, also known as the Blue Lagoon. There's more than one blue lagoon in Laos but this one was different and the most spectacular. The name means 'Evening Gong Lake'. We rode on the back of a tractor pulled cart for 1km to reach the lake. At different times of the year, the lake changes color from blue to green to brown. The dry season is the best with the richest blue color. The water comes from an underground spring 70m deep. The limestone filters the water giving it the crystal clear and surreal blue color. Words don't do it justice. This place is magical.Fishing is prohibited in the lake and swimming is only allowed in one corner. The lake is about 100m from end to end. I thought it would be bigger. It's totally surround by trees with karst mountains looming in the distance. We saw some fish about 45cm long but there were many more smaller and streamlined fish almost the same color as the water. We swam and hung out here for a while. We went back to the village for lunch of local food, the main dish being freshly killed duck which they made into soup. The cuts of meat were very bony and fatty and the meat itself was not tender or particularly tasty, I didn't like it much and loaded up on sticky rice. Sticky rice is a staple in Laos and it's been a staple for me. I've been eating it most days, sometimes twice a day. It's so tasty dipping it into a spicy fish paste and super cheap on the street, 25 cents will get a huge clump of sticky rice that is more than enough for one person. I am going to have to learn how to make sticky rice once I get home.
After lunch we ride in the back of the tractor pulled cart for almost an hour. It's not quite a tractor that pulls the cart but a oversized rototiller type machine without blades and handles that extend 2m. I saw them all over Myanmar and Laos, usually used to haul heavy local loads of produce or local people. The road became very rough at this point and we had to get off and walk for 2km. The tractor went back to the village as after the road became more passable, a tuk tuk was waiting for us on the other side. The road was very rocky and went up and down some huge hills. I wondered how any vehicle could get across this stretch. We met out tuk tuk and we back in town after another hour. I went back to Mouthang guesthouse. I raved about it to everyone and they all came with me to get a room. Unfortunately they only had one room left and I took it. I ate dinner at the local food stalls along the Mekong. Tha Kek is one of the cheapest places to get food. A large and meaty skewer of pork and a huge clump of sticky rice with sauce is less than one dollar. Beerlao, the local brew, is also the cheapest I've seen anywhere, just under one dollar. It's usually about $1.20 for a 650ml bottle.