Tham Kong Lo

I misunderstood the guidebook and thought I could do a trek to Tham Kong Lo cave from Tha Kek, where I am now. Turns out they meant it could be done from a village closer to the cave so I have to do a bit of backtracking. I only planned on spending one night out to see the cave, so I stored my large pack at the guesthouse. It's so nice to just travel with a daypack. I got to the local bus station at 6.40am and got the front seat of the pickup. It left on time at 7.30 and followed the road back towards Vientiane for 100km. At Veing Kham, we turned east and the flat road now twisted and climbed around the karst mountains.
We arrived in the small village of Khoun Kahm at 11.30. The journey time was exactly 4 hours like the tourist office said it would be. They dropped me off at the pickup station for Kong Lo. A woman there said the next pickup would be leaving at 1. I went to the tourist office to find out any new info but they guy wasn't much help. He wanted me to rent a moto and guide to go to the cave. I asked about public transport but he said it only went in the morning. I told him they just told me it was leaving at one. Oh, he didn't know about his he said! I also asked about hitching there and he said that was impossible! I ate some lunch and then went back to the pickup station. Just before we left at one, an Australian couple joined us.
The 42km road to the cave was new and in great condition. We went to the end of the line, the road just finishes and becomes a track. We startin walking here. It was only a few minutes through shady forest to the boat launch. The boat launch was very quiet with hardly anyone around. This wasn't what I was picturing. I thought it would be busier with maybe a restaurant or guesthouse but no, this was very low key. I shared the boat with Pete and Jane, the Aussies. 3 people were allowed to share one boat.
The entrance to the cave was kind of large but you would never know that the river ran for 7.5km through the cave. Tham Kong Lo is one of the natural wonders in Laos. I had done a boat trip into a river cave before on Palawan in The Philippines but they only allowed you to go in for 1km. Here we would be going in one end and out the other. The boats were smartly parked inside the cave. After going a few minutes the cave really opened up and was at least 100m high and just as wide. The cave was very wide most of the way but sometimes became low, especially when we had to hug the side to stay in the deeper water. It being the dry season the water was low and we had to disembark and wade through the water at the really shallow bits. This was a lot of fun. At one point we stopped and walked up to a dry area. They turned on the lights for us to reveal some spectacular formations. We walked around here for a bit and then it was back to the boat. It took an hour to get through the cave. It was cool feeling when we finally emerged from the darkness into the light on the other side into a valley surrounded by karst. We parked here for a bit. There were a few stalls selling snacks.
On the way back through the cave we saw a few local boats coming through with goods, passengers and even a motorbike on the canoe! I thought there was an easier way to get to the village on the other side of the mountain but I guess not. Locals hid on this other side fleeing persecution in the early 1900's. The way back was bit faster because we were going with the current. The driver would try and speed up to grind over the rocky shallow parts. Sometimes this worked but we still had to get out and walk at times. We arrived back at our starting point 2 hours later. We were litterally the last people there. Everyone had packed up and left. Now I had to find accommodation.
Pete and Jane were looking for a homestay because they had never done that before. I was looking for a guesthouse. They left to go in the village and I just kept walking till I hit a small guesthouse at the outskirts of the village. It was a small place with a bamboo bungalow housing 2 rooms and 2 bathrooms. I got my own room for $3.50. It was small and simple but it was private and the price was right.
I read a bit before dinner at 6.30. Dinner was sticky rice, some spice to dip it into and buffalo meat, it was all very tasty. I sat on my porch in the evening. The night sky out here was amazing.

The next morning my plan was to get up at 8, have a leisurely breakfast and then catch the pickup back to Koun Kahm at 9, but that didn't happen. The owner of the guesthouse spoke a little english and told me the pickup was to go at 9, but as I got up at 8, somehow sleeping off and on through the table saws and roosters, he said he made a mistake and I would have to go in 5 minutes! There goes breakfast! The pickup was virtually empty as we went back and it seemed kind of like a private ride for myself but when we got to Koun Kahm, I just had to pay the same price. It was 9.15 and I was told the pickup back to Tha Kek left at 10. I had time so I went and ate breakfast just down the road. I came back at 9.45 and they motioned that the pickup had already gone! This was annoying but I knew how to deal with it and was kind of ready for something like this. Koun Kahm lies on the main Rt. 8 connecting eastern Laos Vietnam to the main artery of Laos Rt. 13.I just had to get transport the 40km to Viengkahm at the junction and then it would be easy to get any bus going south.
I stuck out my thumb and began to hitch. Sometimes I would hold out my hand and wave in a downward motion as is polite to do in Asia when hailing a person or taxi. Holding your hand upright, like we do in the west, is considered rude here. The one problem with holding my thumb out, and I've had this happen in other countries while hitching, is that people think you are just saying 'hi' or ' everything is cool'. Then they wave and just keep going! I waited about 10 minutes before a guy is a new, air conditioned pickup gave me a ride....for about 2 minutes. I'm not sure why he dropped me off but he did and I was back where I started, though a little down the road. Minutes later an old, dirty small pickup stopped. They were going all the way to Tha Kek. I hopped in the dusty and dirt back and tried to get comfortable. They drove really fast and it was a bit hairy hanging on while we negotiated Rt. 8, once we got to Rt. 13, it was smooth sailing. They drove really fast too. What took 4 hours there took less than 2 coming back. They dropped me in the middle of town and drove off...free ride! I took a room back at Phoukanna guesthouse and relaxed.