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Tranquil River
Submerged dugouts from nearby villagers Vientiane to Kong Lor Cave then down to PakseVientiane to Kong Lor Cave then down to Pakse
Jason & Kirstyn O Well we left Vientiane behind to venture more remotely to find and explore the less visited Tham Lot Kong Lor (Kong Lor Cave). Caught a local bus, which at first was rather roomy! Unfortunately 50,000 locals clambered in just around the corner (they must get a cheaper ticket there?) and so the aisles were packed with people leaning all over Kirstyn. Needless to say we were very glad to disembark (Kirstyn's usual patience surely tested) in the middle of nowhere at a junction town called Voen Kham.
We were glad to find out there were more Sangthaew leaving that afternoon to our destination, and so piled in (the girls chatting to the locals, the boys hanging off the back). Arrived late in the afternoon at a sleepy little village called Ban Na Hin and were pleased to find a guesthouse right where we got out. Next morning we were up at crack of dawn for the early Sangthaew only to find out it didn't exist. Waited till 11 or so before making the couple of hour journey to Kong Lor cave.
Due to some severe language barriers going on, we ended up right at the cave instead of
Ban Na Hin
Note the Sattelite dish in the background - quite weird seeing these on bamboo thatched homes in the middle of nowhere but really common, go figure?? the village where we could find a room. After stressing the poor driver and his wife out we convinced them to take us the couple of km's back (it was freaking hot and our bags are heavy ok) to a lovely guesthouse with bungalow style rooms and "restaurant" on the river. We managed to organise a boat when we first arrived and so walked back (minus our bags thank god) across the scorching rice fields.
Some background info: Kong Lor cave is an amazing 4km long or so (depending which book you read) and up to 80m wide and high in places. It has a river which flows through year round and so the way to see it is by small dug-out canoe type boats with a small motor on the back (not your typical outboard though). After a small hitch at the start of the cave (the starter-pull cord broke), and the chance to learn the local sign language for 'screwdirver/spanner' (we thought he wanted our tickets - what traveller carries a spare 10mm spanner with them anyway??) our driver navigated his way through the winding cave, round sharp bends and over rapids, all this with the help
of an average head lamp and a spotter dude on the front. As Andy put it, we had the "Ayreton Senna" of Kong Lor cave, as we flew past everyone! Being the dry season we did have to get out a bit and walk/wade sections which were too shallow or the rapids too rough.
At the other end, despite the initial blindness, were some smaller villages and spectacular scenery as well. Made it back in one piece and enjoyed the much cooler walk back, watching the children play soccer on the rice fields with the sun setting behind the mountains (aaah).
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