Day 668 - Motoring amongst the mountains

Today the 4 of us hired a couple of motorbikes and headed the 40km to Tham Kong Lo (Kong Lo Cave). On the way there despite being surrounded by the karst peaks and flowing rivers we zipped our way through the villages hoping to reach the famous cave as soon as possible. This limestone cave is justly famous due to the fact that it is 7km long with a beautiful green river flowing right through it. If you ignore the smug Laos men ripping off the tourist you're in for a treat as your rickety canoe motors its way through the pitch black. After an hour the light at the end of the tunnel is almost blinding as you pop out into the lazy river that looks much less threatening in the light. And since you can see, you can enjoy the striking mountain scenery that surrounds you.

At half way, the boat docked to give its engine a chance to cool down, and we enjoyed a snack on a bridge surrounded by trees.

As we headed back into the cave you feel like taking a huge breath of warm air before the cool of the cave encases you. Our driver seemed to be in one hell of a hurry - on the way up we had to disembark several times to get over shallow rock beds, but on the way back we were seated permanently as our motor roar struggled to escape the carnivorous stone jaws bearing down upon us as we battled the snaking black water in search of light. Back on our feet again we watch as some young boys played and dived in the lagoon at the mouth of the cave, but soon we were back on the bikes ready to explore our surrounds at a much slower pace.
We turned off at one point and drove through the dusty village, greeted at all points with waves, smiles and shouts of "sabaidee" from the locals kids and grown ups alike. On the main road the mountains and the fields at their feet continued to amaze but our attention was often drawn to the animals along the side of the road: from monster pigs, ginger buffaloes, the contrast of a giant white duck with its tiny black duck buddy, but best of all the family of buffaloes cooling down in a huge mud pool!After a battle for a disappointing lunch (in a town where they're happy to sell you beer everywhere, but not so keen on selling food!), we made our way into the hills we came over yesterday for a closer look, and just as the sun set we rolled back into our guesthouse to relieve our aching bums.

Adlibing it through a river cave.