Tham Kong Lo

While waiting for our Myanmar visa we endeavoured on a little trip South from Vientiane, to visit the cave in Tham Kong Lo. To be more precise it is a river disappearing in a monolithic limestone mountain creating a 7 km pitch dark cave, which you can cross on a boat. Honestly, when Tomek came up with this idea I was not full of enthusiasm, as a black hole is not a most attractive thing I can imagine, especially if you ought to spend a couple of hours in it. But since this is supposed to be one of the natural wonders of Laos I gave in hoping if nothing else but for personal development...

We took an early morning bus from Vientiane to Ban Khoun Kham, a good 6 hours shaker on a local bus accompanied by live stock chicken, a couple of sacks of rice and a bus driver, who thought himself to be also a DJ entertaining the full bus with Thai pop music on maximum volume. At Ban Khoun Kham we figured that we do not have to test our fresh motorbiking skills across rice fields, because the road has been built to Tham Kong Lo. So we took another local bus, which was apparently a pickup and we were seated on its back with gallons of petrol in plastic barrels, 50 kg rice sacks and some Laotians. Within 3-4 hours we arrived to our destination where we headed to look for accommodation before the sun would disappear. It was not long before we understood that the only option we have is to stay at one of the local homes, which institution is called Home Stay, including a mattress to sleep in their home, breakfast and dinner. Luckily we found one where we had our own room and enjoyed the hospitality of a 3 generation Lao family without a single person in the nearby speaking even a word of English nor anyother tourists.

Next morning we walked to the riverside, where the Boat Committee had its' headquarters, a dozen of boatmen sleeping on benches, but in a strong cartel with regards to the price - which seems to be the case all over Laos; that is all about communism so far :) So we got our two men with headlights and a wooden arch and a long tail engine entering the mouth of the cave. Soon I realized that my personal development has begun, because within 1 minute we were totally cut from daylight in a 20 something meter high, 10 meter wide cave, in a shaky arch. But actually not long after my eyes got accustomed to the new light, or rather dark conditions and could start relaxing and enjoying the view provided by the torchlight of our boatmen. Not yet being in the wet season the water level inside the cave dropped so much that 4-5 times we had to get out and walk in the water while our boatmen earned their hefty fee, which in light of the harsh working conditions did not seem so much expensive. After a good hour we saw the sunlight again at the other end of the cave for a half an hour break when we understood that we shall make our way back through the cave. It turned out to be a good half day program including a walk inside the cave to a "gallery" of stunning stalactites, which meant that the only bus back to Ban Khoun Kham was gone for that day and we are to spend another night with our hosts. Well, it is not only hearsay, you really have to take it easy in Laos; time is very cheap over here and there is plenty of it. So we decided to enjoy the rest of the day getting acquainted with the local restaurant-grocery-petrol station-garage-in-one and its customers and returned to Vientiane with a similarly bumpy and lengthy multiple bus and pick-up ride. Good that these guys are so practical that they build their houses on stork legs a good 2 meters above the ground, otherwise we would have been seriously terrified, not only scared out of our whits that the night storm will wash us out from our bed.

By the evening we were fully set for glass of red wine and fettuchini with pesto, blue cheese and walnuts to celebrate the Labor Day, which is actually only a cover story for humankind to commemorate my birthday.