From Vientiane me and my Canadian girls dragged ourselves to the bus station at 5am to board the 6am bus to Ban Na Him. Our purpose of visiting this small village in central Laos was singular - the Kong Lor Caves. It was fortunate that we had only this goal in mind as when we arrived we realised there would be little else to do. The afternoon we got there we spent exploring the village, which took a grand total of 15 minutes before we found ourselves looping back onto the highway. After an ealry dinner at what appeared to be the only restaurant in town willing to feed us we returned to our bungalows and a very pious bedtime (something I was now accustomed to as everything in Laos shuts at eleven).
On the tuk tuk to the cavesthe follwoing morning the girls and I made some new friends - a handsome, intelligent guy, Sam, and his shy younger sister Maggie. Sam made the conversation on the journey very entertaining, regaling us with tales of his travels so far, particularly about hitchhiking on the roof of a pickup in Burma while his Mum rode in the cab with Maggie. Sam was 6 years old and Maggie was 3. Their parents are bycicling SE Asia with two young kids in tow - a challenge if I could ever imagine one.
After about an hour in the tuktuk, the first 20 minutes of which was spent eating dirt as our driver didn't feel the need to use the new tarmaced road, we arrived at Kong Lor National Park. Once in the park you commission a boat to take you through the caves (max 3 people per boat). As your captain leads you to the cave mouth you can appreciate the natural beauty of the area - a mountain covered in greenery, the river having carved its path directly through the middle of a wall of rock. Seeing this made me glad I came in dry season as the cave is too flooded in rainy season to be able to visit.
Jo, Andy and me boarded our boat with the two Laos captains wearing powerful head torches and we set off into the darkness of the cave mouth. Very soon any light from the entrance fades and you have to trust that the men navigating the boat know where thay are going. They expertly manouevre around rocks made almost invisible by the darkness, using tiny visual clues and years of experience to guide them. At times the water is so shallow you have to get out and wade while the boat is pushed to the next point deep enough - very creepy in the dark, definitely pack your own torch! In one area of the cave a vast chamber of stalactites and stalagmites has been lit (a combined project between Laos and France). At this point you can get out of the boat and explore. In places the water that formed these twisted formations, which remind me of gothic cathedral architecture, is still dripping and you realise that the process is ongoing and the cave is constantly changing.
After the stalactite room the cave starts to feel really er\erie. The darkeness is more complete and you are boating through an invisible tunnel that feels like it will never end. At times your torch cannot touch the ceiling, and when it does the rock formations can take on frightening features to those with the propensity to creep themselves out.
Eventually a chink of light appears in the distance and your boat emerges into a beautiful jungle setting, the river flagged by greenery and complete with swimming buffalo. The boat stops a short way upriver for a lunch/swimming break.
The 7.5km trip back through the cave is swifter but no less creepy. It is definitely a place which conjures up images of a mythical underworld. All that darkness was, however, swiftly forgotten in the beauty of the river and the simple joy of racing with a 6 year old who claimed he was the fastest person in the whole world. I think everyone agreed the Kong Lor caves are definitely worth a visit!.
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