Up early today for our trip through the Kong Lo cave!
We went downstairs to try and ask if we could leave our bags in our room while we go to the cave, but the girls in reception didn't really understand what we were asking. Eventually one of them pushed a chair under the clock on the wall, stood on the chair and pointed to the number 11 on the clock - I guess that that's when we have to check out by! We went back upstairs to pack and left our bags in reception, hoping they'd still be there when we returned!

We headed back to the restaurant where we ate last night and all four of us enjoyed the breakfast there. Then it was time for the 1km walk along to the boat landing by the entrance to the cave.
When we arrived, there were lots of Laos guys (presumably all boatmen) sitting around by the ticket desk so we headed there and after some confusion over the tickets (we nearly ended up paying double accidentally!) we managed to get our boat ticket (110,000kip), head lamp (5000kip each) and life jacket (free!). Two of the boatmen then led us down towards the boats; we had to cross a wooden bridge over the stunning green-blue lake at the entrance to the cave. IT was completely unspoilt and looked perfect for a swim, but not today - we were off into the cave!

We walked a short distance inside and it was already pretty dark, so on went our headlamps, although Laura's was a bit temperamental and kept springing off! The boats, which were motorised wooden canoes, were lined up at one side of the cave and we carefully climbed in. We'd read that they can tip over quite easily so we tried to stay as still as possible once we were seated on the floor of the boat! Then we were off!

The cave really was pitch-black apart from the light from our headlamps, which coast an eerie light on the cliffs and rocks on either side of the us! We sailed past a section where the roof was quite high and we spotted the first stalagtites suspended above us - an incredible sight! After a few minutes, we pulled over to the side of the cave and one of our guides gestured for us to get out of the boat. We were then led up some steps and walked through a section of the cave that had been made safe and accessible. We'd read that they've installed lights in this part to give tourists a better view but nothing happened when our guide flicked the switch. He didn't say anything - I think he hoped we hadn't noticed! Instead, we wandered through by torch light, which I think I preferred - more natural and much more atmospheric. We saw lots of stalagmites which the Laos people see as natural stupas. Then it was back into the boat to continue our journey.

As we sailed through the cave, there were several points where we ran into a gravelled shallow section of the river and we had to get out of the boat and follow the guides as they carried or pushed the boat further upriver to a deeper section. We knew it was time to get in or out when our guide said 'OK, boat!'. After about half an hour, we saw the tiny light at the end of the tunnel, and emerging into the daylight was one of the highlights of the trip. We then continued sailing along the Nam Hin Ban river to a stop by the riverbank, passing some incredible mountains and cliffs along the way, as well as other boats doing the return journey and filled with people who'd been on our bus yesterday!

At the stop there were a couple of drinks stalls and we enjoyed a cold drink in the heat! Soon it was time to bard the boat again for the return journey - we got to do it all again, including getting in or out every time we heard 'OK, boat!'. The journey ws unlike anything we've done on our trip so far and it must be one of the few places in the world where you can travel for such a distance by boat through a cave - we're very lucky and glad we made the detour to the cave here!

After we returned our life jackets and headlamps, there was a tuk tuk waiting with some more people who were on our bus yesterday, and it was going to Ban Khoun Kham, the nearest big village where we could catch an onward bus - perfect!

The tuk-tuk (which was more like a big truck with benches) drove us back to the village so that we could collect our bags, and then we were leaving Kong Lo behind. It's a shame we couldn't stay longer, but we need to keep moving! What followed was an hours ride to Ban Khoun Kham, followed by a quick lunch in a Laos restaurant where none of the staff could speak English! Luckly for us, there was a woman next to us who could speak English and she helped us to order four steaming bowls of noodle soup! Then it was back to the tuk-tuk station for a ride to the next town, Tha Khaek, which was three hours away. Three hours on a hard, wooden bench felt like a lifetime, and we were all aching by the time we arrived! The guys from the bus the other day got on yet another bus heading further south, but we decided we'd done enough travelling for one day and checked into Tha Khaek Travel Lodge (no link to the Travel Lodge chain at home!) for a relaxing night!

We ate an early dinner and then headed for bed at about 8:30pm as we were both shattered! A very memorable day though, on of the best in Laos so far…