After wondering around for a while yesterday, we found somewhere offering the cave tours pretty much where we had started! However, it was far more expensive than we had thought so we decided to go and have a think about it whilst having a chill at the hotel. A couple of hours later we had decided that we came to Thakhek for the caves and went back out to book the trip. Whilst getting cash out we bumped into the couple who were staying in the same place as us and it turned out that they had just booked the same trip! We also booked our bus tickets to Vietiane tomorrow and they will also be on the same bus then as well.
After a shower later on we went back out to grab some food and it was like a different place! The square in the centre that had looked like a ghost town earlier now had loads of food stands, loud music and a massive bouncy slide! We didn't stay up too late as we started our trip at 7.30 this morning.
We decided to wait outside a bit earlier just in case and ended up talking to a local about English phrases and the correct words for different things! The bus turned up on time and the four of us got on and settled in for the bumpy and slightly scary three hour drive! We stopped after about an hour and a half at the limestone forest, which is a viewpoint overlooking all the limestone mountains. This was incredible and looked so amazing with the different layers of mountains as they got further into the distance. It was just after 10.30 when we arrived at the Konglor caves. We walked a short distance to the ticket office where we were given life jackets and a torch before heading across the bridge and into the entrance of the cave. Here we split into two motorised canoes and began the 7500m journey down the river through the cave.
A short distance in we stopped and got out to walk through a lot up part of the cave with the most incredible stalactites and stalagmites. On the other side we got back in and continued through the rest of the cave, getting out into the water every so often to help push the boat over the rocks when the water level dropped! This wouldn't have been so bad if the strap on my flip flop didn't detach itself everytime I was in the water!
When we exited the cave at the other end we stopped for 15 minutes in the small village there before repeating the journey back through the cave. It was an incredible experience sailing through in the pitch dark with just a head torch. We are both so glad we decided to spend the money on this!
After a quick lunch we got back in the minibus to head to the next part of the tour, a 6km trek to a waterfall!
This wasn't too bad, but did get quite hard going as it got steeper! There were two pools with waterfalls which were both really pretty and it was nice to sit there in the peace and recover from the walk! We then headed back down the same way, and were pretty knackered by the time we finally made it back to the bus to make the long journey back to Thakhek. This was lovely as we could watch the sunset over the mountains out the window.
There isn't much of a plan for tonight as we need to pack ready for our bus to Vietiane tomorrow, but we are going to end the day with a nice meal as it is our second wedding anniversary :)