I’ll cut to the chase, we (that’s me, and 3 guys with a tuktuk that I met at the guest house) reached the Kong Lor caves and. They. Were. Incredible!
But the journey there was a fraught one…
I woke up to heavy rain of course, but to my delight the famous Egg Cake was still on the breakfast menu. Whilst I waited the usual 60 minutes for it’s arrival, I packed my bags and loaded up. This was a particular attraction for the local butterfly community who rarely see the sight of a sweating white western man.
All packed up, ready to go, and then Mr. Vongphata, the humble guest house owner, announces to me:
“Hi Look, the locals tell me this morning that road is full to chest…”
I translate this to mean that the river was still flowing over the road, but even deeper and faster than yesterday.
Should I ride up and see for myself? I’m ready to go. Yes yes, I’ll go, I think.Â
Then it rains really heavily. Not going. Stops. Going. Rains again. Not going.Â
Fuck it, I’m not going! I need to get out of these clouds…how far’s Savvanakhet? I’ll go there instead.
Then Mr. Vongphata announces…
“But cave is open today. You must go…”
For the first time in over 2 months, I climb onboard a public mode of transport with other folk on it. A converted pick-up truck no less. It hurtles down the same long straight road that I myself navigated the potholes on just 24hours prior to.
It felt bizarre to be moving without a helmet on, without my arms out in front of me, without my feet either side of a seething engine. I was scared for my life.Â
And the wooden seat hurt my ass.Â
We reached the flooded section that halted my progress the day before, and true to local word, it was much worse than yesterday.
No way was our converted pick-up bus going through the 3 feet deep water.Â
Converted pick-up minivan going through floods.
Undeterred, we stopped a passing family on a engine+trailer contraption, and we agreed to pay them 5000kip (about 30p) each for a ride through the swelling river road.Â
And onwards we spluttered.
Engine + Trailer contraption to navigate the floods
A short while ahead the waters deepened. Stood on the trailer and still with river water up to our ankles. That’s 4 feet deep at least then. The entire engine and trailer were almost completely submersed.
Next mode of transport…the much bigger tractor cousin of the engine+trailer thing.
10000kip each and we were again on our way. Now standing on a trailer over 4 feet up, the water was again up to our ankles.Â
Boats were speeding past in both directions. This was a story!
Finally we reached land again, and the amused tractor driver beckoned us towards a newly polished silver Toyota Hilux. Mr. Kee would turn out to be the keeper of a local guesthouse, and subsequently our host for the forthcoming evening.Â
We had arrived. And the clouds cleared, hidden behind which were spectacular black cliffs rising hundreds of meters high above the vast flat rice paddies below.Â
Miraculously trees grow from these vertical cliff faces, punctuating the dark stone with bursts of deep green. Above the cliffs the rocky outcrops resembled the jagged teeth of a giant prehistoric monster now in hibernation.Â
On reaching the caves there’s no sight of the bad news that greeted yesterday’s visitors.Â
With tickets hand, and life jackets on, we clamber into what can only be described as a hollowed out log, and make for the rapids pounding from the mouth of the cave. I’m not ashamed to reveal that four grown men were fearing for our lives at that point.
Paddling upstream to the cave mouth
But we needn’t have fretted, as we skirted the rapids and cunningly transferred to a couple of motorboats that set off upstream of the rapids.Â
With our head torches on and dignity tucked back in, our guide opened the throttle and launched us into the darkness of the cavern ahead.Â
Now I’ve heard superlatives abound in conversations about the Kong Lor caves, and seriously it deserves the praise. intimidating, yes. Amazing; awesome; fantastic; incredible; unbelievable…yes, yes, yes! They are all suitable descriptions of the Kong Lor caves.Â
Travelfish.org sum up it up as…
“simply a nearly eight kilometre long cave with a river running through it.”
And that it is, but at times it feels like you are exploring the surface of the moon. At times the cave roof soared above over 50 meters up, giving me a soar neck looking up whilst the swollen muddy river, just 2 inches below my ass, tossed and shoved us from side to side.Â
Bats shriek with disdain at disturbance of our headlamps. Spiders huddle close together in fear of our barping engine. Barp barp ba ba barp barp. Entire trees float on by, just close enough to serve as a reminder of the fragility of the wooden plank on which we sit.
Anyway, we made it out alive, drank more BeerLao, and regaled in our death-defying antics that day.Â
Here are some photos in case you didn’t make it there…
Paddling upstream to the cave mouth
Ready for the Kong Lor caves…
One photo inside the Kong Lor caves
The Rice Paddy flatlands of Kong Lor
Minivan in the Kong Lor floods
Minivan in the Kong Lor floods 2
The mouth of the cave (bottom left)
Entering the mouth of the Kong Lor cave
Engine + Trailer contraption to navigate the floods
Out the otherside of the Kong Lor caves
After 2 aborted attempts, we finally reach the remote Kong Lor caves... Kong Lor Cave - We Made It... I’ll cut to the chase, we (that's me, and 3 guys with a tuktuk that I met at the guest house…
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