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Thakek Loop, Laos.

So during a few games of chess and at least the same amount of beers, we decided to hit the road on 2 wheels, after getting from Vang Vieng to Thakek in the center of the country. For sure one of the best experiences on this trip: hundreds of kilometers, insane heat, all time of the world and what passes by is changing every few dozen kilometers. Sometimes dirt-tracks, sometimes highways ... never boring! Shiiit, could have stayed at some places forever ...

#travel #laos #thakek #thakek loop #biking #roadtrip #photographers on tumblr

The multi-day motorbike loop from Thakek is nothing short of epic.⠀⠀ .⠀⠀ .⠀⠀ .⠀⠀ .⠀⠀ .⠀⠀ #laos #thakek #konglor #motorbike #mountains #magichour #epic #travel #travelphotography #travelgram #travelawesome #instatravel #instago #backpacking #backpacker #wanderer #wanderlust #explore #lonelyplanet #nategeotravel #condenasttraveler #cntraveler #thediscoverer #worldnomads #beautifuldestinations #fiercetravels #lensculture #magnumphotos #latergram (at Thakhek)

Once upon a time in the East...⠀ .⠀ .⠀ .⠀ .⠀ .⠀ #konglor #laos #motorbikeloop #thakek #doorway #southeastasia #mountains #hammock #smoking #travel #travelphotography #travelgram #travelawesome #instatravel #instago #backpacking #backpacker #wanderer #wanderlust #explore #lonelyplanet #nategeotravel #condenasttraveler #cntraveler #thediscoverer #worldnomads #beautifuldestinations #fiercetravels #lensculture #latergram (at Konglor-Natane Ecotouristic Association)

How I ate literally the first ever banana I've ever eaten ever and didn't hate it.

Well my day has been super weird. Has your day been this weird?

Today's adventure began yesterday, when we attempted to find the tourist information, got lost, found it, found it was shut, and decided the hostel would definitely be our best point of contact when booking the tour we were interested in. Oh, we were wrong. How we were wrong!

The lovely fella behind the desk assured us a tuk tuk (or something) could take us to the cave with the underground river in the morning, we just had to turn up at 8am and pay then. Great. Fine. Exactly what we wanted. So show up at 8am we did (or just after...), and it turns out our tuk tuk is a car and our guide is the lovely fella behind the desk. We went along with it, because to be fair his English was quite good and he was lovely.

So off we drove, heading out towards the hills and definitely following signs for the right cave. Except when we got there, our driver had a bit of a chat with the ladies setting up tourist stalls and told us we had to head back into the village to find an actual guide. Sure, that's the sort of thing a driver to tourist destinations wouldn't know in advance. Of course. But back into the village we went, where after a longer chat with the local village council (or gathering of men, I don't know), he said we could go ourselves, we just couldn't go through the cave because the boat was broken. OK, he's allowed that one, he didn't break the boat himself.

The walk to the cave was beautiful, over rickety bridges and through tree shaded paths, to the entrance of a truly stunning cave. The boat did indeed look quite broken, given that it was half submerged beneath the water, and the view from the opening is really quite impressive anyway. So we took some cool pictures and went back on our way. Lovely.

The second cave of the day was the Buddha cave, discovered in 2004 with a bunch of mysterious Buddha statues in it. Cool! Who doesn't love a bunch of mysterious Buddha statues half way up a mountain? We donned the ugliest skirts Laos could possibly choose as respectful national dress and poked our heads in. It's become a working temple again since its discovery, so the small space is crowded with worshippers, people selling offerings, and a full CCTV system. The lower cave is accessible by boat for 10000 kip, or one whole British pound, so we paid up and finally got our boat trip through a cave. Great! The day is going so well! Sure, things were a little confusing at first, but everything's coming up us!

Sorry, wrong. Throughout the morning, our charming little guide has been chatting about his friend Thomas, a German man who married a Lao girl and is now settled near the town. Would we like to pop in for lunch? Um... sure! We're open minded travellers, who don't mind doing things we're unprepared for. And there might be a party as well? Well, great. We love a party!

So through the streets we drive, back into the city and down a dirt track. As we approach, it turns out the German guy isn't there at all, and everyone's been drinking since 10.30am. Apparently it's the norm in Laos to go and give alms to the monks, give thanks for your friends, and then get blasted all day. We pull up outside, and by this point even our driver is beginning to look nervous. Is there a chance everyone's too drunk? (Yes.) So we sit in the car for a while as he tries to sort food for us, before we are eventually physically dragged from the car by some Lao girls, who take us to the dance floor and proceed to dance with and around us. Beer is poured and forced into our hands, people chatter away to us in Lao and seem happy with terrified laughter as a response. My glasses fall off my head, and when one of the girls picked them up I told her to keep them: I truly hate those sunglasses. At some point, an old man appears and seems to be trying to teach me to dance, before handing me more beer. (It's not a secret that I detest beer in every way, and the only time I've drunk it before was one of those Never Tell My Mother nights, so I'm sipping mine and passing it off to Hannah whenever I can). I try to smile and accept graciously, as I've learnt that in Laos they get offended when you don't finish your plate in a restaurant, so rejecting a beer must be tantamount to murdering the hosts son. It quickly becomes apparent that sipping and smiling won't be enough, and I am instead expected to chug the glass. Great. Everything I ever wanted. I down it through gritted teeth, and the man continues to dance with me. I think there's a chance I married him.

Eventually, food is served, sort of. Hannah, being vegetarian, is served a bowl of raw eggs, while I am given mystery meat and noodles. We both get a honey sandwich. Our host gestures to the plate and I realise today is the day that I am going to have to face the one food I've avoided longer than beer: banana. They're tiny Asian bananas, sure, but they're bananas, and I wouldn't wish that fruit on my worst enemy. Why are they so yellow and mushy? Why do they smell so bad? Why is the taste so dramatically different to the haribo version? Do they really need to be that phallic? Still, I'm a polite European, so I try a piece and it's not terrible? Kind of like a yellow kiwi fruit. What a day for bananas!

Throughout all of this, we're handed more beer and told "Lai, lai!". It transpires that it is some sort of custom (I think) to down your drink, and it's incredibly rude not to. I only found this out after a Lao woman yelled at me for a while, but what can you do. I drank as much as I could, and snuck the rest to Hannah who gallantly drank it for me. It's not the first time she's finished drinks I couldn't.

So after more beer, and more dancing, we managed to leave. It took a while, as everyone needed to take a picture with us, one guy needed to tell us he loved us several times, and some other women needed to wish us good luck and good morning. But that's the story of how Hannah and I ended up slightly drunk on a Sunday afternoon in Thakek, and how I ate literally the first ever banana I've ever eaten ever and didn't hate it.

#Laos #Thakek #Bizarre days #bananas #I ate a banana #No really I ate the whole thing