Say's pizza and the seven kilometers cave

The more I travel, the more desire I have to get off the beaten track. Tourism in South East Asia has certainly done a lot of good for the local economy, but at the same time it has depleted the atmosphere of once-magical places. Amongst the hordes of sweaty Euro teenagers and older dreadlocked hippies I sometimes forget where we really are. The only places where we could find a real, authentic Laotian soul were the villages we visited from Luang Nam Tha. The reast, although beautiful (Luang Prabang), scenic (Vang Vieng) or utterly pleasant (Vientiane) bore the scars of mass tourism. At the same time, staying on the beaten track has its advantages; a wider variety of food (the pizza I had in Vientiane was good enough for Italy), easy transport and guesthouses with good facilities. But atmosphere and soul are what I seek.





So we followed a vague advice and an inspiration and we headed towards the village of Ban Na Hin in central Laos. We had in mind this destination as it is the 'base' for visiting the 7 km long Kong Lo cave, formed by a river going through a limestone karst. With a new road just built linking Ban Na Hin and Kong Lo, the cave will probably reach the backpacker radar quite soon. When we visited though, it was still quiet. But first things first. We missed the direct bus from Vientiane, so we opted for a bus-songthaew combination. We reached our destination after a total of 5 hours on the back of the ubiquitous pick-up trucks. Ban Na Hin was a curious little village. It looked like straight out of a David Lynch film; a town forgotten by time, which was just awaking from a long dream to discover things had changed, and hurried to catch up. For example, guesthouses were mushrooming, but there was no one to attend to them. We were handed our keys by two 6 year old girls, and on our departure there was no one to take our payment, so we had to hurl the key and the 40.000 kip through a hole in the owners' window. Let me tell you, a good percentage of penny-pinchers roaming around these parts would've just left without paying. Same goes for restaurants. A couple of places had no staff, others were closed down altogether. We did find Moonlight though, run by the lovely Say, where we had the honour of being the first customers ever. After a warm Beerlao (courtesy of Ban Na Hin's power cuts) and a mean Makaritana pizza (I'll let you guess what's that supposed to be), we called it a night.





The following day we had another bumpy ride to the cave itself. The cave was amazing, nothing short of spectacular. The boat landing alone sits by the edge of a turquoise pool, from where one can see the river snaking through the emptiness of the cave. Once settled in a narrow wooden canoe, we took off. It was the spookiest experience I have ever had. The cave was ample, with the ceiling about 10 meters high. It was like walking into a fantasy book. In 5 or 10 years time it will probably be lit, with motorboats whizzing to and fro. We were alone, gliding through the blackness, with only the boatman's torches to give us an idea of where we were going. The water was shallow at points, where we had to get out and wade. In some points the rapids formed little waterfalls, with sharp limestone rocks appearing out of the deep blue of the river. We stopped to observe the stupa, a series of stalactites and stalagmites which are the only area in the cave which can be lit up. But the experience, for me, was just sitting on the boat, cruising along the river, only just able to make out where water ends and stone begins.





It took us nearly 3 hours for the return trip. Seeing the end of the cave approach was something out of a dream; we could see the opening reflected in a shallow pool amid rocks, trees and light. In the middle of the cave, where the light is nonexistent, we saw some small plants and prawns. I could not believe there could be life in such a seemingly inhospitable environment. The whole experience felt like something out of this world. It showed how much it pays to get away from the crowds, how can a vague recommendation become an unforgettable experience. Rush to Kong Lo, but not all together. What was amazing indeed was having the place to ourselves.