Tag Laos
I’m on a bridge consisting of three thin metal wires in a V-shape, one for your feet and two for your hands. I am balancing precariously as the single line for my feet keeps moving side to side with every step I take. Right below me a is the river, the water cascading over dark grey cliffs that would surely kill me if I fell. I would be scared if it wasn’t for the double safety rope that goes from a fourth wire down to my harness.… Read the rest
I’m whizzing through the air along a metal wire suspended over a gorge. All around me is lush greenery, jungle spilling down the sides of the valley. To my left a bare rock face, water cascading over the edge to form a huge waterfall, a rainbow down at the bottom where the sunlight hits the spray off the rocks. The speed is exhilarating and I shriek with joy, drowning out both the whining wirr of the zip line and the rush of the waterfall.… Read the rest
We’re in the jungle now: the track, if you can even call it that, slopes steeply downwards over roots and moss clad boulders. Except for the track there’s trees and plants all around, you can only see a few meters in front of you. Despite not having rained for several days, everything is damp, the track muddy and the rocks and trees are slippery. All around is the sound of insects and in the distance the rush of a waterfall. I have a nylon strap harness strapped to my legs and shoulders, two safety cords and a zip line pulley … Read the rest
The next city I wanted to go to is Pakse which is little over 300 kilometers from Thakhek. The reasonable thing to do would be to do it in two days but I’m tired of transit towns with nothing to see so I made a deal with myself; if I reached Savannakhet, the biggest city along the way, before lunch I would continue all the way.
I didn’t manage to take off quite as early as I wanted but I made good time and by eleven I was already passed the junction with the Savannakhet road so I decided to … Read the rest
I’m only a couple of blocks from the main street but the place is almost empty. A few cars and scooters passing by, an open shop down the street shining like a beacon and the warm orange glow of the street lights that shine for no-one. With so many travelers coming here you would think the place would be more active but it no, everything seems dead and deserted.… Read the rest
The main reason people come to Thakhek is to do The Loop, a three day round trip by motorbike that not only goes through beautiful scenery but passes by a number of caves and lakes where you can go swimming. I decided to do the loop anti clockwise, starting with the caves just east of Thakhek.
Xang cave is reachable via a dirt road just off the main road and you have to ford a small river to reach it. The cave itself is not much, just a couple of Buddha statues and it’s not really worth the trouble of … Read the rest
The chamber we are in is enormous, the vaulted roof as high as that of a church and at least 30 meters from wall to wall. On the sides, gentle slopes of bare rock come down towards the water, forming a sort of outcrop where there is a bend in the river, the boat skimming across the gravel just inches below the surface. The whole scene illuminated by the greyish light of our flashlights as they focus on different parts of the surroundings.… Read the rest
We are on a small outcrop of rock, both behind and in front of us lies the shallow river. We are waiting while the driver pulls the boat over some rocky rapids. In the distance sunlight spills in through the jagged mouth of the cave, illuminating the white and ochre colored walls, and the green of the jungle outside reflected in the surface of the water. A large white rock topped with green sits right in the middle of the opening, the only place exposed to enough light for something to grow.… Read the rest
Our little motorized long tail canoe is speeding into the darkness, guided by nothing but the head lamp of the driver. The boat lies low in the water, the surface just inches from the sides and it feels like any movement could tip us over. To the sides and above us the vaulted roof of the cave, bare grey rock rushing past, illuminated by the dancing beams of our flashlights.… Read the rest
The road is on an embankment connecting I don’t know how many little islands. Around me, forested hilltops and flooded valleys, dead trees sticking up from the mirror smooth surface of the water. My eyes are streaming with tears from the chilly head wind as I connect swooping turn with swooping turn as fast as I dare go. I can’t help but scream with joy.… Read the rest