At the hottest hour of a summer day I felt very tired halfway to our destination which made walking a punishment. I was about to complain about the 14-kilometer, two-way walk to a cave in the secluded part of Vang Vieng, but no, we needed to continue. Thinking that it wasn’t the best idea, I surrendered and tried to hail a tuk tuk and upon learning that we didn’t have much money to spare we let it pass by. My world almost crashed.
Sometimes it pays to have a neat sheet of itinerary so
that I could fix our budget better beforehand. We’re nearing the last leg of
our two-month backpacking trip around Southeast Asia and with almost depleted
funds, we couldn’t afford some basic stuff like transportation fares. We
couldn’t avail of the tours that were offered around town ‘coz it would leave
us on the streets of Laos so we intended to explore almost everything on foot (check here for discounted tours, transportation and activities in Luang Prabang).
We had a week in Vang Vieng and the bucolic scene we woke up to every day at Vieng Tara Villa was a cheap source of happiness for us. But we wanted to explore more, thinking about what’s beyond those limestone karst mountains that surrounded the town.
We set two days for our cave explorations. Not
necessarily spelunking but those visits that will just give you an idea on how
it looked like inside rather than just seeing it from the outside. We’re too
old for hardcore stuff so we settled for one cave per day quota.
Lusi Cave
We asked the staff from Vieng Tara Villa for the
closest cave near the resort and they pointed us toward the west. They gave us
a map that featured some nearby caves that we could explore.
There’s a small path leading to the caves but we chose to follow the rice paddies thinking that it would be a much easier route, but no. At exactly twelve noon, we headed to Pha Poak Cave which was about a kilometer or so from where we were. We reached the cave but were taken aback on its steep ascent. We saw a sign leading to another cave, Lusi Cave, and followed it.
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| On the way to Lusi Cave |
We carried on and reached the cave after an hour or
so. The place looked deserted with just one caretaker who seemed to be setting
up for the day. The last night’s rain made the place cluttered and we asked if
the cave was open for visit. The nice guy gave his affirmative nod and asked us
10,000 Kip each (US$ 1.24) for the entrance fee. You may also opt to hire a head
lamp at around 5,000 Kip each (US$ 0.62) which would definitely help you to explore
the cave.
The guy cleared the uphill trail that was filled with
debris. We thought that it was just an easy climb but when we reached the top,
we almost quit. We were so shocked to
see small rock crevices with an improvised wooden ladder. I got in first as my
buddy would need more time to figure out how to fit his not-so-tiny body inside.
It was challenging, especially if you’re not as “adventurous” as us. My buddy
had a hard time getting through, but he managed to do it.
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| You'd need head lamps or flash lights. |
Lusi Cave ain’t for the claustrophobic ones, the headlamps
really helped us navigating inside. And because it was summer, the famous
lagoon inside was nowhere to be found. There were stalactite and stalagmite
formations that were just okay. But the crystal formations were amazing. I was
trying to switch off my lamp and see if it still glows, but no. Haha. I laughed
on my own stupid thoughts.
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| Lusi Cave |
Tham Phu Kham Cave and
Blue Lagoon
Of all the caves listed on our map, my buddy insisted
to check out Tham Phu Kham Cave which is one of the famous caves in town. Why
not? It has a natural lagoon right outside it that was frequented by locals and
tourists all throughout the year.
It was a 7-kilometer walk, my buddy casually told me during breakfast. I couldn’t fathom how long the walk would take us, ‘coz I ain’t used to measuring. But I’d rather do it than spend our last money on transportation, quite crazy, I know.
It was a 7-kilometer walk, my buddy casually told me during breakfast. I couldn’t fathom how long the walk would take us, ‘coz I ain’t used to measuring. But I’d rather do it than spend our last money on transportation, quite crazy, I know.
With the help of our good old map (and my buddy’s
digital map), we headed to the northeast village of the Ban Na Thong and
commenced the journey, at ten in the morning.
The countryside Vang Vieng with the surrounding limestone karst mountains were the constant scene. The unbearable summer heat almost drained our energies as we reached our first kilometer, we’re not yet even close.
We endured the heat with our 2-liter water pack. We weren’t in a hurry though so we stopped whenever we wanted to regain our sanity energies. You see, we don’t usually do stuff like this, on a normal basis.
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| No, not that. |
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| Midway to our 7-kilometer walk |
We were passed by a tuk tuk and asked on a frustrated manner if we could probably
hitch, but the driver set an incredibly and insanely high price for the ride. I
politely declined and just enjoyed the stroll not thinking about the hardships
which in return paved way for much appreciation of nature and people within the
communities along the way.
We heaved a heavy sigh upon reaching the entrance. We
paid 10,000 Kip each (US$ 1.62) for the fee and sat down to regroup. The place was
filled with locals and tourists converging at the lagoon, as expected. We
headed toward the cave and started the steep 200-meter uphill climb. With our
shaky legs, we hiked one rock step at a time, not minding the busy flow of
visitors coming up and down the cave.
We reached the cave entrance and felt the cool breeze
from inside. We went further the huge cave with different chambers and examined
if we could get through. We managed to get to the first chamber where a large
bronze reclining Buddha rested. We scanned the other chambers and noticed that
it would be a challenging one, so we decided to just head back to the lagoon to
freshen a bit.
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| Tham Phu Kham Cave |
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| There's a reclining Buddha inside |
Tree with hanging ropes were all over and people were
doing crazy stuff a la Tarzan as they swing off. Branches were also used as
diving boards at different levels. I remembered my stint on cliff jumping in Siquijor and thought that I could do it. I slowly climbed up the wooden ladder
and positioned myself on the edge of the branch. With no warning, I jumped into
the water faster than my buddy could take a snap of me. Everybody cheered as I
surfaced back and felt the adrenaline as I swam back to where my buddy was.
That was fun!
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| Yes, I jumped! |
The sun was starting to fade and we couldn’t be much
happier about it. We weren’t expecting it but a farm tractor stopped and waved
at us, signalling for a hitch, and we hurriedly jumped into it. We’re almost
nearing the town but it was so nice of them to give us a lift.
We were just in time for the sunset and headed to the
Nam Song riverside and continued the swim there. We checked our diminishing
wallets and agreed on getting Beer Lao (10,000 Kip | US$ 1.62 / bottle) as a treat for a hard day. Yes, we save
on transportation but not on beers. Haha.
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