Three long journeys under rain and cold from Nong Khiaw but finally Belén and I arrived to Thakhek, the first big town in the South of Laos. The town itself was not very interesting, just a town at the Mekhong riverside, but in the surroundings there were several caves to visit and beautiful karst landscape. Once we properly rested in a hostel at the town’s outskirts we rented a motorbike to do part of a recommended 3-days-loop.
- Thakhek loop map
It had rained a lot the last days and the roads were muddy. Motorbikes we could afford would get stuck on the slopes and the mud could damage the engine or the chain. Additionally we were running out of time since my visa expires in one week, so finally we decided to do only one day of the Thakhek loop and see whatever we had time. Unfortunately we couldn’t reach one of the most beautiful places, Kong Lo Cave (Tham Kong Lo), that must be visited by boat since a river crosses it.
- Everybody uses things from Spanish football teams, but they don’t even know Spain is a country xD
- Everybody uses things from Spanish football teams, but they don’t even know Spain is a country xD
- A big wall in the middle of a forest
- Yeah, they’re goats in the city
- Christian altar in a big wall in the middle of a forest
- Christian open-air church in a big wall in the middle of a forest
- Prays in the rock of Tham Pha Fa, the Buddha Cave
- Entrance for Tham Pha Fa, Buddha Cave, I had to enter almost sitting down
- Tham Pha Fa, Buddha Cave, with over 200 statues
- Rice fields
- Rice fields and karst landscape
- Here we slept. A karaoke on the roadside. Typical brothel here, hahaha
- Woman giving a bath to a kid
- Views from the viewpoint in Tham Xang
- Panoramic from the viewpoint in Tham Xang
- Rocks to pass by on the way to the viewpoint in Tham Xang
- Tham Xang
- Tham Xang
- Thailand from Thakhek
In one of the caves-temple which we visited, Tham Xang, we had one of those bad experiences I described before about Laotians. There were 4 people not doing anything else other than charge a fee to the tourists coming (well, one person was charging and the other 3 were just looking). With the entrance was also included the possibility of hiking up a cliff with a nice viewpoint but if you didn’t want to go there you didn’t have to pay that part (as per a sign in the entrance). We didn’t go up because the access was hidden and we didn’t find it so we asked for the money back. They suddenly went mad yelling us I don’t know what kind of nonsense in Laotian and looking at us with such a disdain face that I was flipping out. Finally some guys show us the way for going up, but we had the right to ask for the money back and those people shouldn’t behave like vermin. I’m not violent at all but I can tell you that those people deserve somebody beats the crap out of them. One can be poor not being a moron.
When we came back the next day Mr. Wang, the motorbike shop’s owner, told us that the day before a western girl (from Austria I reckon) was attacked in a lagoon where we were that day. She was alone and a couple of teenagers hit her back with a big stick and stole her motorbike and her bag. They police found the guys with the things of the girl and beat them badly. 10 years of jail. Here they don’t think about anything twice… Mr. Wang said that Lao people are not like that, those teenagers were studying in Thailand, bad people… I can’t believe my ears… What the fuck had to do oranges with apples?
Pero q bien bien q te lo pasas. disfrutalo ñ.q barato q es todo allí. No te afecta ver tanta pobreza alrededor por los sitios donde has estado?
Hola Primo!
Jejeje, aquí estamos a tope por todos lados 🙂
Sí que afecta, sí. Además yo tiendo a estar en los alrededores de las zonas más pobres dado que viajo prácticamente sin dinero. La gente vive con nada aquí, aunque el problema más grave es de educación. El tema de las basuras es brutal, lo tiran todo donde sea.
No puedo ayudar a todo el mundo, de hecho, con mi dinero a nadie, jajajaja, pero siempre que tengo oportunidad intento concienciar a la población. La creciente clase media es la más accesible.