The Pirates of Kong Lo Caves

Sorry this post is a bit long overdue but we havent had good enough wifi to upload! Oh well better late than never! 

Attempting to get from Vientiane down to the 4000 Islands sounded like a dounting task that we did not fancy doing in one journey so we decided to take a detour! Kong Lo is located south of Vientiane and north of Pakse. The main attraction to the Kong Lo is the 7km river that runs through the humungois cave making it an enjoyable boat ride.

Although its not directly on route, it is worth the visit and breaks up the journey. We left Vientiane around 10am arriving at the local village of Kong Lo at 5pm (hefty bus ride) costing around 110,000 kip per person (just shy of 10 pounds).

If you are the kind of person who likes to be where the crowds are, this may not be for you as there are very few tourists who stay in the town but its worth it as the cave in incredible. To be fair, it isn't a ghost town and there ended up being about 8 westerners in what seemed to be a very small village but compared to 50 people that tube in vang vieng together, it is extremely quiet.

Skipping to next morning as there is literally nothing to do in the village, we entered the cave around 9am. For a small entrance fee, the hire of 1 boat and the entrance of the cave, it came to 140,000 kip (£11) for 3 people!

I have to say the cave was just breath taking! Mainly because of the humidity but I suppose it could have been the experience too!!!! In all seriousness, the first thing that hits you is the noise of what seems to be 1000 high pitched bats that echos through the cave! The next is the sheer size of the cave. The little glimpses of the cave you get to see with the torches that are provided are nothing compared to the size of it. Even though I had 1 torch provided and two of my own, the cave was so big that it barely lit a section! However, what little you could see was beautiful!

In the centre of the cave there is a dimly lit section, allowing you to get out and walk for a bit to see just how amazing the cave actually is.

Once you have sailed through the cave on a motor boat, you stop off for refreshments at the rear exterior of the cave. It was here we met an adorable child who was very shy one minute, then dancing around the forest the next! After this amusement, it was time to hop back in the boat and come back the way we came.

On the first boat ride we had to get out a couple of times to help the boat move due to shallow waters and rapids. But on the second ride, the boatman decided to just go for it which meant a rocky and wet experience for us and giggles for him! It was very fun although Gareth mildly regretted taking off his life jackets!

My favourite part of the caves was that for long stretches of the boat ride, bats would follow us along due to the light we provided! Even though part of me was terrified that I was going to get rabies, it was truly magical to see wild bats in their natural habitat!

If you ever find yourself travelling the south of Laos make sure to put this on your list and I promise you won't be disappointed!