Tham Phu Kham Cave

Today we decided to walk to the Tham Phu Kham Caves, about 6km west of town. The walk through the countryside was wonderful, as we walked past a couple small villages and rice paddies with the stunning Karst cliffs forming a panoramic backdrop.

After about 6km, the road ended, and we hiked up to the caves, and then went exploring inside. I must say these were some of the largest undeveloped caves I have been to. There is supposedly a loop you can do, but once I got 3/4 way around, there was a abyss that seemed uncrossable, and it seemed I would have to retrace my steps. However, in a surrealistic moment, a orange robed monk appeared on the other side, saw my predicament, and directed me to a small crossing point where I could make my way across. As mentioned, monks here are ever keen to practice their English, so I wound up talking to him and his friend for a while. Following that, I completed the loop, and headed back to the entrance.

Afterwards we had a bit to eat, jumped into the lagoon to cool off, then walked back to our guesthouse, catching a motorcyle ride with some people we knew partway. We watched the sunset along the river with Matt, an American we met on the boat. We then went for dinner (and a game of pool on a rickety table) with Steve and Tracey, who we met in Luang Prabang. They're from England, and are also taking an extended sabbatical, which will include spending this winter in Banff. Awesome - more people to ski with midweek!