caves Archives - Szymon Zieliński - My travels, photos and stories

Tha Khaek was my first stop in central Laos, on my way to the south. The city itself is rather small and there is nothing interesting in there. It is located at the Mekong river, just next to the Thai border. Most tourists come here to do the so-called “The Loop” (or Tha Khaek Loop). The Loop is, as you can imagine, a road that goes through the province in a round and comes back to the city. It can be done on a bicycle (a good one, MTB is a must) or on a motorbike (which is the most popular way). The recommended minimum is 3 days, but for most people 4 days would be more suitable, especially if one wants to visit the most important sight in the area – the magnificent Kong Lo cave (spelled sometimes as Kong Lor). Obviously it is possible to find travellers who did the whole thing in 1 day and others who took 5 days. I did the Loop in 4 days. I arrived in Tha Khaek in the evening, the next morning I rented out a motorbike (faithful semi-automatic Zongshen S, 100cc made in China which was an obvious copy of Honda Wave S, as you can see on the photos) and hit the road. There are many caves located in the surroundings of Tha Khaek. Below you can find photos of the most popular ones, taken on the way to Ban Oudomsouk (Oudomsouk village) – my first overnight stop on the Tha Khaek Loop.

From Tha Khaek (A) to Ban Oudomsouk (B)

Tha Khaek Loop, Laos - Day 1 - Caves around Tha Khaek

My faithful saddle.
Mój wierny rumak. 🙂

Entrance to the Elephant cave in Tha Khaek, Laos.
Wejście do Jaskini Słonia (Elephant Cave). Tha Khaek, Laos.

Inside the Elephant Cave. Tha Khaek, Laos.
Wewnątrz Jaskini Słonia. Tha Khaek, Laos.

I had to cross this bridge on a motorbike in order to get to some caves. Tha Khaek, Laos.
Przez taki most musiałem się przeprawić, aby dostać się do niektórych jaskiń. Tha Khaek, Laos.

The view outside Tham Pha Pa (Buddha cave). Unfortunately it was not allowed to take photos inside the cave. Tha Khaek, Laos.
Widok na zewnątrz Jaskini Buddy (Tham Pha Pa). W środku niestety nie można było robić zdjęć. Tha Khaek, Laos.