So The Loop is an anti-clockwise route but the last third of the route (145km) back to Tha Khaek is along a busy highway . Having been on a bus hurtling along that road, beeping and swerving around everything in our path, we decided that it may not be the most pleasant road to travel on a moped. So we decided that from Konglor we should do the loop in reverse. Konglor village was lovely and this morning many villagers started a long and hot day of picking tobacco leaves in the fields. At sunrise I took a picture over the quiet fields but an hour later they were a hive of activity.
We visited Konglor Caves which are amazing. The cave runs 7.5km through a mountain and we travelled through the entire mountain in a speedboat (read local dugout canoe which fills with water as fast as it is bailed out with a prop engine and a young man in charge). It was pitch black and the boat captain navigated using a head torch spotting different markers, rocks, shallow beaches etc. It was all very exhilarating! In the middle we got out to explore a huge, lit, part of the cave filled with stalagmites and stalactites.
And before you knew it we were on the other side of the mountain going past a herd of water buffalo in the river.
After a stop for a drink at a little village the other side we admired the locals’ weaving and then it was time to head back.
This time we were with the flow of the river so the one small ‘waterfall’ we’d had to pull the boat up on the way could be ridden down without passengers. It looked great fun as the local captains took their turn to run the rapids at speed whilst avoiding the cave walls.
Wow, what a trip! Even Pete (who had been getting a little caved out) had to admit that he was impressed with this one.
And now to start the return journey. We knew we would have a long day so we headed off only stopping at Nahim for some lunch. We had a further unscheduled stop when we came across three French backpackers we’d seen and spoke to a couple of times who were stopped at the side of the road. They were next to some huge potholes – not a good sign. Sure enough the girl had crashed. When the bloke braked sharply, the girl did too but still hit his back wheel. My first aid kit came out and cuts and scrapes covered but she had a sore forearm which we thought was just badly bruised but she feared broken. They decided to find the hospital in Lakxao and we saw them that evening when they told us an ex ray confirmed it was ok. She was lucky. They met a German backpacker (who was travelling solo) in the hospital with a bust shoulder and smashed mobile who was trying to arrange with his insurance company to go to Bangkok for surgery ! It is scary how many injuries you see from people hiring mopeds with no experience or bike skills and not much caution with the varying road conditions or moving obstacles (like the calf chasing the dog we had to brake suddenly for). Anyway, they made it safely to Sabaidee guesthouse where another bbq was in swing. And we made it before sunset for some lovely photos across the lake.
We spoke to a great Dutch couple who had been riding motorbikes for 9 months through South America – cool! Pete is already talking about future trips on bikes ……. hmm.
