Laos Expedition - Day 3 Cave

The view of the cave from the outside...it makes my blood excited thinking of the trip in. It wasn't so easy however. The adventurous few of us climbed up the side of the rapids to recce the portage route first - it will not be an easy task carrying the boats in.

The rest of the group waited outside in their boats for our observations.

The rush of water outside at the mouth belies the placid (almost eerily) calm of the jade green waters inside the cave.

Huey went out to the group with the news - portage will not be easy, and within the cave itself there is another 3 small rapids which will require similar portages before the beginning of the river cave is reached. And of course, we need to carry the boats back out too!


Meanwhile, I earnestly carried my K1 in with JB's and the guide's help, after the inflatable raft was moved in. Huey's K-light was next, and then David and Sue's Kahunas. We were the 6 who decided to carry on with the adventure, while the rest opted out and went back to camp for an early rest; there is always the cave at Nam Hin Boun to explore. JB's Nautiraid was too heavy to portage and he went with the guide onto the raft.

200m into the cave and the left turn made everything pitch dark. Our light module works great, but the three heads pointed at different directions, and the cave didn't reflect much of the light back as it was really huge.

Our ringleader Huey was the photographer, and we were the lightsmen, aiming our lights at anything he wanted to shoot with his directions. You can see the Brightstar perched atop a plastic toilet pipe, very secure but wobbly.

At the first rapid we encountered inside, we gathered together and the few of us went ahead to recce again while David and Sue relaxed. The distance we need to portage our boat is pretty far but then it's just the first obstacle, and we didn't want to stop there.

Sue and David decided to turn back instead, saying that that's enough for them. Actually, I had to agree that the paddling was largely boring after the novelty wears off, it was just a paddle in a big black space after all.

To save our effort, I tethered my K1 to the rocks there, and went with JB and the guide in the inflatable, while Huey still used his K-light. Second rapid reached - go or no go? JB was always inclined to turn back as evacuation will be difficult if anything happens, but Huey was raring to go all the way, and I guess I don't mind going along, though not with that much passion. off we go again, portaging the boats.

There wasn't much sights to see inside the cave except for huge rock islands occasionally, but we chanced upon this huge mineral mound formed by dripping water from the cave roof. The guide showed us that it can be climbed, and we went up.


It was pretty amazing - there's this pool of clear water around the top layer just like a fountain, and water was dripping nonstop like a shower on the top of the mound. The whole surface looks like a huge fungi with the rings of mineral deposit.

We finally reached the last major rapid in the cave after 2 hours or so, and I felt really sleepy paddling in the dark. Huey told us that we should turn back as the cave will end not soon after this rapid, and there was no point wasting effort going there and back. I gratefully agreed, while JB was probably thinking it's high time Huey started thinking that way.

We reached back at the campsite almost close to 10pm, and only David and Sue was awake. We narrated our tale to them over heated camp food, and I wondered if the highlight of the trip was gone just like that in a day.