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Here we are, finally leaving Vientiane after few days of chilling and resting. We also extended our Visa of few more days so we can complete the trip south and not having to rush.
The ride through Central Laos wasn't necessarily the most exciting, featuring flat long roads and dry deserted agricultural landscapes. We were riding along the Mekong river and glimpse of it on the way were definitely the highlight.
Half a way we took a detour to explore the well beaten Thae Khaek loop, which inspires tens of backpackers every day to hire a moped and ride on dirt roads as well as along pristine jungle and karst mountains. The loop wasn't as interesting as we hoped and the buzz around it is created by young kids that ride for the first time a scooter and get excited by the freedom of the two wheels and the contact you can have with the locals. For us, it was business as usual, however we managed to enjoy the beautiful Konglor cave amongst other things and considered it the highlight of the loop. The cave is characterized by a 7 kms subterranean river you have to cruise on small pirogues with two guides, one in the front with a head torch and one at the back steering. The cave is peach dark and the water very shallow; in many occasions in fact we had to disembark to allow the guides to push the pirogue through shallow water, which was as spooky as hell: getting off in the dark with your feet knee deep in the current gives you a bit of shivers. However the whole experience was amazing and reaching the other side of the cavern after one hour is satisfactory and relieving at the same time.
The other highlight of the trip was a sudden encounter we had in the middle of nowhere during the loop. We bumped in fact into an Italian camp on the way and we couldn't resist to stop and say hi. The only Italians left (7 against 200 that inhabited the camp until few months before) offered us a well appreciated espresso and some air conditioning in their Club. The Italians belonged to a construction company building a hydroelectric station and a dam. I felt proud and ashamed at the same time considered the good and bad things dams are doing to the local communities and the environment. But hey, electricity is sold dearly to Thailand and Loas pockets should benefit from it. At least in theory.
Finished the loop, we got straight back on the road down South and after a stop in a sleepy but nice city on the Mekong called Savanahakhet we then reached Pakse in the South, close to the Boulevan plateau, where we will hopefully enjoy some cool weather and some great coffee, as the plateau is famous for its plantations.
Looking forward to Southern Laos!
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