Thakhek Loop - 4 days with the scooter through Central Laos

As already mentioned, the city of Thakhek, on the western border of central Laos, is known as the starting point for the Loop. The Loop is a approximately 400km long tour that can be completed in 3-4 days by scooter or motorcycle. On the first day, we drive through a landscape full of limestone mountains (karst mountains). 

There are several caves and waterfalls that you can visit. After only 10km, we turn onto a dirt road that leads us to the first sights. One of them is the Buddha Cave, which we skip because we have already seen quite a few caves with Buddha statues in various sizes and positions, and a lagoon. We walk a bit cross-country until we reach a lake. There we meet a couple from Austria with whom we chat for a long time and whom we meet again frequently. Then we continue our journey.
At the beginning, we are still on a major highway with many trucks, but after about 30km, we turn onto a smaller road and have almost no traffic. We really like the landscape with the karst mountains. Flat land, used for agriculture, and everywhere the huge karst mountains rise vertically into the sky, some of them covered with vegetation. In this case, I even prefer the passenger seat :)
Fortunately, the road was reconstructed two years ago. Despite this fact, there are more than enough deep potholes that we have to avoid on our way. But even more annoying are the dogs, goats, and cows that constantly stand or lie on the road. But who can be angry with them?

Refreshed and with the puppy in our luggage (if only), we get back on our scooter. The next destination is Tad Song Souk waterfall and in this heat, that should be just right! As we drive, the landscape changes a bit. We pass a huge dam that is responsible for the river overflowing and flooding the landscape. As a result, the trees die and all that remains are branched water surfaces with skeletal tree trunks rising vertically. The landscape is, although not natural, very beautiful and a bit surreal. 

A little further behind the dam, we turn onto a dirt road and after a few kilometers, we already see the sign. We park our scooter and of course, some Laotian crawls out of some corner demanding a small parking fee. We are already used to this in Laos and since the fee is always between 20 and 50 cents, we accept it. At least we get a real handwritten ticket for it!
After a further walk, the rocks get bigger and the climbing begins. That's exactly my thing :) And it's worth it because the waterfall is amazing! We are greeted by a large swimming pool into which the waterfall pours. Since the waterfall goes over many levels and consists of many small waterfalls, there is no strong current or spray. You can relax and bathe and climb the waterfall level by level. Since I'm not waterproof, I unfortunately couldn't take any photos. I didn't even think about it in that moment. With a bright red face, I quickly jump into my bikini and into the water. Max is amazed that I'm in the water so quickly this time, as I usually hesitate a bit. And the water is perfect! Refreshing, not too cold, deep, and in the sun. Great place :) A small group of 4 other Loop travelers is also there sunbathing on a rock. After cooling off, we start climbing along the waterfall. Beautiful big round rocks. I could spend a whole day here, but in about an hour, the place will be in the shade.

Later, the Austrian couple from our first stop also arrives. We chat a bit and arrange to drive to the same accommodation to have 1-5 beers together in the evening.
From the waterfall onwards, the route becomes mountainous. Contrary to my expectation, the large reservoir, in the middle of which Thalang (the place for the first overnight stay) is located, seems to be on a plateau. So the next 30km are steep and curvy. Yeah, now I can practice riding curves. And it becomes clear that we were tricked and our scooter is definitely not a 125. I give full throttle and crawl up the steep sections at 30... The sun is almost setting, but the view is fantastic! Since I have to concentrate on the route, Max is in a fortunate position and can enjoy the view from the mountain to the valley. When we arrive at our chosen accommodation, it's already dark and there are already many scooters parked in front of the house. Fortunately, we still get the last two bungalows right by the water. So for €7 per night, we sleep in a wooden bungalow right by the water with a veranda and a private bathroom. What more could you want? 

Quickly showering, washing off the brown dirt, putting on long clothes, and back out. We spend the evening with Eva and Lukas from Salzburg. First, we eat delicious food and drink Beerlao. When Eva takes out the Skip-Bo cards, I quickly buy a bottle of Lao-Lao schnapps for 60 cents. A clear schnapps with 45% alcohol. It warms you up and tastes milder than expected. It's actually quite drinkable. As you can imagine, we have a very fun evening :)

Laolao

So that we don't tip over on the scooter tomorrow, everyone drinks 1 liter of water before going to bed, and then it will be fine. PS: Who would have thought that a frog concert can be so loud that earplugs are necessary?
Luckily, we feel very good the next day. After having breakfast with the Austrians (pancakes with fresh fruit), we continue. Today, the route is supposed to be particularly beautiful and free of traffic. At the beginning, we still drive through the flooded landscape with dead trees. 

Once we have left the reservoir behind us, it becomes mountainous again. First uphill, then downhill. I've become quite skilled at this since yesterday. It becomes exciting due to the large trucks struggling along the curves and mountains. But with a scooter like this, you can pass them. The journey goes smoothly until noon. Interesting route, beautiful landscape, great weather. 

But when we stop briefly to see something, our scooter doesn't start again afterwards. And this happens less than 10km before the Blue Lagoon, where we really wanted to swim! It seems to be a problem with the electronics. It simply won't start anymore. Luckily, this didn't happen in the middle of nowhere, but in a small village where there are even two workshops. So we push the scooter to the first workshop. Surprisingly, the oil check doesn't lead to a miracle cure, but unfortunately, the mechanic gives up and sends us down the road. There is supposed to be a second workshop there. A few hundred meters further, there is a kiosk with a toolbox and a few oil-soaked rags lying next to it. That must be the second workshop. The man there is also a bit more motivated. For some reason, he also checks the oil level first, fiddles around a bit, and then wants to send us back to the workshop we came from. We make it clear with hands and feet that we came from there. He is so kind and calls our scooter rental company. First, they try to solve the problem remotely. He takes out the air filter and cleans it. When that also doesn't have the desired effect, Max talks briefly with the lady from the rental company and they send an acquaintance over. We are told to wait and he will be there in about 1 hour. Okay, so we push the scooter to a small restaurant where they serve noodle soup and wait there. The help even arrives almost on time :) The scooter is loaded onto the pickup truck and we drive together to Nahin, the largest city in the region. 

There in the workshop, they have a much better understanding and it quickly becomes clear that we won't get the scooter back today. It will be repaired and we can continue the next day. After Max makes it clear to the lady from the scooter rental company that we don't want to stay in Nahin but have already booked something 40km away, we even get a rental scooter and it's much better than our stupid Yamaha. We can no longer go to the blue lagoon, as the way would be too far, but at least from Nahin we can drive the 40km to our resort in Konglor, and the route invites us to go full throttle :). If there weren't always so many cows and goats standing on the road. For €13 per night, we get a really nice bamboo bungalow in a great resort right next to the river. It feels like the jungle and wooden walkways lead through the entire resort. So it quickly becomes clear that we will extend our stay by one night. We can probably return the scooter one day later as well.

Hardly arrived there, we are approached by an elderly German couple who have problems with their Wi-Fi. I can't quite understand the problem, as I can easily log in with their phone, but they are so grateful that we are promptly invited for a whiskey in their hut. That's great when you only shared a noodle soup for lunch :-D. We talk to them for a long time and then have dinner together in our resort. We sit on a terrace right by the river and the food and beer are very delicious. The elderly couple, he is 81, lives on Lake Constance and travels for 5 weeks every year. So they have been almost everywhere and can tell a lot of stories. Now, in old age, they are traveling with a private guide and driver, and everything has been planned by an agency. Still, I want to be fit and explore distant countries even in old age! We have a nice evening and if we ever feel like going to southern Germany, we are invited to their home. And they even secretly pay for dinner :-O
On the third day, we have a relaxed breakfast and are very glad that we extended our stay and don't have to leave again already. 

So we only ride a relaxed 3km to the village of Konglor, from where you can visit the Konglor Cave. With a rickety wooden boat and equipped with headlamps, we go through the cave for 7km and then float along the river a bit until we dock in a small village. We can take as long a break as we want there until we go back the same way. By the way, we meet the Austrian couple again there. Probably for the last time, but we can connect on FB ;). Inside the cave, there is a huge sand dune where we leave the boat to explore it on foot. There are lots of stalagmites and stalactites, which are already illuminated. At the end, we get back into our old and very sympathetic boat driver's boat and continue. By the way, there are only three of us in the boat with the driver. 

After about 2.5 hours, the cave exploration is over, and we look for something to eat for lunch. We have the rest of the day "off" and spend it at the resort. There, we rent a rowboat and row along a small branch of the river towards the lagoon. There are lagoons everywhere. Every small pool is called Blue Lagoon. Maybe it's supposed to attract tourists? Maybe. I wouldn't call this place a lagoon, but the water is extremely clear and in places, it is a strong blue or light turquoise. So we dare to go in for a swim :) 

Afterwards, we enjoy the sun a bit, have dinner again at the resort in the evening, and go to bed early. The next day, we have a 180km ride ahead of us.
On the last day of our Loop, it's already 24.12., we start quite early and have already covered the 40km to Nahin before breakfast. There we exchange the rental scooter for our repaired scooter, treat ourselves to a proper breakfast, and make our way back to Thakhek. The route leads through the mountains at first. Up, down, tight curves, and great views. 

Since the trucks crawl up the mountains at 10km/h, we spend a lot of time overtaking. At first, I feel a bit queasy because you can't see anything in front of the curves and you don't know which pickup is rushing towards you, but as a scooter, you can quickly maneuver away. It all goes well and it's also fun :) After we have left the mountains behind us, we just drive straight on the highway. That's where we can go a bit faster, but in shorts and a top, more than 70km/h is really not necessary. With sore butts, we arrive in Thakhek in the early afternoon and return the scooter. We get the repair costs, which we paid in advance (20€), back without any problems, and we don't have to pay for the extra day either. Perfect! So we paid €30 for 4 days of scooter rental. 
We have lunch at a local restaurant by the road. A whole grilled Mekong fish, chicken skewer, papaya salad, and sticky rice for just under €6. In the early evening, we take the local bus to Pakse. The journey will take about 7 hours.