Thakhek Loop - Day 2

We both woke up in the night to heavy rain and thunder. Without much thought, we went back to sleep. It wasn't until the next morning that we realized we had left our helmets hanging on the scooters, and they were soaked with water. We had also left our shoes outside overnight, mainly because of the smelly feet. It was a beginner's mistake that we wouldn't make again ;)

Our alarm went off at 7:00 am, and after breakfast, we hit the road. The small storm had cooled things down, which was actually quite pleasant. However, we started the day wearing long pants and a sweater. After just 15 minutes of riding, we got caught in another rain shower. Luckily, we both had rain jackets and continued riding. The rain stopped after 20 minutes. The unique thing about this part of the country is that a reservoir has caused the entire landscape behind it to be flooded. What used to be land is now underwater, with dead trees sticking out. The slight fog gave this area an eerie but at the same time mysterious and beautiful atmosphere.

Our first stop was after 70 km of riding. The scenery along the way was incredibly breathtaking. Tha Lang is relatively higher, so we rode through clouds in the morning. We drove between mountains and had really good, albeit curvy, roads. From a few viewpoints, we could look down into the valley.

After descending from the mountains, the sun came out and it got hot again (despite the wind at 70 km/h). As we rode through the small villages, it quickly became apparent that poverty played a major role here and people were struggling to survive. The houses, or rather small wooden huts, looked so unstable that they seemed like they would collapse in the next small storm. I quickly tried to shake off those thoughts and not dwell on them. From down here, we had an incredibly beautiful view of the mountains.

We arrived at Dragon Cave at 12:00 pm. It was the first cave we could explore without a guide. The first few meters were not easy to navigate. We had to descend a narrow staircase, and even I had to crouch because the ceiling was so low. The signage was not particularly good here, and the few lamps provided little light, making the way difficult to find.

The name of the cave supposedly comes from a formation that looks like a dragon. We carefully looked at everything, but nothing even remotely reminded us of a dragon. Afterwards, we googled and compared our pictures with where the dragon was supposedly located. We could rather see elephants, but there is already an Elephant Cave.... ;)

The special thing about this cave was that we walked to the other side underground, came out into the open, and then had to walk back over the mountain. Easier said than done. First, we had to climb steep steps, and my hands were getting sweaty from the fear of heights. Once we were finally under the open sky, we had to walk through bushes and trees, and climb down rocks. Fortunately, the signage here was not skimped on. We crawled on all fours at times, and I was relieved not to be small, otherwise I would have had to jump between two rocks. But we made it without injury and hopped back on our scooters.

After just 30 minutes of riding, we reached our second destination for the day, even though we got lost twice due to incorrect signage. "Cool Pool" or "Cold Springs" is a blue/turquoise lagoon where we cooled off. The water was actually quite cold, so we only dipped in briefly and then warmed up in the sun.

We set off again at 3:00 pm, with about 70 km left to go. We once again rode on curvy roads through mountains. I'm not a motorcyclist, but I believe this landscape, the road, and the curves are a paradise and were incredibly beautiful and fun to ride on.

Since the route was not particularly difficult—just go straight and then turn left at the big intersection—we didn't look at the map much and didn't really think much as we were captivated by the landscape. It was only 10 km too late that we realized we absolutely had to refuel. We knew that the last gas station was in Na Hin, and there was nothing on the way down, so we had to turn back. This cost us an extra half hour, and we ended up being pressed for time at the end of the day. The lights on our scooters weren't working, so we had to arrive before sunset.

That was easier said than done because we encountered several bridges along the way that made us sweat. If you lose your balance here, you have to get off and push.... If the bridge can even withstand it, which didn't look particularly convincing upon closer inspection of the structure.

The last few meters demanded everything from us: a pure gravel road with big potholes and large rocks that we tried to avoid. It wouldn't be particularly fun and, above all, dangerous in the darkness. However, we managed to arrive just before it got dark, safely reaching our accommodation in Kong Lor at 5:45 pm. On this day, we rode a total of 190 km.