KONG LO CAVE – LAOS

My mind was made up - I was going to Kong Lo cave. It was located off the beaten path and although I had no idea of how I would execute the journey there, I was determined to not leave Laos without having visited it. I’m no expert when it comes to caves but the thought of boating through a 7km river in darkness and having the opportunity to see some impressive stalagmite creations was an idea I became utterly obsessed with. At the time I was traveling with Jeremy, a fellow-Canadian traveller, who I had befriended upon departing Si Phon Don Islands. I mentioned my ambitious plan to him and was overjoyed when he decided to accompany me.

I was not at all anticipating the difficulty of getting to the cave but as we rode multiple local buses and hitched a ride with a smoking monk and his Thai companions to the cave entrance, the idea started to become even more prized. We climbed in to the slender, canoe-like boat with a guide and boatman and entered the dark abyss in silence. We could only see the beams of our headlights scattering across the great mass of rock around us. Silence infiltrated but I could still hear the emptiness of the colossal, hollow cavity that we had entered and the rushing water below us. Upon entering the cave, my mental capacities had seemed to stagnate almost immediately and I really couldn’t place my emotions or thoughts. I was so utterly consumed by the experience of being completely displaced from anything that was remotely ordinary. It took me a while to ease in to the novelty, thrill and excitement of what was happening. We were moving through an immense space that seemed to have no limits and carried with it an uncertainty that frenzied my thoughts and emotions. As we moved along we had to stop once in a while where the water was too shallow and push the boat forward - this further intensified the experience. The stalagmite formations were far more extraordinary than I had anticipated. From floor to ceiling, they were truly a remarkable display of nature. They had a certain artistic merit that made it seem like I was at a gallery viewing an exhibit crafted by artists experimenting with the use of space and light.

I was overcome with grief when we finally neared the cave opening on the other side. It was as if I had been watching a fantastic movie and thinking through its entirety that I didn’t want it to end. We emerged from the cave to the most lush and breathtaking jungle I had seen thus far in Laos. Jeremy and I looked at each other with disbelief and in our smiles we silently acknowledged the magic that we had just experienced. He then made an inspiring suggestion for our return trip that would potentially generate a whole new appreciation of what lay within the cave. Since his current commitment of teaching English in Korea posed the threat of a drug test upon his return, it was left to me to decide whether I wanted to smoke the rest of the blunt I had with me. Off we went, gliding back in to the cave and already I was feeling the effects of a chilling and stimulating high. Everything I felt before was blown out of proportion and I started taking notice of things I had not seen before - whether they were actually there or not remains debatable. I chatted animatedly to myself throughout our entire journey, imagining that I was alone in that dark, twisted cave. I turned back to look at Jeremy as we approached the end and he grinned, amused by my altered state. “By far the best trip in Laos” I bellowed with excitement and started laughing before continuing, “in more ways than one!”