South East Asia (Laos) Diary 2 December 2001
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We cleared the rest of the list today (Go visit some caves, Go tubing down the river, Try herbal medication, Have a sauna, Chill out). Starting the day with a little herbal medicine we decided that sitting in an old lorry inner tube while floating down a bum numbingly cold river for four hours would be a good idea. So somehow I managed to find myself trying to keep my butt (and all other delicate equipment) out of the water whilst flailing my arms about in a rather futile attempt at trying to control my progress through the rapids of the river. Highly recommended! Great fun!

We stopped off at 'The Water Cave' about halfway down the river. The interior of this cave is only accessible by water. So three of us intrepid explorers ventured into the darkness with only a couple of dodgy old mining head torches between us. There's something very strange and eerie about paddling through a pitch black tunnel (guess who wasn't given a torch!) with just the sound of the water to keep you company.

There's more to the cave than an underground river. There is another tunnel set above the river that starts about 50m from the entrance. Clamber up through this and you come across a gargantuan cavern that was used to hide upwards of 2000 people during the war with China. There are areas set aside for storing and preparing food, for sleeping. A whole little village was set up deep underground.

To tomorrow...

Created by Dan Leigh3/12/01