Thalong
-
Thalong to Konglor – Day two of the Khaek Loop
I was woken at 5 am by a Laos family in the neighbouring bungalow who were packing up to leave the guesthouse. Laos people are very early risers but they managed to wake everyone in the surrounding bungalows by the time they left at 6 am. I couldn’t go back to sleep and so packed up and headed off for the next stage of the Khaek loop. The road traversed the edge of the massive reservoir which had created many inlets which have now formed a nature reserve. It was eerie to pass all the dead forests swallowed up by the water with the early morning mist swirling around the…
-
Thakhek to Thalang – start of the Khaek Loop
Today I embarked on the Khaek Loop which is a 450 km circular trip through the central Laos countryside. The trip will take 4 days and started from the hostel in Thakhek. The first stage of the journey passed through high limestone karsts and a cave alley on my way to Thalang. A patchwork of paddy fields stretch between the limestone peaks. The rice was harvested last month and farmers were collecting and shredding the rice stalks to be used as cattle feed during the cooler months. I stopped off at Thafalang which is a Laos riverside resort popular with the locals. It was deserted in the early morning as…
