REST DAYS: Ban Kong Lor and Environs

With only a short 45k morning ride, I consider my stay in Ban Kong Lor a day and a half of well needed and deserved rest. I couldn't have chosen a better place than to homestay in the village of Kong Lor right along side the river. I was placed with a young couple with two young daughters and living with grandmother, who shared the most lovely and sweet smile with me.

After being quite lucky to run into a very kind Austrian couple who welcomed me to join them in their boat, we traveled the 7.5 km through the Kong Lor cave. Like I said before, it reminded me of huge Catholic churches from Europe or the giant palace-like temples of Bangkok in its grandeur. We brought head lamps and flash lights and just beamed around the tunnel like children exploring unknown territory. We were all ooohing and aaaahing and wowing all the time. It was the height of the dry season, so we had to get out of the boat to drag it over sand bars in several places in the cave, which was really exciting! Through the cave and on the other side we visited briefly for drinks and snacks at Kong Lor's sister village, a remote village accessible by only small dirt roads and paths and by boat through the cave. It was very sweet.

Once I was placed in the village, I took a moment to wash all my clothes the way the locals do, in the river. I know, I know, I know about surfactants and algael growth in water ways and I tried to have as little a footprint as I could manage. When in Rome...

The family was very sweet and spoke very very little English. In their home, I ate the most authentic and best tasting food I had had yet in Laos. The mother always prepared quite a large meal for me with various dishes. Lots of meats and locally grown veggies from their garden. I spent part of the next day sleeping because I was exhausted and part of the day doing chores, cleaning and tuning the bike. Upon doing this, I made friends with the neighbor boys who seemed anxious to play with me, so I broke out the disc, ushered them over to the village school's soccer field and threw the disc for an hour or so. A couple of them were really into it and motioned me to teach them to throw better. All of them improved their catching skills while playing with me and seemed proud.

The village was so mellow. I totally appreciated it. Each household farely independent of the village in terms of maintenance and management of their households. There were obviously shared responsibilities the men took parrt in during the day tending the fields, repairing shared infrastructure. It was impressive to see. It was clear to me that Kong Lor had benefited from the homestay program they had implemented, as many homes had enclosed bathrooms and people seemed to have a few luxury items (like motor bikes, which are scarce in many villages). I loved the fact that they made the majority of the items in their home that they used regularly, from cooking and serving vessels to clothes to household implements and tools.

Sadly, I still don't feel comfortable taking pictures of people in the village up close. For me, it just doesn't feel right, so I have scarce photos which I will post soon. I did write the following the morning I departed the village:


The Village Awakens

clanking pots and pans
crackle of wood fire
ubiquitous rooster calls
a jungle full of birds alight
in an ocean of sound
mountain stillness surrounds
green fields like mute grey in dawn light
a tractor motor starts then stops
starts them stops
starts and revs away
morning new chattering from a radio or television
somewhere out there
the back and forth slapstick
of a morning show
silly voices
commercials shouting numbers I recognize

as humans begin to stir about
begin their daily chores
dogs bark territorial warnings
a pig squeels in the distance
most likely fighting with siblings
ducks cackle

my host leaves me on the roadside
awaiting a songtao back to town
and I watch and listen over the village
wonder and dream
of returning here
or finding my own village
somewhere
to wake up in


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In the end, I decided to take a second full rest day and take the bus to town. Upon meeting some really cool Brits and having stimulating conversation while the songtao wound its way through small village after small village, honking madly and picking up stragling, weary eyed villagers. I decided to make the connection to the next town, 65 km up the road and 35 km from the border, so that I would have an easy shot to be at the border early. I have no idea what awaits on the other side and want to leave time to manage whatever I find. CYCLISTS TAKE NOTE: In the end, I discover the uphill between Nahin and Lak Xao is UNRULY, with 10-12 percent, maybe more, long long climbs and twisty roads that defnitely outdid the ride the day before. I was sorta happy I inadvertently skipped this day, because my legs were still tired.