Today we head out to see the Pac Ou Caves with a short visit at the Lao Lao whiskey village. I had heard that the caves were interesting but mostly I’m excited about taking a boat out in the Mekong river.
We try our hand at negotiating the price with the locals on the river and settle on 450,000 kip for all of us. I’m pretty sure we’ve over paid but really it breaks down to $56 (or $14 each) for a private boat with driver for 4-5 hours, so hard to complain.
They lead us down a steep dirt hill to the boats. When our boat arrives, it’s, well, very long, narrow and a bit rickety is probably the best way to describe it. But it is floating, so off we go!
I love seeing how the people and the wildlife really use the river and how it supports so much life. We see many people on the river casting their nets to catch fish and river shrimp and herds of buffalo keeping cool in the water. We even got to see a wild elephant eating and drinking at the river!
So after about a hour ride, we make it to the Whiskey village. Remember when I said the boat was rickety? Well, the bridge to the village took it to a new level.
Still, the village was filled with smiling faces, free samples of Lao Lao, and women hand weaving scarves. One thing we’ve learned while here is that the Lao people are not only friendly but more than willing to share their food and customs with you if you are willing to share a few minutes with them.
While my friend Katie and I get in some last minute shopping, Mark and Chase have sat down to drink more Lao Lao with a new local friend and the boat driver. I’m also poured a shot as soon as we walk up to join them.
Then they offer us a snack of salted river shrimp. Surprisingly a pretty delicious snack, although it could be the whiskey talking by that point. š
Back to the boat we go! Fortunately it is still floating so it’s looking more hopeful we’ll make it to the caves.
Pak Ou caves also cost a 20,000 kip entrance fee (about $3). There’s a white, roughly painted, staircase leading to the upper cave and lower cave. Women stand outside drinking what looks like an even stronger version of the Lao Lao whiskey. We were offered some, of course, because everyone is so nice, but we’ve all had our fill. Out of breath and pouring with sweat from the heat and the steep steps (I don’t think the whiskey helped), we finally reached the much cooler caves. Inside there are hundreds of Buddhas.
Upper Cave
Lower Cave
It was a good half day trip and worth it if you have time and if you want to see the Mekong a bit more. Not to mention that the people at the whiskey and weaving village will be happy to welcome you š