Crops

And the last (at least for now) picture from the Kong Lor area. Less related to the cave, more how do people live there. It seems like not everybody is into lodging and transport business.

I saw photos of those fields when the crops are fully grown. I wish I could be there at that time...

Sony RX100M3, 24mm, 1/8s @ f/11, iso 80

Going places

Maybe not the best quality pictures of them all, but I like the framing and the story behind them.

Unable to get a bus in Kong Lor, which is a very small village in the mouth of the famous cave, and having a lot of distance to cover to get to Si Phan Don as quickly as possible, I got a songthaew (truck taxi) to ride me to Thakek. Later on, on the junction with north-south Route 13, I had to switch to a more crowder taxi, but this one I had only to myself!

Instead of sitting on a bench, I took the floor, my back against the cab. I had lots of fun listening to the music and watching the landscape pass by...

Sony RX100M3, 57mm, 1/60s @ f/11, iso 125

Sony RX100M3, 60mm, 1/80s @ f/11, iso 160

Mouth of the cave

Sony RX100M3, 24mm, 30s @ f/11, iso 80

And back to Laos, to a marvellous place called the Kong Lor Cave with a wide long-exposed shot of the entrance.

Path to enlightenment

Sony RX100M3, 54mm, 1.3s @ f/11, iso 80

Back to Laos. The Kong Lor Cave was nice, but so were the surroundings. The forest path leading to the cave was especially welcoming in the early morning.

Exit

Nikon 7100, 75mm, 1/50s @ f/1.4, iso 640

It took two days detour from the main Laos north-south route, unpleasant 10 hours on a bus from Vientiane, then, going back, almost 24 hours ride to Pakse, including night hours in a non-sleeper. Was it worth it? For this picture, I'd say yes.