5 November 2013 Cave Lodge, Tham Lod, N Thailand

5 November 2013, Cave Lodge, Tham lod, N Thailand Excellent breakfast, home-made bread rolls, egg, bacon, fried mash potato, fried tomatoes, coffee. A surprise opportunity to join a couple from the Netherlands on a trek today.

Two local Shan guides plus Matthias, Miriam and myself set out at 10am at a cracking pace, mostly uphill through shrub then woodland and forest, up and up and up narrow paths used mostly by villagers to get to their scattered fields of rice growing in the occasional tract of land level enough to grow stuff. We are grateful for a short stop to take a drink. It is warm under the trees and hot in the sun. Then down, down, down to a river which we wade across, great relief for our feet in the cool water. This is a beautiful, remote place. More narrow paths, bushes with leaves that recoil and curl up if you touch them, others with nasty prickly leaves, I am glad of my long-sleeved shirt and jeans today. Eventually, we arrive at a tiny hole at the bottom of a huge rock - this is the entrance to the cave. Bending double and slipping on the very muddy floor, we struggle through this ridiculously small hole. Inside is a magnificent cave, we can stand up and walk and clamber maybe 400 metres into this cave. All shapes and sizes of stalagmites and tites, some joined up, amazing configurations created over thousands of years. I get some great photos.

Back out of the cave, a short walk to the river and lunch. A plastic bag filled with egg rice chicken and I'm not sure what else. I was hungry and enjoyed it. Pudding was banana cake and chocolate cake. Great. The river we eat next to is choc-a-bloc with fish, never seen so many all together. We chucked some of our rice in the water and they went berserk for it.

Next on to a Karen Village. I buy some cokes from a tiny shop and two bags for Jo and Faye. They were made in the village and I am shown the loom on which they were created.

the loom is to the right of the white bags. Now we are headed back towards Cave Lodge, wading to and fro about 8 times across the ever deepening and fast flowing river. At one crossing point, a family group of ox watch us disinterestedly. Miriam gets a leach on her leg, won't stop bleeding after she pulls it off, my ancient pack of plasters comes in handy. Then we pass through Tham Lod itself, the nearby Shan village which is home to our guides. We estimate we have trekked about 15 kilometres in 6 hours. Now a shower, cold water but who cares! Local fish plus chips and a cold vegetable salad for dinner in Cave Lodge. A great day, this is the life! All the Best to you all, John