#thamkangcave

In the morning we meet Nok and Stratis to explore the nearby Tham Kang Cave. I does not disappoint. The cave is (at least for now) totally undeveloped as a tourist attraction apart from a couple bamboo pavilions serving food nearby, a small staircase leading to the entrance and one wooden sign on a tree; no guide of headlamps, just a hole.

 Soon we are climbing over and down rocks into ever darker caverns within using our phones as lanterns. Stratis, Gullem and Nok are fearless while i am … less so. The deeper we go the more I ponder collapsed rock, when did that happen? Shit, how recently did that happen? Oh God! how often does that happen??? Combined with a fear of bats flying into my head (a totally irrational fear, i know) I’m a cautionary tale for any nervous nellie, like that uncool kid in every adventure whose always saying they should turn back, it may not be safe. Yeah, no one likes that kid, ever. I am Chunk without the truffle shuffle.

But the rest of the goonies urge me on and as with most wimps the thing I fear more than the unknown and the bats is being alone. Eventually we come to what I assume is the end for us when our cavern meets a stream but Guillem and the others cautiously slide down the muddy rocks, strip down and practically dive in. 

I of course follow and tho I’m still startled by every noise or unexpected sensation on my skin I’m very happy to be in the water. The stream is nearly clear as glass an cool, it feels other worldly and wonderfully secret. We wade upstream a few hundred meters till we are in large shallow pool with the domed walls of the cave closing on all other sides, the water is flowing in from underneath and to my relief no one is compelled to see if they can swim thru.