Lod Caves

Centra and Ilka's were leaving Pai to do the Mae Hong Son loop. I was tempted to do it with them but as I've already done it twice and once so recently, I decided to stay in Pai for a while longer. However, we planned on visiting the Lod Caves together as it was on their way. Marco, a really nice American guy who was also doing Muay Thai, joined us for the day.

En route I saw two Dutch girls struggling to start their scooter. Since having the problem with my bike a few weeks before, I had practiced putting my scooter on its centre stand and kick-starting it, so I was able to help them out and get them on back on the road. I think that's probably the only time in my life when it looked like I knew what I was talking about with something mechanical related to vehicles.

As we arrived at the caves, a storm started to hit. The wind was crazy and we were lucky to arrive before the worst of it and we could shelter in the caves. I'd been before back in October 2014 but it was great doing it again. You're only allowed in the caves with a guide who carries a lantern. You take bamboo rafts through the caves and then explore the vast caverns while the guides point out rock formations that look like animals. This is one of the very few photos I have of me with the girls despite spending a couple of weeks together.

After the tour finished, we returned to our bikes and the others had all left their keys in the scooters. Luckily they were still there untouched. The storm had passed too. I said goodbye to Centa and Ilka and they drove on to Mae Hong Son, while Marco and I returned to Pai.