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Luang Prabang: The Pak Sou Caves

Along the Mekong River there are various mountains, villages and Caves. The river was systematically explored for the first time during The French Mekong Exploration from 1866-1868. This is when the Pak Sou caves were discovered, and the drawings that were made by the explorers upon the discovery are displayed at the entry to the caves if you visit them today.

I can’t imagine how exciting it must have been to discover these caves back then. Now the magic of it is somewhat ruined by the numerous tourists around, and by the locals who have set up little stands selling Pepsi and water at ridiculous prices.

I would say that the whole industry of it has made the caves significantly less exciting for me. In fact, I would even admit that for me, most of the adventure of the caves was in the journey to get to them. They are located far from the city, well hidden on the side of a mountain cliff near the edge of the river. To get there, we first had to take a long tuk-tuk ride through muddy roads, where we passed some elephants.



The tuk-tuk brought us to a small village where locals charge you a set fee to take you across the river and wait for you while you visit the caves.



And from the drop-off point you have to climb along a slippery mountain cliff to reach your destination.



Much like Mount Phu Si, the caves are in fact Buddhist shrines, filled with Buddha statues or statues of various Buddhist Gods. Far back before the caves were discovered in the 1800’s, Buddhist monks made the journey to them as a retreat where they could pray, fast, and meditate.



The history of the caves is fascinating, and I’m glad that I had the chance to see them. However, I still think it’s unfortunate how something that originated as a holy place, created for the purpose of clearing one’s mind and letting go of material desires, has turned into a money-making business. It’s ironic, really. What would Buddha say?



This post first appeared on Tasha's Travels 2011, please read the originial post: here

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Luang Prabang: The Pak Sou Caves

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