Alrighty people, first blog post of the Nico-Travel era.

Let me preface it by acknowledging a few things:

I’ve no idea what I’m doing.
I’ll tell it how it is, no filter, no bullshit. The good, the bad and the great - because it was mostly great.
Only 12 sentences where edited by ChatGPT. Maybe 14. Who’s counting?
And yeah any constructive feedback is appreciated as this is a first and I’d love to write a few more posts if this one hits your sweet spot.

So here it goes: the not so ‘unknown’ Thakhek Loop.

For the ones who might still be out the loop (héhé), let me quickly introduce the beast for you:

Thakhek is a small — somewhat sleepy — town, right smack in the middle of Laos and coincidentally the starting point of a three to four days’ motorbike adventure. It’s now getting increasingly popular, mostly with the backpacker community and I have no doubt its rise in approval ratings will continue to grow steadily.

Still, it is far and away considered under the radar compared to its big sister in Ha Giang, Vietnam.

Fortunately for me, I didn’t see any flags bearing guides shepherding large groups of teen adults who can’t even drive their own bikes.

No, nothing like this on the Thakhek Loop, at least for now.

*Infamous ‘easy rider’ group doing the Ha Giang Loop in Vietnam.*

Don’t get me wrong, the Ha Giang loop is still breathtakingly good and I’ll cover that subject on a future post, eventually.

Now where were we? Ah! Thakhek! Let’s start this trip shall we?

DAY 0 & 1

I arrived in Thakhek the night before after a pretty eventful day which saw me get stuck a few kilometers from the border.

See, there is only one way to cross that specific Thai-Lao border ‘Friendship Bridge’ and that involves taking one relic of a bus and a good dose of patience.

Patience which ran pretty thin when said bus broke down in no man’s land, and Google Translate politely informed me that a key engine part had failed (surprising absolutely no one)

But hey, it’s Asia, I made it through before the border closed: mai pen rai.

Slept like a baby (whatever that means) at the Inthira hotel, dead center of town. Pretty high end place with a great terrasse up front to watch the world go by. Great food too. There are of course plenty of cheaper hostels and guesthouses around but I’m unfortunately no longer fit for the bunk bed lifestyle anymore, I’ll spare them my snoring.

Also worth mentioning, If you're up for some local eats, a cold beer, and a night of pure local vibes, check out ModJork near Town Center Point. It’s a buzzing food court wrapped around a live band stage.

LOTS of fun during the weekend!

Thakhek itself is full of life but manage to keep a lot of its past colonial charm. Not much to do, but as a starting point for the loop, it does its job brilliantly.

In the morning, the first order of business, besides stuffing my face with some eggs, consisted in finding the right motorbike.

Ended up renting from Mad Monkey Motorbike Rental, they’re not the cheapest but they felt like the most trustworthy. They also offer bigger bikes if that’s your schtick.

I ended up choosing a brand new Yamaha WR155, which sat me back 25$ a day.

Alternatively, there are tons of budget-friendly options, whether you’re into fully automatic scooters or semi-auto bikes. But trust me—go for the semi-auto! With winding roads, uneven trails, and the occasional pothole that could swallow a small dog, the loop isn’t exactly scooter-friendly. Trust me—a semi-auto makes the ride smoother, safer, and way more fun.

Packed a small bag, left most of my stuff at the hotel, scored a map of the loop and off I went: due East.

Most people do the loop counter clock wise and the 1st day is similar for almost everyone: 110km towards Thalang village.

Easy enough but start early—because for once, that overused “it’s not the destination, it’s the journey” quote actually makes sense! Plenty of stops along the way will eat the day’s timebank.

*Map of the full loop. Thalang to the North-East*.

Getting out of Thakhek is as easy as it gets—there’s basically one road and it’s pointing straight at Vietnam. I’d been warned about some ominous-sounding police checkpoint on the edge of town… but saw nothing but dust and cows. False alarm.

The 1st sightseeing spot I flagged on my map was the weirdly name Elephant Cave. I’ll be dead honest: skip it. It’s small with no real added value, even more so considering the size of some of the other caves you’ll discover further down the loop.

Onwards to the next spot via a small dirt road veering to the left: the Buddha Cave. That’s where my Thakhek experience finally started to come alive.. The cave itself is nothing special but the area surrounding it is beautiful with a stunning little lake and the karstic mountains finally peeping through. Also met two Spanish girls who funnily enough will pop up along the loop a few times.

That’s one of the best things about this loop—it’s just the right size. You’ll keep bumping into the same familiar faces, since everyone’s more or less hitting the same spots and crashing at the same handful of guesthouses.

There’s something intrinsically intimate about this experience, which brought me back to my early days as a backpacker 18 years back where all you had was a botched up photocopy of the local lonely planet book to help find your way… Everyone used it, and you ended bumping into that dude you met on a random sleeper bus 3 days back.

The Thakhek loop kinda held to that magic and that may be why I liked it so much. It’s not yet refined, it’s not yet overly touristic, it’s still adventurous and still pushes you to be more of a traveller and less of a tourist.

After the 30 mins or so needed to visit the cave and its surroundings, I said my goodbyes to the two chicas and pushed onwards to my next stop: Tha Falang.

Beautiful little slice of paradise although I might have arrived a bit too early to truly enjoy it. Tha Falang comes alive in late afternoon when the locals use it as a watering hole. And by that I mean a place to get drunk and occasingly jump in the river to cool off.

My 10 am arrival was met with silence and closed shops which also meant I had the place to myself: didn’t complain one bit.

Next up was the day’s main course: Nang Aen Cave. But rather than stick to the usual path, I took a scenic detour down a dirt trail—past tiny villages and the occasional herd of screaming kids (interpret that however you like). This is where having a chunky dirt bike paid off big time. While most travelers stuck to the main loop, I got to bounce around the backroads like a wannabe rally champion.

Upon arrival to my next stop, it became fully apparent this was a much bigger and more touristic cave than my previous spots. Lots to see and do here, lots of people too which made me a bit apprehensive. Still, I gave it a shot and oh boy am I so glad I did.

Let’s get right to it: Nang Aen Cave is HUGE. But the best part is: For some reason, the vast majority of the visitors only experience 10% of it.

Let me explain:

Before entering the monster, you’ve got a choice, either go in free of charge and walk around a bit, gasp at the enormity of the first two chambers and walk back out with the rest of the crowd.

Or…

Or pay around 20$ to experience something out of this world.

The second option—and honestly, if you ever go there, you can’t skip this one—is to hop on a kayak and drift through a magical maze of caves. For about an hour, a local guide will gently paddle you along calm waters, gliding into hidden chambers and echoey rock tunnels that feel straight out of Khazad-dûm from Lord of the Rings.

I had the place all to myself—no engines, no crowds, just the sound of water and the occasional little girl scream I couldn’t hold in. Near the far end of the route, I was asked to disembark and continue on by foot. And oh, it continued. That cave just refused to end. What followed was a solid 30 minutes of rocky paths, slippery natural steps, rickety metal bridges, and just enough eerie silence to make me wonder if I’d accidentally signed up for a solo survival challenge. All alone, deep underground, navigating what felt like the secret level of a video game.

For the life of me I don’t understand why nobody else chose the second option.

This cave is sensational.

Toilets were also sensational in their own way (aka western styled toilets) and I fully took advantage of those before riding away.

Thankfully, my last goal of the day wasn’t a cave but a waterfall, specifically: Song Sa waterfalls. Nothing to write home about (although that’s exactly what I’m doing) but still a welcomed sight after riding through hurricane force winds (hyperbole) for the last 50kms. It was a windy day… And dare I say, chilly.

Reason which I didn’t strip down for a dip, it’s small enough as it is ;).

The small dirt road leading to the waterfall was a lot of fun—especially with big, knobby dirt bike tires. Can’t say the same for the girl on a Hello Kitty scooter, who I helped pick up after her crash landing.

Right, waterfall done and beer o’clock was quickly aproaching so I decided to book it and drive towards my final resting stop of the day: the sleepy town of Thalang.

As previously said, it’s not like there’s a whole lot of choice as to where to sleep on the loop and everyone pretty much end up on the same schedule. Thalang is the town were we all end up after day one and Sabaidee guesthouse is one of a only a handful of place to stay in the village. In my opinion, the best choice as well, that place is just great.

*Saibaidee Guesthouse in the heart of Thalang village*

Pretty sure I was the first one to arrive, so I had my pick of the crops. Ended up choosing their best room, facing the stunning Nakai-Nam lake. Air con (non needed), wifi, hot shower and a view to die for made for a very happy boy.

Beer Lao? Check. Book? Check. Prime people-watching spot? Check. I posted up on the porch and watched the day's unofficial reunion unfold—like a slow-motion parade of dusty backpacks and familiar faces. Turns out, when you're on the Loop, you never really ride alone. Travelers I’d met throughout the day trickled in, bikes humming down the dirt road, each one adding to that shared, slow-burn magic you only find in places like this.

That evening was one of those moments that reminded me why I fell in love with backpacking in the first place — 40 odd travelers from all corners of the world, gathered around a campfire, eating, drinking, and trading tales from the loop like it was some kind of adventurer’s reunion.

Met a few great people on that day and ended befriending a Gurner.

… Yeah, had no idea either. Later learned he came from Guernsey, a self-governing British Crown dependency (that’s a handful isn’t it?). Anyhoo, great dude and after a few too many beers we both agreed to ride together on day two.

And that’s a wrap for day one people!

Up next: Day 2 – Dust, chaos, and the biggest cave I’ve ever stepped foot in.
One stretch of road nearly broke me… but what came after was worth every bump.

Stay tuned

MY UNFILTERED THAKhEK LOOP EXPERIENCE (PART 1)

DAY 0 & 1