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the steps of the khao luang caves


never mind having feared getting lost in the forest, thoughts of dying following the wrong trail racing through my head, or the fear of being attacked by, oh, i dunno, snakes (? haha) and taking out my pepper spray at some point. the khao luang cave was worth it.

just seeing the ancient staircase leading down into the cave - ohmygod! it was perfect. it was like an LOTR set - but buddhist! ;p i have never wished for a digital camera more than at that moment. (ok, that could be an exaggeration.)

you take the ancient steps down until you alight on the upper cave floor. once you're down there, the air changes - as with any cave anyway, except, the smell of incense hits you too. as you approach the huge hall the large cave creates, you can almost see elephant shapes in the stalagmites.

you take a few more steps down into the cave hall. and for all the Buddha statues you see, the monks and offerings, it's almost like you're in a regular wat. except that, a few feet above the Buddha heads, bats snicker. shadows cast the rock walls into dark. huge tree roots reach down through the holes in the cave ceiling. and if not for that hole in the ceiling, sunlight wouldn't be able to find its way through.

as always, i wandered farther off and found myself on a path to a smaller alcove. here, watching my steps, the old cobble stones the ancient monks lay on the cave floor show through the packed earth. it got darker and colder and the bats were snickering louder, until i found myself in a dark niche were just one eerie-looking statue sat at the end. the air was heavy, like someone had died there. the smell of incense was overpowering. there were no lights apart from the lit sticks.

to the right, an even older staircase climbed up. it led almost straight up to this alcove's only distant source of light - a hole in the ground above our heads. the staircase was blocked off because it was decaying. but what was striking about it was that the stair handle was shaped into snake heads.

this place was amazing. but also, as truly amazing things are, frightening.