MudDonna's Caving Escapades

Mike, the cave-whisperer, found the almost non-existent trail through a cornfield that led to the cliff face. This was not a novice hike. The old wood bridge that wound up the cliff was mostly rotten and even burned in places. It was more rock-climbing than anything. There were several places you could look through the rotted bridge slats to a long drop below.

The risk was worth it-fantastic cave with the promised archaeology. Numerous ancient coffins carved from tree trunks were to be found.

Chinese tourists far below us were photographing us in the entrance. They stuck around, probably hoping to watch one of us fall-but we disappointed them by making it safely back down :)

Rather than stay at the overpriced bare huts near coffin cave, we backtracked to Mae Hong Son and stayed at "The Jungle Guesthouse." So glad we did! The individual cabins were comfortable, clean and private. "Da" our hostess, made all our meals from scratch, including fresh bread! We will definitely return to her place both for the food and all the nearby caves still to be explored :)

Our first cave in Thailand was Tham Lod, a 1666 meter cave system located in Pang Mapha District, in Mae Hong Province, northern Thailand. We took a rental car to get there and enjoyed 50 km of winding, scenic mountainous roads on the way.

On a Thursday at 10:00 a.m., the site was not crowded. We admired the Nam Lang River flowing into a cave while waiting for our guide to prepare a gas lantern.

The entire system is made up of three caves: Big Column, Doll and Coffin Caves. If you're a fan of archaeology, you'll appreciate the exhumed ancient coffins and history of the place.