Lonely Planet Laos
Page 34
8Getting There & Away
The 50km road from Ban Khoun Kham to Ban Kong Lor winds through a beautiful valley of rice fields, hemmed in on either side by towering karst cliffs. It's an easy one-hour motorbike or sŏrngtăaou ride. From Ban Kong Lor, sŏrngtăaou to Ban Khoun Kham (25,000K) depart at 6.30am, 8am and 11am. There's also now a direct daily bus between Vientiane and Ban Kong Lor (80,000K, seven hours), which departs from Kong Lor Eco Lodge at 7am or from the Southern Bus Station in the capital at 10am.
2Motorcycle Tour
The Loop
Start Tha Khaek
End Tha Khaek
Duration three days
'The Loop', an off-the-beaten-track circuit through some of the more remote parts of Khammuan and Bolikhamsai Provinces, has achieved mythic status with intrepid travellers over the last couple of years. It's possible to make the trip by bicycle, but it's best done on a motorbike. Thankfully, there are now several companies in 1Tha Khaek renting out decent dirt bikes and smaller scooters. Give yourself at least three days to include Tham Kong Lor and make sure you spend a day practicing your riding skills if you are a relative novice. Visiting the caves around Tha Khaek as a gentle day trip is a good warm-up to tackling the Loop. Fuel is available in most villages along the way.
Begin in Tha Khaek. It's Tourist Information Centre can provide advice on the circuit. It's also a good idea to sit down with a cold Beerlao and the ever-expanding logbook at Thakhek Travel Lodge before you head off.
Once you've got your wheels, and assuming you have already spent one day heading east on Rte 12 from Tha Khaek, visiting the caves and swimming spots on the way, then set out early enough to allow plenty of stops along the way. The 20km stretch north of 2Mahaxai Mai, about 40km from Tha Khaek, has a few accommodation options if you're running late, but they are all pretty forgettable places aimed at travelling dam workers. Just north of Km 55 is the Rte 12 turn-off to Vietnam and the expansive Nam Theun 2 Main Camp, across from which is Phothavong Guest House, one of the better places to stay along this stretch of the Loop. However, we would recommend continuing to Ban Tha Lang for the night.
Continuing past Gnommalath, an additional 5km north of the Rte 12 intersection, where there's petrol and basic food, you'll reach Nam Theun 2 Power Station. This is also the location of the educational Nam Theun 2 Visitors Centre, set in a traditional Luang Prabang–style house, which looks a touch out of place in the middle of nowhere. It has a very well-organised display on village relocations, the construction of the dam and the science behind hydropower, but it's obviously coming from a pro-power point of view and not an environmentalist angle. At the top of the hill the road splits at a busy village called Ban Oudomsouk; keep straight for 3km to 3Nakai, where fuel is available.
The next 23km is a disturbing corridor of pristine jungle on your left and the environmental disaster zone created by the flooding of the Nam Theun 2 dam on the right. You'll also start to see successive bâan jat sàn, tidy villages created for those displaced by the flooding. Just before the road crosses the Nam Theun (Theun River) via a new bridge, you'll arrive in tiny 4Ban Tha Lang, where the Phosy Tha Lang Guesthouse offers respite in clean, basic turquoise cabanas with fresh sheets, en suites and balconies with hammocks. The view is pretty good, with the ghostly stumps of trees poking out of the recently flooded reservoir. More lively these days is Sabaidee Guesthouse, the most popular place on the Loop thanks to the convivial owner and inviting restaurant. Rooms are set in bungalows in a spacious garden and firepits are lit nightly during the peak season. From Mahaxai Mai to Ban Tha Lang takes about two hours.
Continuing over the bridge at Ban Tha Long it's about 50km to Lak Sao. This stretch is stunning as you drive through the corridor between the Nakai-Nam Theun NBCA and Phu Hin Bun NPA. But drive carefully; although the road is now surfaced, there are lots of tight switchbacks. Take it slowly and drink up the view as you weave through an other-worldly flooded valley, with its eternity of oddly angled dead trees sticking out of the water and not a soul in sight. After 17km keep straight at the junction (the left fork will take you to the Nam Theun 2 dam site). In the dry season this stretch takes between one and two hours, depending on the number of photo stops you take.
When you finally hit the frontier-feel town of 5Lak Sao, there is plenty of accommodation and food, and it's also a good place if you need bike repairs. We recommend a pit stop for lunch and continuing on to Ban Khoun Kham (Ban Na Hin) or Tham Kong Lor for the overnight. Riding the 56km of smooth Rte 8 between Lak Sao and Ban Khoun Kham is like stepping into a video game: the road runs between walls of impregnable karst on one side, into winding hills of deep forest, and crosses the wide Nam Theun at 6Tha Bak, where it's worth stopping for a look at the bomb boats.
7Ban Khoun Kham has a petrol station and heaps of accommodation and is one base for trips into 8Tham Kong Lor. However, over the last few years, accommodation has now sprung up in Kong Lor village itself and is more convenient for seeing the cave first thing in the morning. From Ban Khoun Kham, it's about 145km back to Tha Khaek if you want to get to there quickly.
Lak Sao ຫລັກຊາວ
Pop 33,000 / %054
Essentially a dusty two-street affair in the eastern reaches of Bolikhamsai Province, Lak Sao (ຫລັກຊາວ) is humming with trucks passing through to Vietnam (only 36km away), and has made its name as a logging town. It's surrounded by beautiful sawtoothed cliffs that, come dusk, are evocatively etched a burnt charcoal.
There's plenty of uninspiring guesthouses, a maze of a market, 24-hour ATMs, plus a couple of places to eat. Not the prettiest place thanks to the eternal screen of dust that hangs in the air, but it's a useful pit stop to stock up on cash, fuel up and eat a reliable Lao lunch if you're on 'the Loop'.
4Sleeping & Eating
Phoutthavong Guest HouseGUESTHOUSE$
( GOOGLE MAP ; %054-341074; Rte 1E; r 80,000K; naW)
Sitting back from busy Rte 8, this pleasant guesthouse has large rooms with mahogany beds and furniture, basic en suite and TV. A talking mynah bird will keep you company.
Souriya HotelHOTEL$
( GOOGLE MAP ; %054-341111; Rte 1E; r 50,000-80,000K; naW)
All rooms here have fan or air-con, and although some are smaller than others, they are fresh with firm beds and en suite with very hot water. There is also cable TV and motorbike parking.
Only One RestaurantLAOTIAN$
( GOOGLE MAP ; %054-341034; Rte 1E; mains 20,000-60,000K; h7am-10pm)
Although it's no longer quite the 'only one' in town, it remains one of the best. The cavernous restaurant has a great terrace out back which looks on to the karsts and makes a good place to eat your láhp, barbecued pork, stir-fries and fried morning glory (water spinach).
8Information
Lao Development Bank ( GOOGLE MAP ; Rte 1E) Located near the market, this bank changes Thai baht, US dollars, UK pounds and Vietnamese dong.
Post Office ( GOOGLE MAP ; cnr Rtes 8 & 1E)
8Getting There & Away
Buses leave from east of the market for Vientiane (85,000K, seven to eight hours, 334km) daily at 5.30am, 6.30am, 8am and 8pm. These buses stop at Vieng Kham (Thang Beng; 35,000K, two hours, 100km), where you can change for regular buses heading south, or get off at Paksan (50,000K, five to six hours, 189km). Other buses and sŏrngtăaou head along Rte 8 to Vieng Kham/Thang Beng (between 8am and 5pm) and one bus goes to Tha Khaek (60,000K, five to six hours, 202km) at 7.30am.
Tha Khaek ທ່າແຂກ
Pop 80,000 / %051
This ex-Indochinese trading post is a delightful melange of crumbling French villas and warped Chinese merchant's shopfronts, with an easy riverside charm which, despite the new bridge over to nearby Thailand, shows few signs of change. An evocative place to stop for a day and night, you begin the Loop from here, and can also use Tha Khaek (ທ່າແຂກ) as a base from which to make organised day trips to Tham Kong Lor. There are also loads of caves, some with swimmable lagoons, nearby that can
be accessed by scooter or tuk-tuk.
While you shouldn't expect Luang Prabang levels of sophistication from Tha Khaek, you will find a historically appealing old town and slice of authentic Lao life. The epicentre (if you can call it that) of the old town is the modest Fountain Sq at the western end of Th Kuvoravong near the river.
History
Tha Khaek traces its present-day roots to French-colonial construction in 1911 and 1912. Evidence of this period can be found in the slowly decaying buildings around Fountain Sq. The town served as a port, border post and administrative centre during the French period.
Tha Khaek
2Activities, Courses & Tours
Green DiscoveryB3
1Namfon Petang FieldB3
4Sleeping
2Hotel RiveriaA2
3Inthira HotelB3
4Mekong HotelB2
5Sooksomboon HotelA2
6Thakhek Travel LodgeG1
7Xayluedy HotelB1
5Eating
8DD Bistro & CafeB3
9Grilled Meat RestaurantsB3
Khop Chai DeuB3
10La Parisian CafeD2
11Local Food PlaceA3
12Sabaidee RestaurantB4
13Smile Barge RestaurantB3
8Information
14Wangwang InternetB3
Transport
15Mad Monkey MotorbikeB3
Mr Ku's Motorbike RentalG1
Wangwang InternetB3
1Sights
Phu Hin Bun NPANATIONAL PARK
(ປ່າສະຫງວນແຫ່ງຊາດພູຫີນປູນ )
Phu Hin Bun NPA is a huge (1580 sq km) wilderness area of turquoise streams, monsoon forests and striking karst topography across central Khammuan. It was made a protected area in 1993 and it's no overstatement to say this is some of the most breathtaking country in the region.
Passing through on foot or by boat, it's hard not to feel awestruck by the very scale of the limestone cliffs that rise almost vertically for hundreds of metres into the sky. Although much of the NPA is inaccessible by road, local people have reduced the numbers of key forest-dependent species through hunting and logging. Despite this, the area remains home to the endangered douc langur, François' langur and several other primate species, as well as elephants, tigers and a variety of rare species of deer.
A trip out to Tham Kong Lor will give you a taste of what the NPA has to offer, but there are two more immersive ways to go deeper into this area of almost mythical gothic peaks and snaking streams.
Khammuan Province runs five different community-based treks of varying lengths. From Tha Khaek, the popular two-day trip (1,700,000K for one person, 950,000K each for two, 650,000K for five or more) into the Phu Hin Bun NPA is especially good. The route includes plenty of karst scenery, a walk through Tham Pa Chan and overnight accommodation in an ethnic village. Bookings can be made through the Tourist Information Centre in Tha Khaek.
Green Discovery offers similar treks including a very tempting two-day kayaking and cycling trip between spectacularly sheer cliffs, as the Nam Hin Bun (Hin Bun River) follows a large anticlockwise arc towards the Mekong.
Tham Pa SeuamCAVE
(ຖ້ຳປາເຊືອມ )
The recently discovered river cave of Tham Pa Seuam runs for 3km. A much smaller version of Tham Kong Lor, it features include impressive stalactites and stalagmites and is conveniently only 15km from Tha Khaek. A day trip to multiple caves, including Tham Pa Seuam, with the Tourist Information Centre costs from 350,000K per person and includes a 400m kayak paddle into the main chamber.
2Activities
Most of the activities take place in the karst countryside around Tha Khaek, including clambering the karst at Green Climbers Home or exploring the many caves that pepper the jagged mountains.
When it comes to Tha Khaek town, other than wandering the streets and soaking up the atmosphere, there's not a lot to keep you occupied. If you're looking for something (slightly) more active, then head to Namfon Petang Field ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %020-55619331; h4-10.30pm) for a game of boule and a Beerlao.
Green Climbers HomeCLIMBING
(%020-56105622; www.greenclimbershome.com; Ban Kouanphavang; courses per person 140,000-500,000K, depending on duration & size of group; hOct-May)
This efficiently run training school set in a valley in soaring karst country 18km from Tha Khaek is hugely popular and often booked up thanks to its cosy cabanas, great food and excellent courses. It also boasts one of the easiest overhangs in the world to learn on and has beginner-, intermediate- and expert-level climbs, with more than 250 routes from class 4 to 8B.
Green DiscoveryADVENTURE SPORTS
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %051-251390; www.greendiscoverylaos.com; Inthira Hotel, Th Chao Annou; h8am-9pm)
Green Discovery is the country's most experienced ecotourism outfit and runs a number of interesting trips around central Laos. A range of treks and kayaking excursions in the lush Phu Hin Bun NPA are available, including Tham Kong Lor (from US$70 for a day trip to US$155 for an overnight trip). Also arranges cycling and climbing.
TTours
The Tourist Information Centre runs tours in the area. Trek prices vary depending on group size, so it's worth calling reliable Mr Somkiad who runs the centre to coordinate with other travellers. As an example, a two-day trek in the Phu Hin Bun NPA for a group of four will cost a reasonable 650,000K per person. These treks typically involve a homestay. Also ask about day trips to multiple caves, including Tham Pa Seuam.
4Sleeping
oThakhek Travel LodgeGUESTHOUSE$
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %051-212931; thahkhektravellodge@gmail.com; Rte 13; dm 30,000K, r 60,000-130,000K; naiW)
It might be an inconvenient five minutes out of town by tuk-tuk, but this place has a great vibe thanks to its nightly garden fire pit, drawing travellers together. Rooms vary from basic fan options to expansive air-con bungalows, and a cafe serves láhp, salads and juices. Check out the logbook for updated news from the Loop.
Mekong HotelHOTEL$
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %051-250777; mekonghotel@yahoo.com; Th Setthathirat; r 100,000-250,000K; naW)
Thanks to a bit of tender, loving care, this blue, Soviet-inspired monolith is somewhat improved, with house-proud, decent rooms that have cable TV, air-con and fresh en suites. There's also a Mekong-facing restaurant.
Sooksomboon HotelGUESTHOUSE$
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %051-212225; Th Setthathirat; r 100,000-150,000K; naW)
Set in a colonial-era police station right on the Mekong, the rooms here are clean and have high ceilings, scrolled mahogany bedsteads, TV and en suite. Bag a room in this atmospheric main building, as the rooms in the motel-like annexe are bland with a capital B.
oInthira HotelBOUTIQUE HOTEL$$
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %051-251237; www.inthirahotel.com; Th Chao Anou; r incl breakfast US$29-49; naiW)
Set in an old French villa with a pretty facade, Inthira offers the most romantic, stylish digs in town. Its restaurant fronts the old fountain, and its chic wine-hued rooms, with exposed-brick walls, rain showers, cable TV, dark wood furniture, air-con and safety deposit boxes, are a delight for weary travellers. The best rooms face the street and have balconies.
Xayluedy HotelHOTEL$$
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %051-214299; Th Vientiane; r 130,000-250,000K; naW)
This smart new hotel in the middle of town has a good range of clean rooms with wall-mounted TVs and hot-water rain showers. All rooms come with air-con and there are even some VIP options to satisfy your inner celebrity.
Hotel RiveriaHOTEL$$
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %051-250000; www.hotelrivierathakhek.com; Th Setthathirat; r 330,000-960,000K; naiW)
Hotel Riveria has terrific views of Thailand on one side and even more dramatic vistas of the jagged karsts on the other. But this is very much a business person's choice. Large rooms have king-sized beds, TV, fridge, bath and international-style furniture. Downstairs, there's a decent restaurant with a genero
us buffet breakfast and egg station. Professional but somewhat soulless.
5Eating
La Parisian CafeCAFE$
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %020-96244999; Th Kuvoravong; mains 10,000-35,000K; h7am-9pm; aW)
Our French friends will have to excuse the spelling, but this is a delightful little cafe opposite the post office. Mains are limited to salads and sandwiches, but the real draw is the delectable dessert, which includes elaborate fruit concoctions and designer French toast.
Sabaidee RestaurantLAOTIAN$
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Th Setthathirat; mains 20,000-40,000K; h8am-midnight; W)
Catching whatever breeze is going, this joint sits on the riverfront and serves rice dishes, láhp variations, soup and some heaped portions of international favourites like fish and chips. Nice place for a sundowner and draws a steady crowd of travellers trading tales from the Loop.
Grilled Meat RestaurantsLAOTIAN$
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Th Setthathirat; mains 10,000-20,000K; h11am-11pm)
There are several outdoor grilled-meat restaurants specialising in duck (Ms Noy, Ms Kay and Ms Mo) on the waterfront strip directly south of the night market.
Local Food PlaceLAOTIAN$
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Th Setthathirath; mains 10,000-20,000K; h7am-7pm)
Head to this busy local food place alongside the river if you fancy tasty Lao favourites such as pîng kai (grilled chicken) and sticky rice for next to no money. There are also plenty of similar stalls lining the nearby Fountain Sq promenade.