Laos - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget - page 385

5

Journeying further east leads to the
Vietnam border crossing at Dansavanh,
popularly known as “Lao Bao”.

South central
Laos
Many travellers see very little of south
central Laos , spending just a night or two
in the town of Savannakhet before
pressing on to the far south or crossing
the border into Vietnam. he two
principal settlements of the region
- hakhek and Savannakhet - both lie
on the Mekong River, and both offer
straightforward border crossings into
hailand. Route 8 between Vientiane and
hakhek is the best and easiest overland
route to Vietnam, the paved road snaking
through mountains, rainforests and the
Phu Pha Man “stone forest” before
winding down to the city of Vinh.
Savannakhet has been described as
southern Laos's Luang Prabang, its
inhabitants living comfortably among the
architectural heirlooms handed down by
the French, and is a pleasant enough
place. East from Savannakhet, Route 9
climbs steadily until it eventually bisects
another route of more recent vintage: the
Ho Chi Minh Trail . he trail was used by
the North Vietnamese Army to infiltrate
and finally subdue its southern
neighbour, and is still littered with lots of
war junk, some of it highly dangerous.
he best way to view these rusting relics
is to use the town of Xepon as a base.

SAVANNAKHET
he town of SAVANNAKHET , known
locally as “Savan”, is south central Laos's
most-visited provincial capital. Its
popularity is due in part to its central
location on the overland routes between
Vientiane and Pakse, and hailand and
Vietnam. Travellers doing the “Indochina
loop” - through Cambodia, Vietnam,
Laos and hailand - have the option of
taking the 240km-long Route 9 on their
way between Laos's two neighbours,
hence the presence of both a Thai and a
Vietnamese consulate . But Savannakhet
also has its own appeal, with impressive
architecture inherited from the French
colonial period and narrow streets and
shophouses of ochre-coloured stucco
reminiscent of parts of Hanoi. A large
percentage of the town's population is
ethnic Vietnamese, though most have
been living here for generations and
consider themselves to be Lao in habit
and temperament.

WHAT TO SEE AND DO
he town square is dominated by the
octagonal spire of St Teresa Catholic
Church built in 1930. Check out the old
teakwood confessional and, high up on

INTO VIETNAM: NAM PHAO/CAU TREO BORDER CROSSING
Roughly halfway between Paksan and Thakhek at the junction town of Ban Vieng Kham ,
Route 8 heads across central Laos to the Kaew Nua Pass, which marks the border with Vietnam,
before switchbacking down to the city of Vinh on the coast of Vietnam.
The buses that make the trip to the frontier town of Lak Xao from Thakhek and Vientiane
(daily; 8hr) stop at its market. The Vietnamese border at Nam Phao/Cau Treo, is 35km from
Lak Xao and best reached by joining a shared tuk-tuk (20,000K per person) from the market.
However, you may have to charter it outright (around 100,000K).
Crossing the border (daily, roughly 8am-5pm) can be a hassle, so it's best to start your
journey early to ensure you don't end up stuck at the border. On the Vietnamese side there's
usually a small army of touts ready to pull you into a van headed for Vinh. Neither immigration
post is near a town of any size; the settlement on the Vietnamese side of the border is Cau Treo ,
105km west of Vinh on Highway 8.
A relatively stress-free way to get across this border is by taking one of the nightly
Vinh-bound buses from Vientiane (160,000K).
Lao visas on arrival are available at this border, but you'll need to arrange your Vietnamese
visa in advance.