Northeastern Thailand - Thailand - page 887

Pha Taem has campsites (per person with own tent 30B, 2-/3-/4-person tent hire 150/225/300B) and five
bungalows ( 0 2562 0760; www.dnp.go.th/parkreserve ; 6-person bungalows with fan 1200B, 5-person with air-con
2000B; ) and vendors sell snacks and fast food until about sunset.
Pha Taem is 18km from Khong Jiam via Rte 2112. There's no public transport, so the
best way to get there is to hire a motorcycle in Khong Jiam.
Chong Mek
South of Khong Jiam, at the end of Rte 217, is the small border town of Chong Mek. The
new bridges over the Mekong further north have reduced traffic on this route and stolen
much of the bustle from the Chong Mek Market, which used to be a big hit with Thai
tourists. If you get stuck here after hours, there are cheap guesthouses north of the market.
There's no public transport between Chong Mek and Khong Jiam; either go through
Phibun or hire a motorcycle taxi/túk-túk/pickup truck for 250/300/500B.
GETTING TO LAOS: CHONG MEK TO VANGTAO
Getting to the border Almost every traveller uses the direct Ubon Ratchathani-Pakse buses, which wait long
enough to buy Lao visas at the border. Otherwise, Chong Mek's little bus terminal serves sŏrng·tăa·ou from
Phibun Mangsahan (35B, one hour, frequent), minivans from Ubon (100B, 1¼ hours, every 30 minutes) via
Phibun (50B) and buses from Bangkok (547B to 638B, 10 hours, five daily). It's nearly 1km from the bus station
to the border: motorcycle taxis and túk-túk charge 20B.
At the border The border is open from 6am to 8pm and the crossing, involving walking though an underground
tunnel, is largely hassle-free. Lao officials sometimes try to extract additional 'stamping fees', but they're usually
not too insistent.
Moving on Pakse is about an hour away in one of the frequent sŏrng·tăa·ou (10,000K).
Phu Chong Nayoi National Park
Sitting at the heart of the 'Emerald Triangle' is the little-known Phu Chong Nayoi National Park
( 0 4541 1515; admission 200B) , one of Thailand's wildest corners and healthiest forests. Res-
ident fauna includes elephants, tigers, Malayan sun bears, barking deer, gibbons, black
hornbills and endangered white-winged ducks; though you won't likely see them.
The 686-sq-km park's primary attraction is Namtok Huay Luang , a waterfall that plunges
45m over a cliff in two parallel streams and has at least a little water all year. A short trail
leads to a viewpoint and you can walk down 274 steps to the bottom where you can swim,