Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Buses to/from Vientiane stop on Rte 13 outside the Talat Sao (morning market) and
leave regularly between 5am and 4.30pm, with most departures in the morning.
GETTING TO THAILAND: PAKSAN TO BEUNG KAN
Getting to the border Few people use the Mekong Paksan/Beung Kan border crossing. In Paksan fol-
low a sign to the port and Lao border post (open 8am to noon and 1.30pm to 4.30pm). The boat across
the Mekong to Bueng Kan takes a few minutes and costs 60B per person, or charter for 480B.
At the border Fifteen-day Thai visas are granted on arrival but check in advance as this is a remote
spot seldom used by travellers; to obtain a 30-day Thai visa, you'll need to arrive in the country by air.
Moving on Buses leave Beung Kan in Thailand for Udon Thani and Bangkok.
For more information about crossing this border in the other direction, Click here .
Route 8 to Lak Sao
Wind your way through a lost world of jungle and dreamlike rock formations in some of
the country's trippiest landscape. The first major stop is Ban Khoun Kham (also known as
Ban Na Hin), 41km east of Rte 13, in the lush Hin Bun valley. The village makes a good
base from which to explore Phu Hin Bun National Protected Area. You can also catch
your forward bus to Kong Lo village and its ace card: the extraordinary Tham Kong Lo.
Community-based treks gear up at Ban Khoun Kham's tourist information centre, just
south of the Tat Namsanam entrance.
Sights
Tham Kong Lo
(106,000K per boat) If you were to realise the ancient Greek underworld (minus the shades
and torture), you might end up with Tham Kong Lo. Situated in the 1580-sq-km wilder-
ness of Phu Hin Bun National Protected Area, this 7.5km tunnel, which runs beneath an
immense limestone mountain, is unearthly.
Crossing the Nam Hin Bun via rickety suspension bridge you first witness the gaping,
ragged mouth of the cave, your breath stolen before you've even entered the eerie, black
cavern. Passing into the church-high darkness (100m in some places) by longtail boat and
watching the light of the cave mouth recede is a spooky experience. A section of the cave
CAVE
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