Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Ang Nam Ngum Reservoir
Ninety kilometres north of Vientiane, the vast
Ang Nam Ngum Reservoir
sits above the
northern edge of the Vientiane Plain, where the rice-growing flatlands surrounding the capital
meet the mountainous terrain of the north. Created when the Nam Ngum River was dammed
in 1971, the deep green waters of the reservoir are dotted with scores of forest-clad islands
stretching to a dramatic horizon lined with mountains, their peaks lost in mist. Foreign trav-
ellers, usually in a rush to head upcountry, tend to bypass Ang Nam Ngum as they make for
nearby Vang Vieng, but those who do stop off discover a pretty 250-square-kilometre expanse
of water with islands, secluded beaches and swimming spots, and floating restaurants serving
fresh fish dishes just above the water. Day-tripping Lao descend on the scenic reservoir in
droves at weekends, hiring out wooden boats for picnic cruises. Guesthouses and hotels listed
here should be able to point you in the direction of the best hiking trails.
There are a number of convenient options for visiting Ang Nam Ngum, either as a day-trip
from Vientiane or Vang Vieng, or en route between the two; short package trips are also avail-
able from travel agents in Vientiane. The most logical base for independent travellers is
NA
NAM
, a port of rickety shacks suspended above the water, with a clutch of tourist restaur-
ants, basic accommodation, and a fleet of wooden tourist boats - some seating up to forty
passengers.
KEEPING THE LIGHTS ON
Built with foreign expertise and funding, the
Ang Nam Ngum Reservoir
set a precedent
for the production of
hydroelectricity
in Laos, and it continues to provide power for Vien-
tiane and surrounding villages on the Vientiane Plain. Most of the power, however, flows
across the Mekong into Thailand, which has an agreement to purchase Laos's surplus elec-
tricity.
At the time the dam was built, the Royalist government had only just plugged Vientiane
into the hydroelectric dam before they were forced to cede power to the communist Pathet
Lao. In an all too typical example of poor environmental planning, the builders of the dam
had flooded a vast area of valuable forest 50m underwater. The rotting vegetation sucked
oxygen out of the water and blocked up the turbines, a problem that was later turned into
profit by underwater logging ventures, whose frogmen dropped to the reservoir floor to cut
submerged trees with underwater saws.
Meanwhile, the new communist government found a novel use for the reservoir. After
1975, prostitutes, thieves and teenagers “infected with foreign ideas” were rounded up from
the streets of Vientiane, a Lao Sodom in the eyes of the Pathet Lao, and were confined on
islands in the middle of the lake for “re-education”.
