Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Kijokajam
A few doors down from Duangchavit in Kiou Ka Cham 071 251571.
Eight
very basic rooms, each sharing a hot-water bat
hroom a
t the end of the corridor and set around
a scruffy garden with two caged pet monkeys.
60,000K
EATING AND DRINKING
Xom View Thammasa
Around 500m north of Pha Keng Noi village along the main road
020 9835 9570.
This no-frills roadside stop is popular with long-distance drivers and, if
nothing else, serves as a quiet spot to grab a cold drink. Noodle dishes and soups (around
30,000K) are also on offer.
Daily 6am-7pm.
The Sayaboury circuit
While the vast majority of visitors use Route 13 between Vientiane and Luang Prabang, it is
possible to swing through Laos's northwestern frontier provided you're willing to allow three
to four days for the journey. The detour through
SAYABOURY PROVINCE
, the sparsely
populated region of rugged valleys and wild elephants on the western side of the Mekong,
takes you along a path well off the banana-pancake backpacker circuit. This could soon
change; until a few years ago, travelling the route involved using a muddy combination of
road and river, with at least part of the journey by boat along the Mekong. Now, the roads
have improved to such an extent that boats have stopped running. In any case, the hugely con-
troversial Sayaboury Dam (one of eleven hydroelectric dams planned for the lower Mekong's
main stream, and currently being built just east of Sayaboury town) would make navigating
this stretch of the river impossible.
Route 2, running the length of Sayaboury Province between Luang Prabang and the bustling
border town of
Kenthao
, is especially beautiful, particularly in the rice-growing season
(June-Nov), with the electric-green paddies set against a sea of bluish mountains - some as
high as 2000m - receding in waves towards Thailand. Whether you travel by bus, by mo-
torbike or with a private car,
Paklai
and
Sayaboury
are the best places to make stopovers.
Even with the newly capped roads, journeys can be tortuously slow and in the rainy season
especially, washouts and mudslides are common. Needless to say, getting to Sayaboury's re-
motest corners isn't easy. Secluded caves and waterfalls are out there, but none lies on the
tourist route. The region will probably be one of the last places to benefit from the country's
improved tourist infrastructure, which is inspiration enough to try this route.
