Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Sawngthaews leave from the market in the morning for the 100km trundle to Sayaboury
town, charging 60,000K per passenger (4 daily; 4hr).
To Thailand
Four sawngthaews per day leave Paklai's market bound for Kenthao and the
border with Thailand at Nam Heuang (daily 8am-4pm, though you may be able to pay an
overtime fee to cross at other times). Buses from points north bound for Loei in Thailand can
cross the Friendship Bridge, but otherwise you'll be dropped at the border and expected to
take a tuk-tuk across. At the time of writing the border was open to foreigners, but there have
been reports of it closing unexpectedly. Check ahead. Thai visas are available on arrival, but
Lao visas are not.
ACCOMMODATION
Jainhny Guesthouse
030 946 2014.
Just south of the centre on the river road. Cool, wel-
coming guesthouse with ten good-sized rooms, a friendly own
er and g
orgeous views of the
Mekong. Air-con, if you need it, costs 20,000K extra per night.
50,000K
Sayaboury
SAYABOURY
, a dusty, independent-minded town, sits on the Nam Houng River, with the
massive grey-and-white Pha Xang limestone cliffs - so named because they bear a passing
resemblance to a herd of elephants in motion - providing a distant backdrop. Today it's real-
life
elephants
that draw the majority of tourists here.
People from the local
hill tribes
often come down to buy and sell at the town's bustling
market
, spreading out their weird and wonderful range of produce (roots and forest creatures
among other things) on swaths of cloth in neat rows around the fringe of the market proper,
while members of the Mien tribe run the more established stalls. The textiles available in this
section of the market are mostly from Vientiane, so you won't find many treasures here.
