The far south - The Rough Guide to Laos - page 345

with fruit; mains around 85,000K) in stylish modern surroundings. Good wine list. Mon-Sat
11am-1.30pm & 6.30-10pm.
Nazim's No.12 Rd, just south of Route 13 020 7760 5060. A very well-managed branch
of Laos's most popular Indian restaurant chain, serving affordable meat and veggie cur-
ries (from 9000K per dish). Wash down the chillies with an ice-cold mango lassi. Daily
7.30am-10pm.
Salachampa Attached to the Salachampa (the entrance is on No. 12 Rd) 031 212273. Sip
draught Beerlao (8000K/glass) in the shade of tall palm and papaya trees. The food isn't any-
thing special, but there are some reasonably priced Lao dishes (watered down for western
taste buds) to accompany the beer. Mon-Sat 6-10pm.
Viengsavanh Seendard Just south of No. 46 Rd 031 212388. A no-nonsense place that
wins over locals with very tasty, inexpensive, barbecued meat that's fantastic with cold beer.
The beef set, including lime, salad, dips and instant noodles, costs 50,000K. Daily 5-10pm.
DIRECTORY
Consulates Vietnam, on No. 24 Rd (Mon-Fri 8-11am & 2-4.30pm; 031 212824).
Hospital South of the shopping centre on No. 9 Rd.
Internet access Internet cafés come and go; your best bet is Sedone (daily 8am-6pm;
5000K/hr), just south of Pakse Hotel . Otherwise, most hotels and tourist-oriented restaurants
have free wi-fi.
< Back to The far south
Champasak and around
From Pakse, daily sawngthaews head south to the charming riverside town of
CHAMPASAK , past misty green mountains and riverbanks loaded with palm trees. Mean-
dering for 4km along the right bank of the Mekong, Champasak serves as a gateway to Wat
Phou and other Khmer ruins . Although it is easily possible to visit Wat Phou as a day-trip
from Pakse, there is plenty of cheap accommodation available in Champasak, and basing
yourself here allows you to take in the sights at a leisurely pace. With its old wooden houses,
three temples, Khmer ruins, mountains and river-boat trips, plus guesthouses and good food,
it's easy to imagine Champasak becoming another Muang Ngoi in no time.
Brief history
Champasak's pace is so decidedly leisurely that it's difficult to imagine it as the capital of a
once bustling kingdom, whose territory stretched from the Annamite Mountains into present-
day Thailand. However, when France's Mekong expedition, led by Doudart de Lagrée and
Francis Garnier, arrived in 1866, they found it to be the most important city in the south, a
status later usurped by Pakse when it became a French administrative centre. These days, the