The far south - The Rough Guide to Laos - page 372

15,000K), and a shop selling local handicrafts. A lso mot orbike r ental, B BQ part ies, and free
wi-fi for customers. No set opening hours. Dorm 15,000K , single 25,000K , double 35,000K
Tad Lo Lodge On a hill overlooking Tad Hang 031 214184, tadlolodge.com . If you
want to be near the falls, splash out on this resort, which has bungalows j ust steps from the
water's edge (you can choose which side of the river you want to stay on). $47
Tim Opposite the school library on the road to the falls 034 211885,
[e-mail] . This long-running place has reasonable doubles and twins with shared
facilities, but compared with others nearby they feel poor value. Downstairs there's a res-
taurant (daily 7am-10pm) serving sim ple bac kpacker grub (fried rice 15,000K). It also offers
internet access and a book exchange. 50,000K
< Back to The far south
Salavan, Xekong and Attapeu provinces
Salavan , Xekong and Attapeu , cut off from the Mekong River Valley by the Bolaven Plat-
eau and made remote by the rugged jigsaw of the Annamite Mountains, are some of the least-
visited provinces in Laos. Until recently, poor infrastructure and the scars of war conspired
to keep the region isolated. With the Ho Chi Minh Trail streaming across their borders, these
provinces were victims of some of the heaviest bombing during the Second Indochina War.
Villages were decimated, roads destroyed and in some places the dangerous litter of battle
still lies about. Yet these factors kept the densely forested mountains of Attapeu and Xekong
pristine until the beginning of this century. Today, intense logging is turning parts of this once
rich ecosystem into a moonscape. For the time being, however, the provinces are still home
to a variety of wildlife and numerous ethnic minority villages.
Arcing around the BolavenPlateau , these provinces can be seen in a convenient clockwise
loop from Pakse. From Lak Sao-et , 21km east of Pakse, head northeast for roughly 100km
along well-maintained Route 20 towards Salavan, where bus connections are available for the
paved 90km trip to Xekong via Thateng , the dusty northern gateway to the Bolaven Plateau.
Just east of the plateau, Xekong provides a handy if uninspiring stopover en route to Attapeu ,
capital of Laos's southeasternmost province. From Attapeu, it's a pleasant haul back to Pakse
up the eastern flank of the Bolaven and through the coffee plantations surrounding Paksong.
Unfortunately, public buses have yet to start travelling impassable Route 18, the shortcut to
Si Phan Don, which shadows the southern edge of the Plateau.