Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ADDRESSES AND STREET NAMES
Lao
addresses
can be terribly confusing, firstly because property is usually numbered
twice - when numbered at all - to show which lot it stands in, and then to signify where it
is on that lot. To add to the confusion, some cities have several conflicting address systems
- Vientiane, for example, has three, although no one seems to use any of them. To avoid
confusion, numbers are often omitted from addresses given in the Guide, and locations are
described using landmarks instead.
Only a few cities in Laos actually have
streetnames
- and that's just the start of the prob-
lem. Signs are few and far between and many roads have several entirely different names,
sometimes changing name from block to block. If you ask for directions, locals most likely
won't know the name of a street with the exception of the three or four largest avenues in
Vientiane. Use street names to find a hotel on a map in the Guide, but when asking direc-
tions or telling a tuk-tuk driver where to go you'll have better luck mentioning a landmark,
monastery or prominent hotel. Fortunately, Lao cities, even Vientiane, are relatively small,
making it more of a challenge to get lost than it is to figure out where you're going.
Inter-town transport
Visitors hoping to see rural Laos can expect hours of arduous, bone-crunching travel on the
country's motley fleet of lumbering jitter-boxes. Buses link only larger towns, and on many
routes can be few and far between, a fact which makes a number of attractions, such as ruins
and waterfalls, difficult to reach. Even when there is transport, you may find that the limited
bus timetable will allow you to get to a particular site, but not make a same-day return trip
- something of a problem given the dearth of accommodation in far-flung spots. In the rainy
season, some unpaved roads dissolve into rivers of mud, slowing buses to a crawl or swallow-
ing them whole. Even vehicles in reasonably good condition make painfully slow progress,
as drivers combat
mountainous roads
and make frequent (and at times long) stops to pick
up passengers, load goods and even haggle for bargains at roadside stalls.
Buses
Ordinary buses provide cheap transport between major towns and link provincial hubs with
their surrounding districts. Cramped, overloaded and designed for the smaller Lao frame,
these buses are profound tests of endurance and patience. Seats often have either torn cush-
ions or are nothing more than a hard plank. Luggage - ranging from incontinent roosters to
sloshing buckets of fish and the inevitable fifty-kilo sacks of rice - is piled in every conceiv-
able space, filling up the aisle and soaring skywards from the roof.
Breakdowns
are com-
monplace and often require a lengthy roadside wait as the driver repairs the bus on a lonely
stretch of road. Typical fares are in the order of 110,000K for Vientiane to Luang Prabang or
Pakse, though fares could rise rapidly if fuel prices increase.
