| OVERALL ASSESSMENT: Southern Laos receives considerably less tourists than northern Laos and lacks the easily accessible stunning mountain scenery and instead features a series of neglected French colonial cities strung out along the Mekong River. Si Phan Don offers beautiful river islands, but takes some determination to get there, and exiting Laos from the south to enter Cambodia is sitll fraught with hassles. Rating: A reserved thumbs up.
NOTE: This travel report is based on my travels in October, 2003. You must have a Cambodian visa in your passport if you intend to enter Cambodia from the southern tip of Laos. A "boat mafia" then charges a rather outrageous U$10-15 per head for the one-hour speed boat to Stung Treng. In addition, you have to pay U$1-2 "exit" and "entry" fees at both the Laos and Cambodian border stations. They can get away with this for at present this border crossing is NOT recognized as an "official international border." You can email me at [email protected] if you have specific questions.
- Thakhek. There's nothing to see or do in this rundown, economically depressed city. Most hotels have closed because of lack of business and I only stayed 1 night and left. The "hotel" I stayed at was so pathetically dilapidated and unkempt it was almost humorous. There's supposed to be some impressive karst limestone formations to the east, but the road is so bad that no one is very interested in taking you out there. Give this sleepy town a miss.
- Savannakhet. Though this French colonial city has no special tourist attractions, I liked it a lot. It's larger and richer than Thakhek and has just enough tourist guest houses and restaurants to make it accessible, but not touristy in the least. The dirt side streets, neglected central plaza, and deteriorating buildings give Savvy a pleasant charm. I enjoyed sitting along the Mekong River at sunset watching the sun sink over Thailand and reflecting its last rays on the river below. There's a lot of tourist potential here, but who knows if it'll every be tapped. While I was there Lao Tourism was in the process of training local guides to lead treks through the nearby mountains and villages. They hope to be operational by January, 2004. Savannakhet provides a pleasant stopover on your way south to Si Phan Don.
- Si Phan Don (ie 4,000 Islands). Located at the bottom of Laos, individual islands such as Don Det have sprouted dozens of guest houses with attached restaurants and bamboo bungalows (U$1 per night!) making it like a Muong Ngoi south. Spend your days swinging on your hammock overlooking the Mekong River and "chillin". The locals are extremely friendly and there are day trips to waterfalls and to find river dolphins. Accessible only by boat, there's no cars or motorbikes during the day and electricity for only a few hours at night. Each guest house has their own generator, but by 10 pm every one's walking around with flashlights/torches and kerosene lamps. An easy place to spend a lot more time than you expected. For crossing into Cambodia see the NOTE section above.
Comments? E-mail me at [email protected].
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