The Best of Cambodia & Laos

with Western-style toilets and hot showers. They have made some efforts to make them
homey. The Phou Fa Hotel (& 020/569-5315; 50,000 kip double) is built on a hill,
used to be the Chinese consulate, and is suitably fortified given the fractious history of
the area. The rooms are perfectly well appointed but dark. The views are fantastic from
the garden and the restaurant is acceptable.
5 HUAY XAI
If you are entering Laos by land in the north intending to make your way to Luang
Prabang by river, the busy little river port of Huay Xai will be your first glimpse of the
country. In Bokeo Province at the heart of the Golden Triangle, Huay Xai has long been
a busy trading and transit point. Mule caravans passed through here on their way from
Yunnan Province in southern China to the northern Siamese capital of Chiang Mai laden
with opium and tea. Although most people transit through here jumping directly on a
Luang Prabang–bound boat down the Mekong, Huay Xai is worth stopping in for a day
or two. With the Mekong at your front and rugged hills at your back you are not far from
ethnic minorities and some spectacular and unspoiled natural beauty. It was also recently
discovered that Bokeo has one of the last remaining populations of black-cheeked gibbons
in Laos. An innovative canopy forest camp, called the Gibbon Experience, has been
developed to provide travelers with the opportunity to see and hear the black-cheeked
gibbon. From Houay Xai you can make day trips to ethnic Lantaen villages where production
of traditional saa paper and other crafts can be seen.
GETTING THERE
Crossing the river from Chiang Khong in Thailand you arrive at Immigration where you
can get a visa on arrival if you haven’t already got one. Some 500m (1,640 ft.) to the
north is the slow-boat landing. From here you can get a boat to Pakbeng and then Luang
Prabang, taking 2 days. Boats tend to leave at about 9am. There is a ticket office at the
landing or you can book through a guesthouse. If you wish to take a risk with your life
(p. 257), you can also get a speedboat from a landing 2km (1 1 ⁄4 miles) to the south of
Immigration. It is possible to get buses to Luang Namtha in the north or indeed Luang
Prabang from the bus station approximately 3km (1 3 ⁄4 miles) south of town.
Huay Xai
Banks & Currency Exchange The Lao Development Bank (open Mon–Fri 8am–
3:30pm) has an exchange booth near Immigration. It will cash traveler’s checks
and change U.S. dollars and Thai bhat.
Post Office The Post Office (Saykong Rd.; Mon–Fri 8am–10pm) can facilitate
international calls.
WHERE TO STAY & DINE
The Sabaydee Guest House (Saykong Rd.; & 084/211-503; 70,000 kip double) gets
good reviews, although the mattresses are rather wooden in nature. The Oudomphone
Guest House (Saykong Rd.; & 084/211-308; 50,000 kip fan double, 80,000 kip A/C
289
LUANG PRABANG & NORTHERN LAOS 13
HUAY XAI