The Best of Cambodia & Laos

6 PAKBENG
If you are taking the slow river trip from Huay Xai to Luang Prabang you will spend 1
night in Pakbeng, the only settlement of any size between the two. It is a fairly unprepossessing
place. On the walk up the sharp incline from the boat landing to the one main
street, you may be accosted by some fairly insistent kids offering to carry your bags to a
guesthouse. Once there, they will ask you for the equivalent of about $10, so if you do
want to engage their services agree on a price first. Although Pakbeng has long been a
stop for those transporting trade goods, it is only in the last 20 years that it has been
dragged out of poverty by the captive market in tourists. As late as the mid-’90s there was
only one government-run guesthouse and you washed from a giant jar of cold water at
the back. Electricity only ran for 2 hours a day between 6 and 8pm, when people would
sit glued to Thai boxing and British Premier League soccer. Evenings were dark and the
town was thoroughly basic. These days there is electricity powered by a hydroelectric dam
in the Beng River, but it is erratic. There are now fridges, which means that at last the
beer is cold. Although the main street is still ramshackle there are a few incongruously
fashionable-looking restaurants staffed by waiters with hair gelled in spikily MTVinspired
styles. Pakbeng remains a slightly uncomfortable place both physically and in
atmosphere. The sheer numbers of well-heeled tourists passing through for 1 night only
in a village that until recently was very poor indeed has created predictable problems
inspired by the extremes of poverty and wealth. The locals are not particularly friendly
and it is no surprise that greed is rampant. There have been reports of thefts from guesthouse
rooms, although whether the perpetrators were Lao or foreign is unsure. Keep your
valuables with you. There are also reports that hard drugs have made an appearance here,
which is very bad news indeed considering the ravages that have occurred elsewhere in
Laos as a result of this evil scourge. Pakbeng is a perfectly agreeable place to stay a night
(you don’t have a choice anyway), but you wouldn’t want to linger.
WHERE TO STAY & DINE
Accommodations in Pakbeng are generally pretty basic wherever you choose to lay your
head. The available restaurants in town don’t serve the world’s best food, but there are
some nice views of the river as it carves its way through the rock valley below. All guesthouses
and restaurants are on the same street because it is the only street in town.
Villa Salika (& 081/212-306; 70,000 kip double) is minimally less basic than most
other accommodations. Large, clean fan rooms constructed from concrete with cold
showers make it feel a little like a gulag. That impression is ameliorated by a balcony on
the top floor offering stunning views of the Mekong. The restaurant (main courses 7,000
kip–15,000 kip) below also enjoys excellent views. You will be woken very early by the
speedboat drivers revving their engines in preparation for the day’s forthcoming adrenaline-fueled
river antics. That’s not a bad thing, though, since you will want to be up early
yourself to get your own boat up or down river. The Phonethip Guest House (no
phone; 40,000 kip double) is typical of most accommodations here. None-too-clean
rooms with a bed and a mosquito net. Shared bathrooms are a bit grubby, although the
staff is quite cheery. The Monsaven Guest House (no phone; 40,000 kip double) is
pokey but clean. The rooms are tiny and very basic, with bamboo walls, a bed, a fan, and
a mosquito net. The shared bathrooms are newly tiled and reasonably sized. There is a
hot shower when the electricity is working. The new Pak Beng Lodge (& 081/212-304;
fax 081/212-304; $30 double) is the town’s only real midrange option (apart from the
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LUANG PRABANG & NORTHERN LAOS 13
PAKBENG