The Best of Cambodia & Laos

Central Laos is rarely at the top of
anyone’s list of most desired destinations
and is often simply flown over or driven
through on a night bus. That does not
mean it is devoid of attractions. Both
Savannakhet and Tha Khek are atmospheric
towns strung out lazily along the
Central Laos
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Mekong facing, respectively, Mukdahan
and Nakhon Phanom in Thailand. East of
Tha Khek you’ll find wild scenery featuring
karst outcrops and some beautiful
lakes. It is an area increasingly popular for
trekking and ecothemed tours.
Savannakhet (or Savan) is one of the country’s most important cities and shares with
Luang Prabang an atmosphere of faded French colonial grandeur. Unlike Luang Prabang,
however, Savannakhet is visibly crumbling, with little effort made to preserve its wonderful
buildings. Savannakhet was very important to the French as an administrative center
and transit point. It still fulfills many of those functions in Laos today. With the opening
of the second Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge across the Mekong in 2006 and the complete
renovation of Hwy. 9 from Thailand to Vietnam, Savannakhet is the gateway to one of
the most important trading routes in Southeast Asia. The city is changing fast from the
somnolent, crumbling echo of francophone times past to quite a vibrant (well, vibrant
for Laos!) little place where there are still lights on after 10 o’clock.
SAVANNAKHET ESSENTIALS
GETTING THERE Savannakhet is on the main north-south route from Pakse to Vietnam.
The bus terminal is located near the main market, or Talat Nyai, in the north of
the old town. There are three daily buses to the Lao Bao, Vietnam, border leaving at
6:30am, 9:30am, and noon. The journey takes 6 hours. You can also take a songthaeaw,
but it’s only advised if you are a masochist since it’s a long journey and you will be
cramped and unlikely to be able to see anything along the way. You can also cross the
bridge from the very pleasant town of Mukdahan in Thailand. Take a tuk-tuk from
Riding a Skylab
In Savan, tuk-tuks are called “skylabs” for some unfathomable reason that probably
has something to do with drug use by visitors in the 1960s and 1970s.
These distinctly terrestrial vehicles charge between 50¢ and $1.50 around
town depending on just how far you intend your orbit to stretch—or you could
just ask them to beam you up direct.
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