The Best of Cambodia & Laos

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308 BY BUS Hotels, restaurants, and travel agents lining Rd. 13 sell bus tickets with an inclusive shuttle to the terminal or pickup point. The VIP bus to Vientiane (you can’t miss it—it’s huge, luridly decorated, and costs 150,000 kip) picks up in town. The Northern Bus Terminal is located 8km (5 miles) to the north of the airport. Regular buses to Vientiane cost 100,000 kip. We recommend you take the VIP sleeper bus. It’s a long way. This is the place to get transport to Vientiane and all towns along the route. It is also the terminal for buses to Vietnam via the Lao Bao and Lak Xao crossings. For excursions to the Bolaven Plateau, all destinations south, and to the remote east of the country head to the Southern Bus terminal 13km (8 miles) out of town heading south. Tickets to Champasak cost 10,000 kip and the bus to Don Kong (the drop-off point for Four Thousand Islands) costs 40,000 kip. The VIP Bus Terminal is along Rte. 11 heading near the BCEL Bank, although the buses pick up and drop off in town as well. BY CAR Pakse marks the junction between the main north-south Rd. 13 and Rte. 16 crossing west to east from Thailand to the Bolaven Plateau. SOUTHERN LAOS 15 PAKSE GETTING AROUND Plenty of tuk-tuks ply the streets of Pakse, although you will need to haggle. On a shared ride reckon to pay about 50¢ to most places around town. You can rent step-through motorcycles at many hotels, restaurants, and travel agents around the central area along Rte. 13. The price is about $10 and some machines are certainly better than others. The Lankham hotel also has a few 250cc dirt bikes if you want something more serious. They cost $25 per day. If you want to travel engineless, bicycles are also available along the same drag for $1 a day (the ones at the Sang Aroun Hotel look good and they have gears). The Lao Chaleun hotel rents a minivan with a driver for $100 a day, which works if there are several of you. VISITOR INFORMATION & TOURS Pretty much all hotels and guesthouses have an affiliated travel agency on-site and they all run similar tours. Good travel agents dealing with tours in the south include: GREEN DISCOVERY (Unit 47, 13 Rd. 13; & 031/252-908; www.greendiscoverylaos. com) runs a host of activity and sightseeing tours of all kinds around southern Laos. The staff is friendly and helpful and their English is good. REMOTE ASIA (Rte. 13 Km 4, Vientiane; & 020/202-2139; www.remoteasia.com). Remote Asia is based in Vientiane but runs a whole variety of motorcycle and adventure tours around southern Laos, which you can book in advance online. They can offer you standard itineraries or you can be in touch with them by e-mail before your trip and they will assemble something individual for your needs. XPLORE-ASIA (129 Rd. 13; & 031/212-893; wwwxplore-asia.com) can show you everything in the vicinity. For coffee aficionados they have a special coffee tour up on the Bolaven Plateau. You won’t only drink it—you will see how it is created and meet the villagers who make their living producing it. DIETHELM TRAVEL (Thaluang Rd. opposite the Thaluang Hotel on the road running parallel to Rd. 13 btw. Rd. 13 and the Se Don River; & 031/212-596; www.diethelm travel.com). This upmarket travel agency has a small Pakse branch.
DINING Delta Coffee Shop and Restaurant 12 Jasmine Restaurant 1 Ketmany Restaurant 6 Le Panorama 10 Nazim Restaurant 2 Phoypailin Minimart 4 Pizza Boy 7 XuanMai 9 ACCOMMODATIONS Champasak Grand Hotel 16 Champasak Palace Hotel 13 Pakse Hotel 10 Sabaidy 2 5 Sala Champa 8 Sang Aroun Hotel 3 5 Sedone River 3 1 13 6 4 No. No. 13 13 South South Rd. Rd. 2 7 12 Wat Wat Luang Luang Wat Wat Phabat Phabat 8 10 10 No. No. 46 46 Rd. Rd. 9 1/10 mi 0 Rd. Rd. 13 13 South No. 38 38 Rd. 11 N 0 0.10 km No. No. 1 1 Rd. Rd. 14 No. No. 10 10 Rd. 11 11 Rd. Rd. No. No. Pakse Pakse Hospital Hospital No. No. 42 42 Rd. Rd. Governor’s Governor’s Office Office Boat Boat Dock Dock 15 Mekong River ATTRACTIONS Champasak Historical Heritage Museum 14 Pakse 16 Bank Hospital Information Taxi Stand SHOPPING Champasak Plaza Shopping Center 11 Market 15 309 SOUTHERN LAOS 15 PAKSE
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Cambodia & Laos
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Cambodia & Laos by Daniel White 1st
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CONTENTS LIST OF MAPS vii 1 THE BES
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8 SOUTHERN CAMBODIA 152 1 Sihanoukv
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LIST OF MAPS The Best Small Towns,
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HOW TO CONTACT US In researching th
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The Best of Cambodia & Laos The cou
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the world’s most rewarding journe
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MYANMAR Muang Sing (BURMA) Luang Na
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7 BEST TEMPLES & WATS • Angkor Wa
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Cambodia in Depth If ever a country
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Phnom Penh (see p. 83 for more on t
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was Mahayana, not part of the Thera
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keep Cambodia neutral in the confli
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Rouge leaders will be prompted to s
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As Hun Sen darkly quipped years lat
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place largely without violence, Cam
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high-rise residential developments
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5 CAMBODIA IN POPULAR CULTURE RECOM
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Wherever you are, stick only to bot
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Planning Your Trip to Cambodia With
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Bonn Pchum Ben. During this period,
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3 GETTING THERE & GETTING AROUND GE
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spend the night in Poipet, but this
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can be cold due to excessive air-co
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Come Armed with Singles We recommen
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the malarial mosquitoes are at thei
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are riding on a motorcycle, keep yo
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cater to travelers with disabilitie
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General Resources for Green Travel
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INTERNET In Cambodia, where you fin
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0 0 50 km 50 mi N Phumi Samraong Pr
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2 THE BEST OF LAOS IN 1 WEEK Althou
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Pak Lai Gulf of Thailand Mekong Mek
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Sao Market to shop for special Lao
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Founded in the mid-14th century by
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The Tonle Sap: The Heart of a Natio
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2 WHERE TO STAY There is a huge cho
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Mao Zedong Blvd. onireth Blvd. (217
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No. 227 St. 19. & 023/222-280. www.
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Hotel Scandinavia This relaxed offe
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Inexpensive Capitol Guesthouse The
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Mao Zedong Blvd. onireth Blvd. (217
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Phnom Penh’s Much-Loved Pachyderm
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completely punitive. They also have
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Le Jardin Café WESTERN As its name
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ao Zedong Blvd. onireth Blvd. (217)
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The Khmer Rouge on Trial As this bo
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SWIMMING & FITNESS Many top hotels
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5 DAY TRIPS OUTSIDE PHNOM PENH OUDO
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(& 023/211-534) and carries a simil
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The excellent Sovanna Phum Art Asso
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The ruins of the ancient city of An
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1 Airport (8 km) Siem Reap Phnom Pe
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10% VAT. Budget travelers are also
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Vithei Charles de Gaulle, Khum Svay
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combo and sinks set in unique overs
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fan). The courtyard area is a pictu
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Mandalay Inn One of the first thing
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NIGHTLIFE Angkor What? 28 Dead Fish
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Shinta Mani INTERNATIONAL Shinta Ma
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Taj Mahal NORTHERN INDIAN It has be
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Some Guidelines When Visiting Angko
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0 1st Level Vishnu’s victory over
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To To To Banteay Banteay Banteay Sr
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The Magic Hours at Angkor Wat The s
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Enter the temple from the west, the
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Westerners until a French researche
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Body Tune Spa, in the very heart of
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Colors of Cambodia Here’s a fun o
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A Dance for the Divine The royal cl
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APSARA DANCE Having spent the day l
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Battambang & Northern Cambodia From
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0 0 0.25 km 2 DINING Bus Stop 10 Th
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either a car with a driver or a mot
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pleasant indeed with casual but sma
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its relaxed, open-air charm. The ty
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into a trip back on a small metal-a
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a mix of traditional Khmer ballads
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The Spiders of Skuon In the town of
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$10 but can be more during high sea
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all over by 10am. The Reclining Bud
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1 3 4 2 5 7 6 8 10 8 11 12 9 15 14
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Ochheuteal Beach to Victory Beach c
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Beach Road Hotel Covering both the
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Koh Rong Beach. & 016/214-211. www.
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Snakehouse INTERNATIONAL Here’s a
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Cooking Courses If you want to lear
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ACCOMMODATIONS Champa Koh Kong Gues
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can take a motorcycle or car into t
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New Bridge Kampot 1 2 Prek Kampong
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also a more straightforward house w
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and a turnoff to a small waterfall
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Information Post Office 3 2 Kep Bea
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WHERE TO DINE All the hotels and gu
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part in Lao culture; arguments are
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forces captured and sacked Xiang Do
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1950, an offshoot of pro-Vietminh I
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CCHINA H I N A MYANMAR Muang Sing (
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visited places such as Savannakhet,
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There have been some tensions along
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Water in restaurants is safe to dri
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LAOS CALENDAR OF EVENTS For an exha
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2 ENTRY REQUIREMENTS PASSPORTS A pa
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A simple river crossing connects Th
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will help your blood pressure to pl
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able to organize a car and driver f
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Although levels of HIV/AIDS are, at
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Prabang and Vientiane are geared mo
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monsoon forest, diverse wildlife po
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Telephone Dialing at a Glance • T
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also plenty of other shops and bout
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expensive. You will see them lined
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1/4 mile 0 L A O S L A O S 0 0.25 k
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MODERATE Asian Pavilion Hotel Forme
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Riverine Hotel This old colonial vi
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37-01 Nokeo Khoummane Rd. & 021/262
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1/4 mile 0 26 0 0.25 km Khoua Khoua
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favorites from home. They have subm
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Vientiane’s Street Fare The busy
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35 1/4 mile 0 4 34 0 0.25 km Khoua
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Wat Ong Teu Mahawihan Wat Ong Teu i
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start start 11 Khoua Khoua Luang Lu
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Organized Tours Most hotels, guesth
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Dokkhoun Handicrafts Mainly special
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has closed, going on until 2am in p
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ead in cafes and bakeries. You will
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GETTING THERE Vang Vieng is a smoot
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18 17 16 1 Bus Station Hospital Pos
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Vang Vieng Orchid This is an excell
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20m (66 ft.) from the main junction
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The Amazing Mountain Journey to Lua
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20 L A O S L A O S Luang Prabang Vi
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The Fate of the King Savang or Sisa
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Page 277 and 278: L A O S L A O S Luang Prabang Vient
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Page 281 and 282: 75/76 Ban Xieng Mouane. & 071/212-2
Page 283 and 284: 0 0 0.25 km 27 Old Stadium Phou Pho
Page 285 and 286: where a shrine of the royal spirit
Page 287 and 288: Make Merit Picture Sunday Mass at a
Page 289 and 290: during the reign of Sam Saen Thai.
Page 291 and 292: Its name translates as “golden ci
Page 293 and 294: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Mount Phousi Wat Pua
Page 295 and 296: SHOPPING The central area of Luang
Page 297 and 298: Banks & Currency Exchange The Bank
Page 299 and 300: If you go by road it takes about 3
Page 301 and 302: with Western-style toilets and hot
Page 303 and 304: 6 PAKBENG If you are taking the slo
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Page 309 and 310: Central Laos is rarely at the top o
Page 311 and 312: L A O S Vientiane Savannakhet 4 3 S
Page 313 and 314: Dinosaurs in Laos Quite strangely,
Page 315 and 316: ACCOMMODATIONS Hotel Riveria 1 Inth
Page 317 and 318: Souksomboun Hotel This hotel is sim
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Page 323 and 324: Champasak Palace Hotel This hotel w
Page 325 and 326: More Choice Eats in Pakse There are
Page 327 and 328: WHERE TO STAY & DINE In Champasak,
Page 329 and 330: (snake) Kaliya, the god Indra ridin
Page 331 and 332: Getting There Boats leave Ban Nakas
Page 333 and 334: Fast Facts 1 FAST FACTS: CAMBODIA A
Page 335 and 336: There is no Canadian Embassy in Lao
Page 337 and 338: Khmer & Lao Glossary 1 THE KHMER LA
Page 339 and 340: HOTEL English Khmer Do you have any
Page 341 and 342: English Lao Call a doctor Toh-ha ta
Page 343 and 344: GENERAL INDEX AARP, 43, 204 Accommo
Page 345 and 346: Food stores and markets, Vientiane,
Page 347 and 348: Pak Ou Caves, 280 Pakse, 307-314 Pa
Page 349 and 350: Tham Chang (near Vang Vieng), 250 T
Page 351 and 352: Pavillon Indochine (Siem Reap), 102
Page 353 and 354: The Red Piano (Siem Reap), 108 Red
Page 355 and 356: MYANMAR MMYANMAR Y A N M A R (BURMA
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The Best of Cambodia & Laos

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