The Best of Cambodia & Laos

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iv CONTENTS CAMBODIA & LAOS 4 SUGGESTED CAMBODIA & LAOS ITINERARIES 50 1 The Best of Cambodia in 1 Week . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50 2 The Best of Laos in 1 Week . . . . . . . .53 3 The Best of Cambodia & Laos in 3 Weeks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54 5 PHNOM PENH 59 1 Orientation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59 The Tonle Sap: The Heart of a Nation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61 2 Where to Stay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63 3 Where to Dine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71 Phnom Penh’s Much-Loved Pachyderm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75 4 Phnom Penh Attractions . . . . . . . . . .80 The Khmer Rouge on Trial . . . . . . . . . .83 Unwinding (and Helping Out) with a Blind Massage . . . . . . . . . . . . . .86 5 Day Trips Outside Phnom Penh . . .87 6 Shopping & Galleries. . . . . . . . . . . . . .87 Munitions into Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88 7 Nightlife . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89 Heart of Darkness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90 Fast Facts: Phnom Penh . . . . . . . . . . . .91 6 SIEM REAP 93 1 Orientation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .94 Give of “Yourself” in Siem Reap. . . . . .96 2 Where to Stay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .96 3 Where to Dine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 4 Siem Reap Attractions. . . . . . . . . . . 112 Some Guidelines When Visiting Angkor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 The Magic Hours at Angkor Wat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 “Get High” at Angkor. . . . . . . . . . . . . 120 5 Shopping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126 6 Nightlife . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 A Dance for the Divine . . . . . . . . . . . 129 The Remote Temple of Preah Vihear. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 Fast Facts: Siem Reap. . . . . . . . . . . . . 131 7 BATTAMBANG & NORTHERN CAMBODIA 133 1 Battambang . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 An Evil Harvest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136 Fast Facts: Battambang . . . . . . . . . . 137 Food Stalls by the Riverside . . . . . . . 142 2 Kompong Chhnang. . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 Fast Facts: Kompong Chhnang . . . 145 3 Kratie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146 Fast Facts: Kratie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146 The Spiders of Skuon . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147 4 Ratanakiri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148 Fast Facts: Banlung . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 Exploring Mondulkiri . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
8 SOUTHERN CAMBODIA 152 1 Sihanoukville. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152 Fast Facts: Sihanoukville. . . . . . . . . . 155 2 Koh Kong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164 Fast Facts: Koh Kong . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165 3 Kampot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167 Fast Facts: Kampot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169 4 Kep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174 Feasting in Kep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174 Fast Facts: Kep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175 9 LAOS IN DEPTH 178 1 Laos Today . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179 2 Looking Back. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180 3 Lay of the Land . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186 4 Art & Architecture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186 5 A Patchwork of Ethnicity . . . . . . . . 188 6 Laos in Popular Culture . . . . . . . . . 189 7 Eating & Drinking in Laos. . . . . . . . 190 8 Etiquette. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191 10 PLANNING YOUR TRIP TO LAOS 192 1 When to Go. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192 Laos Calendar of Events . . . . . . . . . . 193 2 Entry Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195 3 Getting There & Getting Around . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196 Speedier but Scarier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 4 Money & Costs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201 5 Health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202 6 Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203 7 Specialized Travel Resources . . . . 204 8 Sustainable Tourism. . . . . . . . . . . . . 206 Sustainable Travel Tips for Laos . . . 206 9 Active Travelers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207 10 Escorted General-Interest Tours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208 1 1 Staying Connected. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208 Telephone Dialing at a Glance . . . . 209 11 VIENTIANE 210 1 Vientiane Essentials . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210 2 Where to Stay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213 3 Where to Dine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221 4 Vientiane Attractions . . . . . . . . . . . . 227 Walking Tour: Vientiane . . . . . . . . . . 232 5 Shopping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235 6 Nightlife . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237 Fast Facts: Vientiane. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239 12 VANG VIENG & SURROUNDING AREA 242 1 Vang Vieng Essentials . . . . . . . . . . . 242 Fast Facts: Vang Vieng. . . . . . . . . . . . 243 2 Where to Stay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244 3 Where to Dine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247 4 Nightlife . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248 5 Attractions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249 CAMBODIA & LAOS CONTENTS v
Page 1 and 2: Cambodia & Laos
Page 3 and 4: Cambodia & Laos by Daniel White 1st
Page 5: CONTENTS LIST OF MAPS vii 1 THE BES
Page 9 and 10: LIST OF MAPS The Best Small Towns,
Page 11 and 12: HOW TO CONTACT US In researching th
Page 13 and 14: The Best of Cambodia & Laos The cou
Page 15 and 16: the world’s most rewarding journe
Page 17 and 18: MYANMAR Muang Sing (BURMA) Luang Na
Page 19 and 20: 7 BEST TEMPLES & WATS • Angkor Wa
Page 21 and 22: Cambodia in Depth If ever a country
Page 23 and 24: Phnom Penh (see p. 83 for more on t
Page 25 and 26: was Mahayana, not part of the Thera
Page 27 and 28: keep Cambodia neutral in the confli
Page 29 and 30: Rouge leaders will be prompted to s
Page 31 and 32: As Hun Sen darkly quipped years lat
Page 33 and 34: place largely without violence, Cam
Page 35 and 36: high-rise residential developments
Page 37 and 38: 5 CAMBODIA IN POPULAR CULTURE RECOM
Page 39 and 40: Wherever you are, stick only to bot
Page 41 and 42: Planning Your Trip to Cambodia With
Page 43 and 44: Bonn Pchum Ben. During this period,
Page 45 and 46: 3 GETTING THERE & GETTING AROUND GE
Page 47 and 48: spend the night in Poipet, but this
Page 49 and 50: can be cold due to excessive air-co
Page 51 and 52: Come Armed with Singles We recommen
Page 53 and 54: the malarial mosquitoes are at thei
Page 55 and 56: are riding on a motorcycle, keep yo
Page 57 and 58:
cater to travelers with disabilitie
Page 59 and 60:
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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Lao Speedboat Risks Alternatively y
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wood floors, and fashionable room d
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lush rice paddies and picturesque h
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great riverside location, although
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L A O S L A O S Luang Prabang Vient
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Lao-style crème brûlée, a custar
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75/76 Ban Xieng Mouane. & 071/212-2
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0 0 0.25 km 27 Old Stadium Phou Pho
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where a shrine of the royal spirit
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Make Merit Picture Sunday Mass at a
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during the reign of Sam Saen Thai.
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Its name translates as “golden ci
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Mount Phousi Wat Pua
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SHOPPING The central area of Luang
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Banks & Currency Exchange The Bank
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If you go by road it takes about 3
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with Western-style toilets and hot
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6 PAKBENG If you are taking the slo
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next to the post office. The airpor
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containing an oxygen generator in c
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Central Laos is rarely at the top o
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L A O S Vientiane Savannakhet 4 3 S
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Dinosaurs in Laos Quite strangely,
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ACCOMMODATIONS Hotel Riveria 1 Inth
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Souksomboun Hotel This hotel is sim
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Southern Laos Southern Laos is ofte
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DINING Delta Coffee Shop and Restau
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Champasak Palace Hotel This hotel w
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More Choice Eats in Pakse There are
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WHERE TO STAY & DINE In Champasak,
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(snake) Kaliya, the god Indra ridin
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Getting There Boats leave Ban Nakas
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Fast Facts 1 FAST FACTS: CAMBODIA A
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There is no Canadian Embassy in Lao
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Khmer & Lao Glossary 1 THE KHMER LA
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HOTEL English Khmer Do you have any
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English Lao Call a doctor Toh-ha ta
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GENERAL INDEX AARP, 43, 204 Accommo
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Food stores and markets, Vientiane,
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Pak Ou Caves, 280 Pakse, 307-314 Pa
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Tham Chang (near Vang Vieng), 250 T
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Pavillon Indochine (Siem Reap), 102
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The Red Piano (Siem Reap), 108 Red
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MYANMAR MMYANMAR Y A N M A R (BURMA
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