Author: Lonely Planet
Category: Nonfiction
Go to read content：https://onlinereadfreenovel.com/lonely-planet/page,11,460391-lonely_planet_laos.html
Anoulack Khen Lao HotelHOTEL$$
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %061-213599; www.anoulackkhenlaohotel.com; Main St; r incl breakfast 200,000K; aW)
This glass Lego tower has easily the best rooms in town, with wood floors, thick mattresses, white linen, cable TV, fridges, kettles and swish hot-water en suites. There's a great restaurant on the 5th floor where you can take breakfast and use the wi-fi. Conveniently the hotel also has a lift. Worth the extra spend.
Around Town
Hillside ResidenceHOTEL$$
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %061-213300; www.thehillsideresidence.com; Ban Tai; r incl breakfast US$30; W)
Set in a lush little garden, this replica half-timbered mansion looks like it belongs in a colonial-era hill town. Rooms are petite but attractive with all the trimmings, including blankets for the cool season. However, the beds are pretty hard. There's a shared upper sitting terrace and some upstairs rooms have their own balconies. Free wi-fi, and a lovely owner.
Vansana Plain of Jars HotelHOTEL$$
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %061-213170; www.vansanahotel-group.com; r 400,000-500,000K)
Opulent by Phonsavan standards, this grand hotel built in 2004 occupies its own small summit above town. Large, comfortable rooms have plush carpeting, aged TVs, minibars, tasteful decor and big tubs in the bathrooms. Each also has a small balcony with great views over town. The place is a little tired and in need of a shot in the arm, however.
Maly HotelHOTEL$$
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %061-312031; www.malyhotel.com; r incl breakfast US$25-60; aiW)
OK, so it's 15 minutes' walk or 20,000K in a tuk-tuk to the town centre; however, tangerine-coloured Maly excels, with wood beams and candlelit ambience. Rooms include weary en suites, TVs, hot water and Lao textiles. Room 8 is a spacious corner suite at the top of the range. Helpful staff, and a decent breakfast.
5Eating & Drinking
Wild matsutake mushrooms (hét wâi) and fermented swallows (nok ąen dąwng) are local specialties; try the fresh food market. In case you want to avoid an unpleasant surprise, note that several Vietnamese restaurants serve dog (thit chó).
Nisha RestaurantINDIAN$
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Rte 7; meals 20,000-30,000K; h7am-10pm; Wv)
Cream-interiored Nisha is tidy and simple but the real colour is found in its excellent cuisine. The menu includes all the usual suspects like tikka masala and rogan josh, curries and a wide range of vegetarian options. However, it's the perfect application of spice and the freshness of the food that'll keep you coming back.
Fresh Food MarketMARKET$
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; h6am-5pm)
This market stocks exotic fruits you won't typically see elsewhere in Laos, such as Chinese pear. Other local delicacies include nok ąen dąwng (swallows stored whole in jars until they ferment) and hét wâi (wild matsutake mushrooms), which grow around Xieng Khuang and fetch high prices in Japan. Bring your camera.
Sanga RestaurantLAOTIAN$
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Rte 7; mains 15,000-30,000K; h11am-10pm)
The venue is a bland box of a front room but the meals are unexpectedly accomplished for such sensible prices. The chicken láhp (minced pork salad with shallots and coriander) is especially tasty and the steak and chips is a popular bargain at 30,000K.
oLao Falang RestaurantITALIAN$$
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %020-5546868; mains 50,000-70,000K; h7am-4pm & 5-10.30pm; aWv)
Sister of Lao Falang Travel Service, this spacious, stylish and impeccably clean Italian restaurant is run by a friendly Genoese man who speaks four languages. Highly recommended for alchemising sirloin steak, lamb and giant prawns into various delicious incarnations, plus its handmade pasta (carbonara and bolognese), thin-based pizza and homemade ice cream. Great wine choices, too.
Bamboozle Restaurant & BarINTERNATIONAL$$
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %030-9523913; Rte 7; meals 25,000-52,000K; h7-10.30am & 3.30-10.30pm, kitchen closes 9pm; W)S
True to its name, with bamboo walls plus pretty lanterns strung from its ceiling, Bamboozle dishes up thin-crust pizza, salads, pasta dishes, good-sized cheeseburgers and terrific Lao cuisine. Add to this chilled beers and a rock-and-roll soundtrack and it's a winner. A percentage of the profits goes towards the Lone Buffalo Foundation (www.facebook.com/lonebuffalo), which supports the town's youth.
Cranky-T Café & BarFUSION$$$
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %061-213263, 020-55504677; www.facebook.com/CrankyTLaos; Main St; mains 35,000-130,000K; h7am-11pm, food served 5-9pm, happy hour 4-7pm; aW)
Cranky-Ts has a stylish red-wine-coloured and exposed-brick interior, with the eponymous owner creating mouth-watering salads, sashimi, smoked-salmon crêpes and hearty fare like NZ sirloin with mash to fill you up after trekking the jar sites. Add to this cinnamon muffins, brownie cheesecake and a good selection of cocktails (35,000K), and you may spend all day here.
BarviewBAR
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; h8am-11pm)
Try this simple shack for sunset beers over the rice-paddy fields. Locals gather here to play guitars and munch on barbecued meat.
8Information
Dangers & Annoyances
Don't underestimate the dangers of unexploded ordnance (UXO) in this most heavily bombed of provinces.
Internet Access
Wi-fi is commonly available at accommodation and eating spots.
Medical Services
Lao-Mongolian Friendship Hospital ( GOOGLE MAP ; %061-312166) May be able to assist with minor health concerns.
Money
Currency exchange is available at Lao Development Bank ( GOOGLE MAP ; %061-312188; h8.30am-3.30pm Mon-Fri), at BCEL ( GOOGLE MAP ; %061-213291; Rte 7; h8.30am-3.30pm Mon-Fri) and from several travel agents. There are two ATMs along Rte 7.
Post
Post Office ( GOOGLE MAP ; h8am-4pm Mon-Fri, to noon Sat) Also has a domestic phone service.
Tourist Information
Xieng Khuang Tourist Office ( GOOGLE MAP ; %020-22340201, 061-312217; www.xiengkhouangtourism.com; Hwy 1E; h8am-4pm) While impractically located in the middle of nowhere (on the road to the airport), this helpful office has English-speaking staff, brochures and souvenirs recycled from war junk. Free maps for Phonsavan and Xieng Khuang district are available. Also, keep an eye out for its free photocopied sheet entitled 'What Do I Do Around Phonesavanh Town', for alternative ideas on things to do aside from the jar sites.
8Getting There & Away
Airline and bus timetables usually call Phonsavan 'Xieng Khuang', even though that was originally the name for Muang Khoun.
Air
Lao Airlines ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %061-212027; www.laoairlines.com) has daily flights to/from Vientiane (US$63). Sometimes a weekly flight to/from Luang Prabang operates in peak season.
Bus
International & Long Distance Buses
Longer-distance bus tickets presold by travel agencies typically cost around 40,000K more than standard fares but include a transfer to the confusingly named Northern Bus Station ( GOOGLE MAP ; %030-5170148), located 4km west of the centre, also sometimes known as the Provincial Bus Station. From here Vietnam-bound buses depart to Vinh (150,000K, 11 hours) at 6.30am on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday, continuing seasonally on Mondays to Hanoi (320,000K). For Vientiane (110,000K, 11 hours) there are air-con buses at 7.30am, 8.30am, 10.30am, 4.30pm, 6.30pm and a VIP bus (130,000K) at 8.30pm. These all pass through Vang Vieng, to where there's an additional 7.30am departure (95,000K). The sleeper here (150,000K) leaves at 8pm. For Luang Prabang (10 hours) both minivans (95,000K) and VIP buses (120,000K) depart at 8.30am and 6.30pm. There's an 8am bus to Sam Neua (80,000K, eight to 10 hours) and a 6pm sleeper (100,000K), plus two Vientiane–Sam Neua buses passing through. A 7.30am bus is timetabled to Paksan (100,000K, 10 hours) on the new road.
The Southern (Bounmixay) Bus Station (Highway 1D), 4km south of town, has a 6am bus (four days a week) to Savannakhet (150,000K) that continues on to Pakse (180,000K). Buses to Paksan (100,000K, eight hours) via the newly complete
d road depart daily at 6.30am and 8am.
Phoukham Minibus and Bus Station ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %020-99947072; Th Xaysana; h7am-8pm) in the east-central side of town has minibuses leaving at 8.30am for Luang Prabang (110,000K) and Vang Vieng (100,000K), with 6.30am, 8am and 5pm minibuses for Vientiane (110,000K). There's also a VIP bus for Vientiane (130,000K) leaving from here at 7.30pm.
Local Services
Local buses and sŏrngtăaou use the Old Bus Station ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ); destinations include Muang Khoun (20,000K, hourly), Muang Kham (25,000K, two hours, hourly) and Nong Haet (35,000K, four hours, four daily).
8Getting Around
Tuk-tuks, if and when you can find them, cost from 15,000K for a short hop to about 30,000K to the airport. Lao Falang Restaurant rents bicycles (40,000K per day) and 100cc motorbikes (100,000K), ideal for reaching a selection of jar sites. It also has some Chinese quad bikes (160,000K) if you're feeling brave. Fill up at the petrol station ( GOOGLE MAP ) in town.
Chauffeured six-seater vans or 4WDs can be chartered through most guesthouses and hotels; you're looking at US$150 to Sam Neua or US$120 to Luang Prabang.
Around Phonsavan
Plain of Jars ທົ່ງໄຫຫິນ
Mysterious giant stone jars of unknown ancient origin are scattered over hundreds of hilly square kilometres around Phonsavan, giving the area the misleading name of Plain of Jars (ທົ່ງໄຫຫິນ). Remarkably, nobody knows which civilisation created them, although archaeologists estimate they date from the Southeast Asian iron age (500 BC to AD 200).
Smaller jars have long since been carted off by collectors but around 2500 larger jars, jar fragments and 'lids' remain. As the region was carpet-bombed throughout the Indochina wars, it's miraculous that so many artefacts survived. Only a handful of the 90 recorded jar sites have so far been cleared of unexploded ordnance (UXO), and then only within relatively limited areas. These sites, and their access paths, are delineated by easily missed red-and-white marker stones: remain vigilant.
Sites 1, 2 and 3 form the bases of most tour loops.
1Sights
While the jars at Sites 2 and 3 aren't as large or as plentiful as at Site 1, they have their own charm. Set in very different locations, the journey to reach them offers glimpses of some typical local villages.
Jar Site 1ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE
(Thong Hai Hin; 15,000K)
The biggest and most easily accessible, Site 1 of the Plain of Jars features over 300 jars relatively close-packed on a pair of hilly slopes pocked with bomb craters. The biggest, Hai Jeuam, weighs around 6 tonnes, stands more than 2.5m high and is said to have been the mythical victory cup of Khun Jeuam. The bare, hilly landscape is appealing, although in one direction the views of Phonsavan airport seem discordant. There is a small cafe, a gift shop and toilets near the entrance.
Jar Site 2ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE
(Hai Hin Phu Salato; 10,000K)
Site 2 of the Plain of Jars is a pair of hillocks divided by a shallow gully that forms the access lane. This rises 700m from the ticket desk in what becomes a muddy slither in wet conditions. To the left in thin woodlands, look for a cracked stone urn through which a tree has managed to grow. To the right another set of jars sits on a grassy knoll with panoramas of layered hills, paddies and cow fields. It's very atmospheric.
Jar Site 3ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE
(Hai Hin Lat Khai; 10,000K)
The 150-jar Site 3 of the Plain of Jars sits on a scenic hillside in pretty woodland near Ban Lat Khai village. The access road to Lat Khai leads east beside a tiny motorbike repair hut just before Ban Xiang Di (Ban Siang Dii). The ticket booth is beside a simple local restaurant that offers somewhat overpriced fĕr (rice noodles; 30,000K). The jars are accessed by a little wooden footbridge and an attractive 10-minute walk across rice fields.
PHAKEO TREK
Organised through Phonsavan agencies, the excellent two-day Phakeo trek combines many essential elements of the Xieng Khuang experience. On the long first day, hike across secondary forested mountain ridges to a three-part jar site with about 400 ancient jars and jar fragments, many moss-encrusted and shaded by foliage. The trek then descends into the roadless Hmong village of Ban Phakeo, whose shingle-roofed mud-floor homes huddle around a central rocky knoll. A purpose-built Hmong-style guest-shack provides a basic sleeping platform with space for eight hikers. There's no electricity. The next day, the hike descends into attractive semi-agricultural valleys then climbs up the cascades of a multi-terraced waterfall to arrive in the famous 'Bomb Village', which no longer has many bombs after extensive clearance work.
8Getting There & Away
All three main jar sites can be visited by rented motorbike from Phonsavan in around five hours, while Site 1 is within bicycle range. Site 1 is just 8km southwest of central Phonsavan, 2.3km west of the Muang Khoun road: turn at the signed junction in Ban Hay Hin. For Sites 2 and 3, turn west off the Muang Khoun road just past Km 8. Follow the unpaved road for 10km/14km to find the turnings for Sites 2/3, then follow muddy tracks for 1.5/1.8km respectively.
Alternatively, sign up the night before to join one of several regular guided minibus tours. Most throw in a noodle-soup lunch at Site 3 and a quick stop to see the lumpy rusting remnant of an armoured vehicle in a roadside copse at Ban Nakho: its nickname, the 'Russian Tank', exaggerates the appeal.
Muang Khoun (Old Xieng Khuang) ເມືອງຄູນ
Pop 4000 / %061
The region's ancient capital, Muang Khoun (ເມືອງຄູນ) was ravaged in the 19th century by Chinese and Vietnamese invaders, then so heavily bombarded during the Second Indochina War that by 1975 it was almost completely abandoned. However, a handful of aged monuments survived as ruins and the town slowly redeveloped, although it is very much a village in comparison to the new capital Phonsavan. It's certainly not a must-see but might be worth the detour for those staying a few days in the region.
A good asphalt road from Phonsavan (30km north) passes through some attractive rice-terrace villages, several sporting Phuan-style houses built of sturdy timbers. Buying the Muang Khoun Visitor's Ticket (10,000K; available at various sights in the area) supports ongoing maintenance efforts.
1Sights
The main historic sights are a trio of historic stupas, all walking distance from the Khoun Guesthouse. One is directly behind in the grounds of the colourfully rebuilt active monastery, Wat Si Phoum. The other two are on a facing ridge, accessed via the brick-and-mud lane that climbs opposite the guesthouse, petering out into a narrow footpath. The 1576 That Foun (also called That Chomsi) is around 25m tall and built in the Lan Xang/Lanna style. It now has a distinct lean to its spire and you can climb right through a hole that was made by 19th-century Chinese Haw marauders, who tunnelled in to loot the priceless Buddha relics enshrined within. A five-minute walk around the easy ridge track brings you to the stubbier remnants of the Cham-built 16th-century stupa That Chom Phet.
The main road continuing east swerves south just before Km 30 after Wat Phia Wat. Of Wat Phia Wat's original 1582 building just the base platform and a few brick columns survived a devastating 1966 bombing raid. But these columns photogenically frame an age-greyed, shell-shocked Buddha with a whiplash smile.
The unpaved road continuing east passes the small, very degraded Jar Site 16 after about 5km. This road becomes increasingly difficult and finally dead-ends some 12km beyond at Ban Thalin, an interesting village without any commercial facilities that's used as the starting point for the Phakeo trek.
4Sleeping & Eating
Khoun Guesthouse & RestaurantGUESTHOUSE$
(%061-212464; Rte 10, Km 29; r 50,000-90,000K; W)
Set in a garden, this is the town's sole accommodation option. The 50,000K rooms are cell-like at best but the 90,000K rooms are larger and include TV and hot water. The restaurant includes an English-language menu of Lao staples; some tour groups stop here for lunch.
8Getting There & Away
Buses to Phonsavan (
20,000K, 45 minutes) depart throughout the day. By motorbike it's possible to visit Muang Khoun plus the three main jar sites in one long day.
Sam Neua (Xam Neua) ຊຳເຫນືອ
Pop 16,000 / %064
While Sam Neua (ຊຳເຫນືອ; Xam Neua) is something of a nostalgic Soviet oddity, with its well-spaced concrete modernity, spartan communist monument and old boys with Muscovite hats, the real draw is the stunning countryside in which it sits. The town is a logical transit point for visiting nearby Vieng Xai or catching the daily bus to Vietnam, and remains one of Laos' least visited provincial capitals. Also it's at an altitude of roughly 1200m, some warm clothes are advisable in the dry winter period, at least by night and until the thick morning fog burns off. From April to October the lush landscapes are contrastingly warm and wet.
The eye-widening, photogenic produce markets here are worth visiting for the colourful ethnic diversity on display.
Sam Neua
1Sights
1Food MarketB2
2Main MarketB2