I posted a long article on another board soon after my visit to Laos in November2009. I've copied the relevant parts here. It's part my own experience and part what I'd like to do in the future as regards seeing more of what Laos has to offer, so hopefully it will enthuse others as well. Apologies that a large chunk is just quoting from travel sites or magazines (I cannot remember what my sources were).On my future travel plans I have had the Lao town of Pakse on my mind. It's right across the Mekong from Ubon. I've read that there's a direct bus from the Ubon bus station that can take you there. I think you have to have a Lao visa first. I've not worked out the deatails yet. Anyone been there?
During my recent trip to Thailand I arrived at Suvarnabhumi airport having booked a 50day stay, knowing the 30day entry stamp would need topping up at some stage. (NB. You are not supposed to do that, you need to be able to show a ticket out of the country within the 30 day limit, don't do what I did!). I thought I would extend my permitted stay in Thailand by visiting Laos or Cambodia. In the end I decided on Laos.
I had been to Laos twice before, the last occasion being about 5 years ago. Previously I had been to Vientiane, the capital, and then headed north. Both previous trips had taken me to Luang Prabang, via Van Vieng, then from there the 2 day journey by boat down the Mekong river, arriving back into northern Thailand. On this occasion I decided to head south. This would enable me to pass back into Thailand easily, and had the advantage that transport from there to Surin, my destination, was good. My companion was my then Thai bf.
The Lao currency is the kip. There are about 8,500 kip to the US$ and 250 kip to the baht. All three currencies are in common usage, and there are ATM's in Vientiane that dispense kip using your bank's debit/credit cards such as Visa (but apparently there are none outside the capital!). The smallest note in circulation is 500 kip, so that's about 2 baht. The largest note is 50,000 kip, equivalent to 200 baht. There are no coins.
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I've omitted my time in the capital Vientiane as most people visiting Laos are familiar with it.
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Pakse
We reached Pakse early in the morning, soon after 6 am, and by the time we'd got a motorised rickshaw into town and our hotel had cleared a free room it was gone 8.30am. Rooms at the Pakse Hotel were US$38 (breakfast included) for one with a window, less for one with only an internal one. We went for one with a window! I don't think there's very much to see or do in Pakse, it seems to be the sort of place you go to en route to somewhere else. That somewhere else for us was back to Thailand, but if I went again I would budget maybe a week to visit all the places easily accessible from Pakse. The French manager of the hotel was a mine of information - alas, due to time constraints I was unable to explore the area.
So, here is a little taster of what to expect, hopefully to tempt me back.
With a population of 70,000 people, Pakse is the capital of Champasak province and the main gateway in Southern Laos, and gives access to the Boloven plateau to the east and to the Si Phan Don region to the south. Since the construction of a bridge over the Mekong (built with Japanese aid), which improves the traffic flow to Ubon Ratchathani in neighbouring Thailand, Pakse has become the commercial centre of southern Laos
The Champasak province is one of the most visited areas in southern Laos, with a number of attractions ranging from the Khmer sites of Wat Phu and Um Muang, the Bolaven plateau, a highland area with plantations, waterfalls and lots of scenery and the 4000 islands region to the south.
Champasak lies on the western bank of the Mekong river, while the main route to the south (route 13) is on the eastern side. As of now there was no bridge yet connecting Champasak with route 13, and the only way to get to Champasak is by ferry, but I was told a bridge is under construction.
In the extreme south of Laos the Mekong river breaks down into a myriad of arms and channels, which surround countless islands and islets. This region is called "Si Phan Don", which in Lao means "4000 islands". In the area there is a small population of Irrawaddy (river) dolphins. The entire area is very scenic and attracts a large number of tourists, but navigation by ships becomes impossible, especially because the river passes through the Khon Phapheng waterfalls. This is why the French built a railway to bypass this region for the transportation of goods. The major islands, the ones with the best tourist infrastructure and which attract most of the tourists, are Don Khong (the largest and most developed) and the Don Khon and Don Det islands further to the south, which are less developed.
I had hoped to take a day excursion into the Boloven plateau, but it didn't work out. The area boasts tea plantations, coffee producers, several waterfalls, ethnic villages and markets, and, I would imagine as the plateau rises to over 1,500 metres above sea level, many fine views.
Enough of that, back to what actually happened.
Two buses a day leave from the bus station in Pakse for Ubon Ratchathani. Those wishing to travel onto Bangkok can buy a through ticket in Pakse and change buses in Ubon. The bus stops at the Lao border where you get your exit visa then walk across to the Thai immigration in Chong Mek where you receive a 15 day entry visa. From there the bus is waiting to take you on to Ubon. We decided to stay in Ubon that evening, finally catching the bus to Surin the next morning.
To answer Trongpai's query re Lao visa, I would hope, and that's just an educated guess, that you could get it at the border post, the one referred to above.
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