Around Savanakhet

Compare a map of present-day Savanakhet to one from France's colonial heyday and it becomes apparent how little things have changed in the last seventy-odd years. The town square, from which distances to other parts of the province are still measured, was the heart of the French settlement. Lots located on roads surrounding the square were reserved for the villas of French official and shop-houses of Vietnamese merchants, Yet only 1km or 2km away from this basition of French civilization, the paved roads became dirt paths meandering through tradition Laos villages which were largely unaffected by French rule and remain culturally pristine to this day.

That Ing Hang

That Ing Hang is a much revered Buddhist stupa, hust outside Savanakhet and easily reached by bicycle or motorcycle. Follow Route 13 north for 13km until you see a sign on the right and follow this road for a further 3km. The stupa is best visited during its annual festival in Feb and can be a bit of a let-down during the rest of the year, when the place is deserted, save for the occasional tour froup of pilgrims from Thailand. The stucco work which covers the stupa is crude yet appealing, especially the whimsical rosettes which dot the uppermost spire.

South of Savanakhet

Around 70km south of Savanakhet lie two sites of some historical significance - That Phon and Huan Hin. However, they are very difficult to reach, unless you hire a vehicle, which in these parts doesn't come cheap. Huan Hin can also be reached by hired boat when the Mekong is high enough, the journey taking three to four hours, but beacause paasengers are few and far between and boatmen see it as being a long way from home, it costs as much as, if not more than, hiring a van.

In spite of its remote location, That Phon is one of the most scare stupas in Laos. The whitewashed brick and stuco structure looks a little like a Khmer-style stupa, with a bell-shaped peak. It is said to date from the sixteenth century, but has been restored numerous times.

Xepon
A picturesque village in the foothills of the Annamite Mountains, 40km from the Vietnamese border, Xepon is a pleasant feral stopover for those in transit on the route to Vietnamese or Savannakhet. Cows and water buffalo meander along red dirt roads, pausing to graze in the field that separate the village’s wooden homes and flame trees add a splash of fire to the misty green hills surrounding the settlement. To look at the crumbling, custard-colored school building, perched on a hill overlooking the market, you’d think Xepon was much older than it is. In fact, the old town of Xepon was obliterated during the war – along with every house in the district’s two hundred villages – and was later rebuilt here 6km west if its original location, on the opposite bank of the Xe Banghian river.
 

East to Ban Dong

Heading east out of Xepon, you’ll cross a Russian badge, built to replace the destroyed French one, the shrapnel-riddled remains of which lie in the river below. The highway gradually climbs through the foothills of the Annamite chain, passing bomb craters – offend obscured by brush – and unexploded ordnance, dragged to the roadside by villagers clearing their land. Women squat by the road with their intricately woven baskets selling bamboo shoots – a local specialty. The area’s abundant bamboo crop is in fact partially a by-product of the spraying of defoliants by America forces who hopes to expose the arteries of the Ho Chi Minh Trial: hardly bamboo is quick to take root in areas of deforestation, whether it is caused by widen agriculture of chemical defoliants.
 

Dean Sawan and the Lao Bao border
The road quality takes a dive east of Ban Dong. Gaping potholes and long stretches of dirt slow vehicles as they make the final push to the border pass at Lao Bao, cutting through ethnic minority and past bomb craters obscured by thick vegetation. Route 9 ends its journey through Laos in Dean Sawan, a small village which is more tourist-friendly than most remote border towns. Travelers caught on the wrong side of a visa tussle with Vietnamese immigration officials can take refuge at the aptly named Friendly guest house, which has utilitarian rooms with shared bathroom and a helpful owner who speaks fairly goose English.