Ubon To Paske (Laos)

[dreaming]

I am thinking of taking a side trip to paske in laos when I visit Sisaket in May. Probably just for 2 days

Has anyone done the international bus trip from ubon to paske? Or can you drive there over the border?

Is there much to do in paske?

My GF is from sisaket - do they speak a similar language in paske (ie isaan thai - laos)?

Is the food similar to thai, isaan?

Thanks

[MeMock]

International buss is efficient and quite cheap (200 baht I think each way).

If your car has the correct paperwork then I recommend driving yourself. Much more fun and can see so much more.

Not much in Pakse town apart from a few decent restaurants and coffee shops plus the Mekong River (and the big buddha hill) so need to get out of town a little (hence taking your own car). Heaps to see and do up on the Bolivan Plateau or you could head south to 4,000 islands. (I would recommend the plateau though.)

Any Thai speaker can get along well enough with that language and Issan speakers even more so.

A lot of the food is similar. A lot of international food is available in Pakse. (I do hope if you are in Laos you will try and eat something different then what is available in Sisaket!)

[my friend I]

If you take the bus do not dawdle around at the border. The driver may leave without you.

Driving is easy but cattle and buffalo like to stand on the road. Bolaven plateau is cool almost cold and the whole area can get rain in May coming in from the NE monsoon hitting Vietnam. Can be flash flooding.Plenty of ok places to stay.

The Pakse morning market is worth a visit. When you come in over the Japanese bridge the market is 2 blocks down on the left. It goes most of the day.

Sitting in a riverside restaurant is very popular. Watch the sunset while eating bbq fish. There is sometimes a riverboat doing sunset cruises and dinner. It leaves down near the heritage part of town near where the other river comes down.

[isanbirder]

If you take the bus do not dawdle around at the border. The driver may leave without you.

And don't go to the toilet.... it's way out into the forest, and I very nearly did miss the bus!

I came down to Pakse from Savannakhet. (When you buy your bus ticket, you get a life insurance certificate thrown in) Apart from the fact that the bus terminal from the north is several kms out of town, and there is no regular transport.... well, Pakse was a delight after moribund Savannakhet. Perhaps it is because much of the centre of town is Vietnamese-dominated.

[onionluke]

Is there any special insurance requirements to cross into Laos at Chong Mek with own Thai registered vehicle ?

[MeMock]

Yes, you must purchase some Laos insurance once your cross into laos. Do it at the same building where you get your Laos Visa. From memory it is around 50,000 kip or 200 baht.

[my friend I]

If you take the bus do not dawdle around at the border. The driver may leave without you.

And don't go to the toilet.... it's way out into the forest, and I very nearly did miss the bus!

I came down to Pakse from Savannakhet. (When you buy your bus ticket, you get a life insurance certificate thrown in) Apart from the fact that the bus terminal from the north is several kms out of town, and there is no regular transport.... well, Pakse was a delight after moribund Savannakhet. Perhaps it is because much of the centre of town is Vietnamese-dominated.

There is no need to get out at that bus terminal in the north. The bus will continue into downtown then go to the terminal east of town.

Those Vietnamese tend to throw off your Issarn/Thai language skills.

[isanbirder]

If you take the bus do not dawdle around at the border. The driver may leave without you.

And don't go to the toilet.... it's way out into the forest, and I very nearly did miss the bus!

I came down to Pakse from Savannakhet. (When you buy your bus ticket, you get a life insurance certificate thrown in) Apart from the fact that the bus terminal from the north is several kms out of town, and there is no regular transport.... well, Pakse was a delight after moribund Savannakhet. Perhaps it is because much of the centre of town is Vietnamese-dominated.

There is no need to get out at that bus terminal in the north. The bus will continue into downtown then go to the terminal east of town.

Those Vietnamese tend to throw off your Issarn/Thai language skills.

Maybe things have changed, but in February last year there was no way that bus was going on any further. Better check at Savannakhet if you take that route.

[SantiSuk]

Best thing to do in Pakse is leave .... by boat down-river to Champasak. Quite tough on the bum - glorified long-tail type boat but a great travel experience for those who dont mind a bit of roughing it. The cute little Angkor style temple (pre-dates Angkor I seem to remember) on a hillside at the other end is worth a look too. We stayed a night and hired a motorbike to get to the temple but you can probably get a motoirbike to take you there from the river jetty if you are planning on trying to return same day (by bus or taxi - no way would you wnat to do the river trip both ways!)

[isanbirder]

Best thing to do in Pakse is leave .... by boat down-river to Champasak. Quite tough on the bum - glorified long-tail type boat but a great travel experience for those who dont mind a bit of roughing it. The cute little Angkor style temple (pre-dates Angkor I seem to remember) on a hillside at the other end is worth a look too. We stayed a night and hired a motorbike to get to the temple but you can probably get a motoirbike to take you there from the river jetty if you are planning on trying to return same day (by bus or taxi - no way would you wnat to do the river trip both ways!)

The temple is Wat Phu. As a true Englishmen, I walked there from the entrance under the midday sun, and back under the midday sun (one must have been before, and the trip back after midday). Frankly I thought it was a waste of energy, not a patch on Phimai or Phanomrung in Thailand. The best part was when I got back to the entrance, and was waiting for my French songthaew companions, I had a long chat with a charming young man from the museum, plus the songthaew driver, who was the spitting image of Duc (the commandant of Tuol Sleng).

The boat was expensive, uncomfortable, and didn't actually take you anywhere. The trip back, masterminded by Duc, was also an experience. Well, it was a fun day!

[SantiSuk]

I thought its setting was certainly on a patch with the two Thai temples you mentioned (nice views as it's about 300 metres above the plain and river), Isaanbirder. That's a hell of a walk - about 10 k as I remember? Are you sure you went to the right temple?

Maybe I like boats more than you. Yes - tough on the bum and the boat pitches you up in Champasak village 10k from the temple (unless it has changed its drop off point) but I thought the views of riverbank life down the mighty Mekong made the trip worthwhile (I guess there can't have been any interesting birds for you to see!). I dont recall it being particularly expensive either - probably I was benchmarking it against what I would expect to pay in falagland, certainly not local peasant pricing but plenty of backpackers were paying the fee.

The ferrys over the Mekong were interesting too - but I don't think I would have entrusted my Fortuner to one of those glorified oil barrel rafts if I had taken a car into Laos!

Two Englishmen, two different views; c'est la vie.

[No use to the OP as he only has 2 days, but if you can take 5 days (ideally a week) then a round trip Ubon to Pakse to Champasak to See Pan Don (4,000 islands) taking it slowly going out bound and a taxi or bus back from SPD made for an excellent mini holiday IMO. SPD is delightfully laid back. I'm addressing those who like culture and travel experience though - not one for the lovers of high end hotels and those who must have aircon transport]

[isanbirder]

The boat dumped us at a village, yes. I am pretty sure it was not Champasak. We had to take a songthaew to the entrance to the temple, which was about a 2k walk from the entrance.

Otherwise I won't argue with you, Santisuk! Each to his own taste! The views were great, but I think having done the slow boat trip from Chiang Khong down the Mekong to Luang Prabang put me off river boats for ever!

[nisakiman]

If you take the bus do not dawdle around at the border. The driver may leave without you.

Does "do not dawdle at the border", mean you have time to get a visa? (Assuming there is a visa service at that border).

I will be in Ubon for a few weeks staying with the in-laws, and originally thought of crossing at the Friendship bridge at Mukdahan, but then thought it would be quicker and easier (and nicer) to go to Pakse. Also I'd like to have a look at the Bolaven plateau. But I'd rather we didn't get left behind at the border because my visa was taking too long!

Any hotel recommendations for Pakse, anyone?

[Farma]

Did anyone else see the sacrificial alter at Wat Phu? It's located off to the right as you reach the top of the steps. The slab was originally used for human sacrifice and later converted for crocodile sacrifice. The original carved human shape was superimposed with a crocodile shape. The area of the heart shows signs it was well used.

[MeMock]

Visa is quick and easy - you will be fine.

What is your budget for the hotel?

[nisakiman]

Mid-range on the hotel budget. I actually don't really like top-end hotels (not that I imagine there's any five star hotels in Pakse ), I've never been comfortable being fawned over by flunkies looking for a big tip. What I look for in a hotel is cleanliness and friendliness and character. Budget-wise, for Lao I guess €10 - 20 would probably get a reasonable place, but I'd happily pay €30 for somewhere really nice. I also like to have a balcony, where possible.

When I crossed over from Nong Khai a few years back, the visa took about 30 minutes, but there were a few farang in the queue. In that instance, we had made our own way to the border, walked across, and got a minivan to Viengchang, so there were no time constraints, but on this route we would be on the same bus all the way, hence my slight concern about the time factor.

Edited September 30, 2013 by nisakiman

[nisakiman]

As an afterthought, do you know anything about car hire there? Prices and pitfalls to avoid? It would be nice to have the independence of a car, but I'm not on an unlimited budget! Haven't hired a car in so long (unnecessary in BKK, and borrow the father-in-law's in Ubon) that I have no idea about prices. Someone told me once that it's cheaper in Lao than in Thailand, but I have no idea how true that is.

[my friend I]

If you take the bus do not dawdle around at the border. The driver may leave without you.

Does "do not dawdle at the border", mean you have time to get a visa? (Assuming there is a visa service at that border).

I will be in Ubon for a few weeks staying with the in-laws, and originally thought of crossing at the Friendship bridge at Mukdahan, but then thought it would be quicker and easier (and nicer) to go to Pakse. Also I'd like to have a look at the Bolaven plateau. But I'd rather we didn't get left behind at the border because my visa was taking too long!

Any hotel recommendations for Pakse, anyone?

There is a time to get a visa. Not to go shopping. You have to walk from Thai office over to Lao office. And viceversa.

If you are going to stay at Paksong up on the Bolaven there is a good hotel on the east side of town about a mile from the center. Its off the road on the north side. Lots of hotels in Pakse. Most western people stay in the historic part of town.

[brewsterbudgen]

If you take the bus do not dawdle around at the border. The driver may leave without you.

Does "do not dawdle at the border", mean you have time to get a visa? (Assuming there is a visa service at that border).

I will be in Ubon for a few weeks staying with the in-laws, and originally thought of crossing at the Friendship bridge at Mukdahan, but then thought it would be quicker and easier (and nicer) to go to Pakse. Also I'd like to have a look at the Bolaven plateau. But I'd rather we didn't get left behind at the border because my visa was taking too long!

Any hotel recommendations for Pakse, anyone?

The Pakse Hotel is nice. French run, very central, clean and cheap compared to what you'd pay in Thailand. They have a lovely rooftop restaurant with good French and Thai food.

There are 4-5 star options too, although some of them seem to be rather run down and on the outskirts of the town rather than in the centre.

[MeMock]

If you can borrow your FIL's car and he has the paperwork for it then I highly recommend that you drive his car from Ubon to Paxse. I have hired cars in Vientiane before but never in Paxse sorry.

I have stayed in this $20 - $25 ok room here twice before: http://www.memock.com/2012/12/27/review-of-seng-aroun-hotel-in-pakse-laos/

The Paxse hotel I stayed in once I thought was over rated but the view from the top floor open air restaurant is worth the trip for a meal.

For a little more luxury try this new place: http://www.memock.com/2013/01/06/athena-hotel-in-pakse-laos/

[nisakiman]

Thanks for the info, it's much appreciated.

[BShifty]

We had family friends organize a 3 day 2 night trip from Ubon to Pakse and the 4000 islands. Van cost 2200 THB plus fuel, driver 500 THB. Got a Laos guide at Chong Mek for 700 THB. All up 6 in mini van.Went to some waterfalls on the way to Don Khong where stayed the night. Next day morning bike tour of the the island we stayed on, more water falls and traditional Laos village tour on the way back to Pakse. Stayed the night at Champasak Grand hotel. Next day did Pakse market in the morning then to Wat Phu on the way back to Ubon. Tipped guide and driver 500 each. Guide handled our visa's at Chong Mek.

[SantiSuk]

When i toured Pakse to Champasak (boat) and then to See Pan Don (bus) and back to Pakse three years ago there were no hire cars - only cars with driver. We hired one to come back from SPD to Pakse for $60 - I think that was about 150 kilos and the best part of 3 hours.

I would pay any amount for hired cars/drivers rather than risk my own car being stranded in a foreign country (though I might take the risk if I was still an unmarried traveller with time). That said Laos would be a better bet than Cambodia where they (some) drive like nutters in the countryside.