Region: Southern Laos> Province: Sekong> Location: Sekong

Sekong

The eating scene is Sekong is pretty limited. Local fare is available throughout the city, of course, and it's worth investigating the marketplace to see what the food stalls have on offer. Otherwise, there's a cluster of three, very popular places opposite the Sekong Souk Samlane Hotel. Khanting Restaurant seems to be a local favourite, also patronised by the resident NGO crowd, though we weren't overly impressed with the food. Right next door is the Phanthip Restaurant, a friendly place which tends to draw in most of the backpackers who wind up in town. The food is good and comes in hefty servings, with a nice mix of vegetables on offer for vegetarians. We enjoyed some great noodle soup, and some excellent coffee -- we also swapped some books a the book exchange, and gleaned a lot more information here than we did at the tourist information office. The menu contains a very interesting and in-depth introduction to the region, and also briefly covers some of the transportation logistics (now out of date) and has an overview of the ethnic makeup of the province. It's also a good place to head for planning a trek, finding a guide, and renting motorbikes.

Continuing down the dirt road between the restaurants across from the Sekong Souk Samlane, you'll find the Somvew Bar and Restaurant, in a large, multi-level wooden building set among huge tufts of bamboo. For a sunset drink, this is the best option in town. They tend to open right on sunset, so you'll need to rouse them early if you want to take in the view. They do standard and not-so-standard Lao fare and also very hearty servings of French fries.