Nakai

This restive, mountain-top village a kilometre above sea level offers a unique experience for those exploring Khammuan province in depth. It's home to a compound for expats and their families, working on the Nam Theun dam project, just to the north of here -- but you're unlikely to ever catch a glimpse of anyone who lives in it -- they come and go in cars, and rarely show up in town. Not that you can blame them -- there are no great places to eat, or shop, nor is there anything very much to do.

But for most travellers, Nakai represents a great stopover point while doing the 'Konglor Cave Loop.' There are more brothels than legitimate guesthouses (the former cater to the Laotian and Vietnamese work crews who are here to do the grunt work on the dam) but there are two good places to stay, and there's some good food if you know where to look for it.

While this town is called 'Nakai' on most of the maps we've seen, as far as locals are concerned, that name refers to a town 8km further north. The Lao government is trying to call the place Oudoumsouk, and has put up signs to that effect, but the locals haven't embraced that name either -- they call it Hua Phou, which means 'mountain top.' It's always a bit chillier up here than it is down below, and in the winter the nights can be bitter cold, so bring along a jumper or two.

Orientation
It's pretty easy to get a handle on Nakai. Arriving from the south, there's a three-way cross roads. The Phou Phieng Nakai Guest House sits in the northern crook of the intersection. The road to the right leads one-kilometre down to the Tolex Guest House, and from there on it's nothing but increasingly remote villages. Continuing past the intersection on the main road, you'll reach the town market on the left, and 800m later, the hospital on the right. Open 08:30 to 11:30, 13:30 to 16:30, but 24-hour services are available for emergencies. You can try calling (051) 214 423, but they admit to rarely answering the phone. The current head of the hospital speaks some English and gave us his cell-phone number: (020) 232 5422. If you're really in a jam, give it a try.

There's no internet, of course, and the nearest banking, telecom and postal services are in Gnommalat to the south and Lak Xao to the north.