Thalang's claim to fame at the moment is that some of it lies within the projected inundation zone for the Nam Theun dam project. The water levels will begin rising in stages, staring in August 2007, according to the current plan.

There's one guest house here -- on a picturesque spot overlooking the Nam Theun river. But at some point it's going to have to move -- it's unclear exactly when or where it will move to.

The project initially caused some tensions between the government and local villagers who were forced to relocate because of it, but everyone seems to have accepted the dam as an inevitably now and are focussed on where to move to rather than fighting the inevitable.

Thalang is currently being used as a base camp for biologists doing a survey of the wildlife that will be displaced or killed off by the reservoir that's being created. There's a herd of 150 elephants living in the area, but interestingly, their presence and numbers are only known through DNA analysis of their droppings: there have been few reported sightings of the mammoth beasts in recent years, and the last time anyone was able to snap a picture was in 1997.

Travellers doing the Konglor Cave Loop and making good time can skip Nakai and here, only 20km further on, but the road is rough so allow at least an hour. If you plan to do that, check ahead at the Provincial Tourism Information Centre in Tha Khaek to make sure the guest house is still open. There are no services of any kind in Thalang.