Khammuan province
Khammuan Province used to be mostly a thoroughfare for travellers passing between Thailand and Vietnam, or heading north and south to more popular destinations. With three NBCAs on offer, Khammuan would seem to hold unlimited potential in terms of trekking and tours. But, more so than in the rest of the Southern Laos, the poor condition of the roads and the lack of infrastructure has been holding it back.
The provincial capital, Tha Khaek, is an admittedly sleepy little town -- it makes Savannakhet to the south look like a bustling metropolis -- but it does hold a degree of rustic charm and doubles as a convenient base from which to explore the surrounding area. And, believe it or not, it's the most happening town in the province.
A lot is changing in Khammuan however, and at a surprisingly swift rate. An effort is underway to pave route 12, the dirt track that leads from Tha Khaek to Vietnamese border at Na Phao. For the next few years, you can expect this road to offer a muddy, dusty, bumpy journey weaving among heavy construction equipment and steam rollers over temporary bridges. But there is something to be said for travelling the road now before it becomes smooth and easy to navigate, and, inevitably, much less of an adventure.
It courses along the southern edge of the Phou Hin Boun NBCA, a massive limestone forest with numerous pristine and picturesque rivers and lakes. And where there is limestone, there are caves: route 12 offers easy access to half a dozen or more, the most recent of which, Buddha Cave, was only discovered (or rather, rediscovered) in 2004. But the most remarkable cave in Phou Hin Boun is the eerie and amazing Tham Kong Lor -- a 7.5 km underground river that can be navigated by boat. It's inaccessible from the south, but there are good roads leading north to the village of Na Hin (also known as Kheun Kham) from which the cave can be reached on a day-trip or overnight. The road to the cave, too, is the scene of another road construction effort, and it becomes easier to navigate with every passing week.
The Nakai-Nam Theun NBCA along the eastern border with Vietnam is the scene of a massive public works project -- a hydro-electric dam has been built, and a 50km stretch of the Nam Theun River Valley is going to be flooded -- the inundation process is scheduled to begin in August of 2007.
Conservationists are scrambling to measure the impact the reservoir is going to have on local wildlife, and whole communities are being uprooted and moved away from the inundation zone. The park itself is off-limits to tourists at the moment, but a new road has been cut into the forest along what will be the western edge of the reservoir, from Mahaxai in Khammuan Province, to Lak Xao in Bolikhamsai.
A motorcycle journey along this road is a dusty, bumping, and demanding trek that serves as nothing so much as an object lesson in how an undeveloped country becomes industrialised. Nevertheless, the road is navigated almost daily by at least a few tourists undertaking what's becoming known as the Kong Lor Cave Loop -- probably one of the most interesting and unique motorcycle treks available in the region. Dirt-bikers will want to head here sooner rather than later before they pave all the roads.
For the more adventurous, travel into the remainder of the province is possible and can be especially rewarding -- rest assured you'll be the only foreigner on the truck-bus!
