Sayabouly province - transport information

- errors, suggestions & contributions, kindly email: laomeow at gmail dot com
- last modified on 08 September 2011

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HONGSA

Hongsa songthaew station
In front of the market. Photo & info - 22 & 23 December 2009:



Click here for full size version.

Second photo is the only instance of 'double pricing' for songthaew/truck transport ever encountered in Laos so far, not sure if actually implemented. From top to bottom - destination / fare in Lao / fare in English:

ທ່າຊ່ວາງ Tha Souang / 20,000kip / 30,000kip
ປາກທາງນ້ຳຕັບ Pak Thang Nam Tap / 10,000kip / 15,000kip
ກີ່ວສາລາ Kiew Sa La / 13,000kip / 20,000kip
ນ້ຳຍາງ Nam Nyang / 13,000kip / 20,000kip
ເມືອງເງີນ Muang Ngeun / 25,000kip / 35,000kip
ໄຊຍະບູລີ Sayabouly / 80,000kip / 100,000kip
ພູແລ້ງ Phou Laeng / not clear / 45,000kip
ນາມອນ Na Mone / 70,000kip / 80,000kip
Nam Thiau? / not clear / 70,000kip
ລອງໂກນ Long Kon / 70,000kip / not clear

Notes:

• To Tha Souang - 0830
• To Muang Ngeun (25,000kip) - 0900 (HiLux)

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MUANG NGEUN

Muang Ngeun songthaew station
Next to the market in Ban Nam Ngeun. Photo & info - 23 & 24 December 2009:



Notes:

• Saturdays = border market at Huay Kon (Thai side).
• Songthaews & trucks (HiLux) start to arrive here between 0800-0900+ on non-Saturdays.
• No timetable displayed, only a roster for drivers - not sure if transport leaves only on demand?
• Destinations in drivers' roster - ຫົງສາ Hongsa, ຊຽງຮອ່ນ Xienghone, ປາກແຄນ Pak (Kh?)aen (not sure if copied the 'ຄ' alphabet wrongly), ໄຊຍະບູລີ Sayabouly, ດ່ານນ້ຳເງີນ Dan Nam Ngeun.

October 2010 update:
Muang Ngeun-Oudomxay bus - 55,000kip (no info on departure time & whether this bus operates daily)

ເມືອງເງີນ Muang Ngeun to ห้วยโก๋น Huay Kon border crossing
Info from 24 December 2009 (Thursday - non-'market day').

• Muang Ngeun songthaew station to ດ່ານນ້ຳເງີນ Dan Nam Ngeun (Lao border checkpoint): 5000kip (shared songthaew) or 10,000kip (charter), ~4km.
• Lao border checkpoint to Thai border checkpoint at Huay Kon: ~1km walk, mostly uphill.
• Processing at both Lao & Thai checkpoints may be slow, everything has to be handwritten in logbooks i.e. one person at a time.
• Huay Kon to ทุ่งช้าง Thung Chang: one daily songthaew departs ~1000+++ (can arrive & depart late on slow days), B100, 1h journey; more trips if there is demand (usually Saturdays, when Huay Kon border market is open).
• Thung Chang: hourly daytime bus to เชียงกลาง Chiang Klang, ปัว Pua (B29), ท่าวังผา Tha Wang Pha & เมืองน่าน Nan city (B85); also daily buses to Bangkok (Transport Co. & Sombat Tour) & Chiangmai (Green Bus Thailand Co.).

September 2011 update:
Dan Nam Ngeun (Lao border checkpoint) customs office contact no.: +856-74-213074 (source)

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PAK LAY

Pak Lai bus station (1km south of town)
* March 2007 info
To Vientiane - 9:00AM 70,000kip
To Sayabouly - 7:30AM, 8:30AM, 10:30AM 45,000kip
To Kaen Thao - 10:00AM, 12:00PM, 2:00PM 25,000kip

Pak Lai boat landing
* March 2007 info
To Vientiane - slowboat on Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat, & speedboat (on demand)

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SAYABOULY TOWN

Sayabouly northern bus station (photo, 8 September 2009) (Ian Taylor)

Located a few KMs north of town. Timetable - 20 December 2009, info - 20 & 21 December 2009:


Click here for full size image.

Notes:

• Timing of first PM bus to Vientiane varies, on 21 December 2009 it was 1500.
• Trucks (HiLux) may depart earlier than scheduled if full.
• To Hongsa (80,000kip) - 2.5h journey (HiLux).
• To Luang Prabang (50,000kip) - 3.5h journey, passport/ID check at Tha Deua.

Old info for reference:
Timetable (8 September 2009) (Ian Taylor)
To Luang Prabang - 9:00AM (ordinary bus), 2:00PM (songthaew)
To Hongsa & Muang Ngeun - 11:00AM (Toyota Hilux D4D Tiger)
To Muang Xienghone - 1:00PM (Toyota Hilux D4D Tiger)
To Vientiane - 10:00AM, 1:30PM (ordinary bus), 4:00PM (AC bus)

Sayabouly southern bus station
* March 2007 info
To Pak Lay - 7:30AM, 10:00AM, 12:00PM 45,000kip

231209 Muang Ngeun

A 'crash post' whipped up for the benefit of those who intend to spend time in Muang Ngeun, & also those who do not intend to but get stuck there after missing transport connections while crossing the border :P

Muang Ngeun (romanised as Muang Ngoen in Thailand) is a series of mostly Tai Lue villages spread out along 2 perpendicular roads:


Click here for full size map

Place names in Lao script (& Thai script for Huay Kon) are included so that those who don't speak Lao or Thai can point to them when asking locals for directions. For a rough idea of the non-existent scale, a slow walk from the white stupa to Ban Phia Ngam & back took ~5 hours, including a lot of time spent on taking photos, exploring the temples & talking to locals & listening to them explain about their temples.

The cat takes note of landmarks by photographing them, hence almost all government/military buildings are not shown in this map, & for the place labelled 'police' it can't recall what type - 'normal', border or 'interior security' - cos it had walked past facilities belonging to all three.

Guesthouses along the border-Hongsa road are not included as the cat didn't walk along that road. Three guesthouses are listed in the Sayabouly provincial tourism department tourist info leaflet printed in August 2009 - Duangmala GH Tel. 020-2366793, Sai Nam Ngeun GH Tel. 020-2358687 & Deuamphen GH Tel. 020-2366931. Wong Chaeng Kaew GH seemed more like a truckers' stop, then again the cat met only 1 single other tourist in Muang Ngeun, who spent all of 10 minutes in town before heading to the border.

For transport info see here.

Beyond the bridge over the Nam Yang at Ban Keodonekhoun there are pretty views across rice fields against a mountain backdrop. Unlike those in most of the rest of northern Laos, the fields here were flooded in the dry season reflecting the clouds in the sky above, & a new crop of rice was being planted. Tai Lue are known for their textiles & a few homes along the main road still had looms set up outside the house. There would be a cotton weaving fair at Ban Phia Ngam a few days after the cat's visit. Hmong New Year celebrations were already over for other places in northern Laos, but the kids at Ban Nam Ngeun school were still playing 'pov pob' (ball-tossing courtship game).

In late December 2009, almost all temples were under renovation, & the temple in Ban Phia Ngam was locked up. But this meant that the cat got to meet the majority of the adult population of Ban Luangmixay - who'd turned up in full force to repair & spruce up their temples (Wat Luang & Wat Sibounyeun). As the temples in Muang Ngeun are Tai Lue, they have long banners hanging from the rafters, & a set of wooden weapons on either side of the altar (either on the floor or placed high up in the rafters). To see this in other parts of Laos, one would have to travel to places like Ban Viengkeo in Hongsa, Muang Sing, rural Oudomxay province or Ou Tai & Ou Neua in Phongsaly.

From Wat Done Keo, Pha That Mat Kham stupa can be seen in the distance. The tourist info leaflet mentions it as the 'source to a nice fairy tale about a flea & a silver elephant', but the cat didn't have time to try & find a trail leading to it. Wat Sibounyeun (spelt as Wat Saliboun Nyeun on another signboard) has a huge Buddha statue within. Wat Khone (mentioned in the LP guidebook as Wat Ban Khon) was the prettiest of those that the cat managed to enter, with both interior & exterior walls covered by detailed paintings.

For those who wonder why some of the temple names don't match the village names - Ban Luangmixay was formed by the merger of Ban Luang (where Wat Luang is) & Ban Done Xay, & Ban Keodonekhoun was formed by the merger of Ban Done Keo (where Wat Done Keo is) & Ban Don Khoun.

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Thank you to the following:
Thongsavanh & everyone at Wat Luang
Mankhian & the other guys at Wat Sibounyeun
the guys at Wat Done Keo
novice monk at Wat Khone
Muang Ngeun songthaew station ticket office lady
Craig Schuler
tools4fools
Ian Taylor
Monica of Jumbo GH, Hongsa

301206 Ban Hat Teu to Tha Souang

Resupply of Beer Lao for somewhere in northern Hongsa district, about an hour downriver from Tha Souang:



Girl at right (above) is a carbon copy of the cat's university hostel hockey team captain.




Tha Souang - the jumping off point for the road inland to Hongsa:



[R-L] Mr. Manivanh Teacher + student's brother + student alighting:



Mr. Manivanh student is carrying 2 sets of Big Brother Mouse books + a book from the cat for some local schools.

The amazing tensile strength of bamboo: