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Pakse » Pakse

Pakse

 00:00:00 | 4.9.2012


Pakse (Pakxe) is a city in the Champasak province of Southern Laos. It's one of the biggest towns in Laos and a major transportation hub for southern Laos. If you plan to go to the Bolaven Plateau, Wat Phou, or Si Phan Don you will probably have to spend some time here.

Wat Luang, the biggest and most beautiful temple of Pakxe, and home of Buddhist Monk School. This is also the best place to see the monk alm giving rituals often seen in Luang Prabang. If you miss that one, this is one up close and personal opportunity. You might just be one of a handful of tourists there to behold the sight without feeling guilty as Luang Prabang is now in the spotlight.
Wat Phabad, the oldest and largest temple of Pakxe, and believed to have Buddha Footprint, which its name derived from.
Ban Keosamphanh has the most beautiful green rice field of Pakxe, former French Army Camp, and homed to the oldest market of Pakse. Mekong Bank the most popular place and night centre point of Pakxe.
       Big Buddha. In Aug 2011 a 'Big Buddha' temple complex was built across the river, adjacent to the Japanese bridge. More than a few steps to the top, a great view of the river and city. 

Forget about the PBS Gourmet.com endorsement of street food market in Luang Prabang. It pales in comparison. This is it, Pakse, a small town with disproportionate separate olympic-size wet, dry, food markets formed in one complex called Dao Heuang Market at No.38 Rd.. Acres and acres of food stalls are laid-out before your eyes, a feast to the eyes and nose as well, democracy and freedom at its finest in this communist country where the small time entrepreneur lord it over the big box supermarket capitalist store chains. The selection of food seemed endless, a delightful eye candy for street food aficionados, unspoiled by tourists except for a handful at a time. One day is not enough to comprehend this mind-boggling window shopping experience. This is probably the best in Laos, if not in Southeast Asia.

market.jpg

There's not so much to do in Pakse itself; however, this is a great base for travel to the Bolaven Plateau and Si Phan Don.
But Pakse should be considered a staging point for archeological tourists in this part of Laos for two reasons: 1) it is where the Champasak Provincial Museum is located as an introductory to local archeology, and 2). it is an alternative to Champasak city as a staging point for those wanting to see Wat Phou. Wat Phou is a designated UNESCO site and boasts of as Laos' counterpart to Angkor Wat/Angkor Thom. It's got the finest of its genre outside Cambodia.


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