Pakbeng
Encyclopedia
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
, located on the Mekong River
Mekong
The Mekong is a river that runs through China, Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. It is the world's 10th-longest river and the 7th-longest in Asia. Its estimated length is , and it drains an area of , discharging of water annually....
about halfway between the Thai
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
border at Huay Xai
Ban Houayxay
Ban Houayxay is the capital of the Lao province of Bokèo, on the border with Thailand....
and Luang Prabang
Luang Prabang
Luang Prabang, or Louangphrabang , is a city located in north central Laos, where the Nam Khan river meets the Mekong River about north of Vientiane. It is the capital of Luang Prabang Province...
, Laos. Pakbeng is connected by a sealed road with Oudomxai along the Nam Beng river.
The town is a major stop for the boats running from Luang Prabang
Luang Prabang
Luang Prabang, or Louangphrabang , is a city located in north central Laos, where the Nam Khan river meets the Mekong River about north of Vientiane. It is the capital of Luang Prabang Province...
to Huay Xai; the slow boats which run between Huay Xai and Luang Prabang over a period of two days spend the night moored in Pakbeng. There are several small guesthouses that usually have attached restaurants, a sauna, and many local hilltribes living close by. Groceries can be purchased for when you want to continue down the Mekong. Many foreign tourists passing through the village may partake in the small (illegal) trade in both marijuana
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
and opium
Opium
Opium is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy . Opium contains up to 12% morphine, an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade. The latex also includes codeine and non-narcotic alkaloids such as papaverine, thebaine and noscapine...
has been a part of the culture for thousands of years.
Pakbeng just had its main road paved in 2005, also just completed its hydroelectric station down river thanks to a World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
loan. Before then all facilities and houses had their own electrical generators if any electricity at all. You can expect quiet evenings there, as most places close by 10 p.m.
There is a small wat
Wat
A wat is a monastery temple in Cambodia, Thailand, or Laos. The word "wat" means "school".- Introduction :...
to be found in the hills not far from the village. It is a very quaint example of a Buddhist temple from the former Lanna
Lanna
The Kingdom of Lanna was a kingdom centered in present-day northern Thailand from the 13th to 18th centuries. The cultural development of the people of Lanna, the Tai Yuan people, had begun long before as successive Tai Yuan kingdoms preceded Lanna...
Kingdom. Many of the old temples had been destroyed during wars with the Thai Kingdom 300 years before.