Xam Nua

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Phouluang Guesthouse

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  • along the main road, after the terminal
     Xam Nua, Laos
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SeenThat
SeenThat
First Reviewer
5 out of 5
Avg. Member Rating
1
Review
4
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Editor Pick

Phouluang Guesthouse

  • July 3, 2008
  • Rated 5 of 5 by SeenThat from Tel Aviv, Israel
Phouluang Guesthouse

Location

Xam Nua offers several basic accommodation options. Among them is the Phouluang Guesthouse, just along the main axial road of the town, conveniently located one block from the bus terminal.

Shop Houses in South East Asia

In Bangkok they are hard to spot, but in small South East Asian towns, shop-houses abound. Often these are French colonial structures of two or three stories owned by a single family. The entrance is dedicated to a shop while the family uses the rest of the space as living quarters. In big enough structures, simple guesthouses can be placed, as is the case with Phouluang.

Booking in Advance

One of the first forced behavior changes after landing for a long tour in South East Asia is to stop worrying about hotel reservations. Big cities – like Bangkok and Hanoi offer plenty of options; booking there in advance would result in a loss of travel flexibility without any substantial benefits. Complementing the picture, small towns are seldom a main attraction and thus its hotels would always have a room to offer.

In any case, would anybody fool himself into trying to phone a hotel in Xam Nua, Laos, and attempting to book a room in English? Forget it.

Phouluang is just the perfect home for a couple of days at the almost end of the world and considering the humble 20000 Kip per day cost (about two dollars per day), a very economical one as well.

The Name

Phouluang is a complex name including two Lao words. "Luang" – as muang – is a term in Lao and Thai designing towns – especially provincial capitals. "Phou" – pronounced "P’oo" – means "sacred" or "Buddha." Thus Phouluang means "Town of Buddha" or "Sacred Town."

The Hotel

Phouluang Guesthouse is an adapted shop-house, which imparts a sense of authenticity to the whole experience. Despite that the family is living there, the guest’s privacy is fully respected; while there I could not see or hear them, and in fact I needed to thoroughly search the house for any of them when I wanted to pay and check out. Apparently the checks in and check out times do not have any special meaning in this relaxed place.

The rooms are basic, clean and comfortable and include an electricity socket; the bathroom is rather basic but that is expected in such a location. An important point is that the rooms could be darkened completely, thus enabling to sleep until late.

Electricity Supply in Xam Nua

More important is the fact Xam Nua has electricity during all the day and night. This is a change from the usual situation in Northern Laos, where the supply is usually limited to a few hours per day; maybe this is a result of the supporting role of Xam Nua during the Communist revolution.

Electricity means that recharging gadgets is possible, as well as reading or writing during the night. More important, that brings to life a portable electrical kettle; being able to prepare hot drinks in a cold place is a small and important luxury.

Climate Considerations

Xam Nua is cold at night; extra blankets are available upon request from the helpful family. The whole area is very humid as well, thus if planning to leave laundry at the guesthouse, take into account that the drying process is slow here, and allow for a couple of days to be on the safe side; traveling with wet clothes in a backpack is a heavy experience.

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