Things To Do in Pakse

Pakse itself is not weighed down with things to see. The best sights are the river, the sunset, and the superbly kitsch Champasak Palace Hotel. The Champasak Historical Heritage Museum (Rd. 13; open Mon-Fri 8:30-11:30am and 1:30-4pm; admission 5,000 kip) has a few interesting historical artifacts from ancient temples, interesting textiles, musical instruments, and a fair amount of dreary Communist propaganda. There are also quite a number of wats in the city, none of which are particularly distinguished.

In the Champasak Plaza Shopping Center you will find many stalls selling souvenirs, silk, clothes, electrical goods, and pretty much everything else Pakse has to offer. Nonetheless, Pakse is not a great shopping town and if possible you are best served by hanging on to your kip until you reach Vientiane or Luang Prabang, where the choice is much wider. In the New Market (Talat Dao Hung, Rd. 38) in the new town near the Lao-Japanese Bridge you will find a variety of foodstuffs and motorcycle parts. This is a major commercial crossroads.