The slowest city on the Mekong — French colonial shutters, the Thailand border crossing, Wat Sainyaphum, and the most relaxed pétanque scene in Asia
Savannakhet is the second-largest city in Laos — on the Mekong River at the Laos-Thailand border (connected to Mukdahan in Thailand by the Second Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge), with a preserved French colonial quarter that is the most extensive outside of Luang Prabang. The colonial grid — yellow and white stucco buildings with louvred shutters, a central square (the Place de la Résistance) with the crumbling former Governor's residence, the Catholic cathedral, and wide tree-lined avenues — creates a melancholy, slowly deteriorating beauty that is entirely authentic: the buildings are occupied…
Savannakhet (originally Mường Savắn — 'Golden Valley') was a significant Mekong trading port in the 18th century before French colonial incorporation. The French colonial administration built the grid town from the 1880s; it served as a regional administrative capital and river crossing point. During the Vietnam War, Savannakhet's proximity to the Ho Chi Minh Trail (which passed through the Laotian panhandle to the east) made it a significant logistics point for both North Vietnamese supply operations and US bombing campaigns. The surrounding province was one of the most heavily bombed areas…