Savannakhet is a quiet and charming small town with a tropical atmosphere. It is a must-pass place for entering Laos via the Lao Bao border from Vietnam, worth staying for a day. Located on the left bank of the Mekong River, Savannakhet has hills and valleys in the eastern part of the Annamite mountain range and hills crossed by the Sebanghiang River in the west. It has a teachers college, public high schools, Buddhist schools, a commercial school, and Savannakhet Technical College. The residents of the Bolaven Plateau are mostly Mon-Khmer people with a sparse population, cultivating coffee, teakwood, and other crops. The valley is inhabited by Lao and Phuthai ethnic groups, engaging in rice cultivation. The region has mineral resources such as petroleum, gypsum, copper, and gold. It takes 8 hours to travel by car from the Laos-Vietnam border to Savannakhet. The road is a bit bumpy in the beginning, but the scenery is excellent along the way. After driving for over an hour, the car stops at Sepon to drop off passengers. If you stay for a day at Sepon, you can hire a local guide to visit the nearby Ho Chi Minh Trail.