Sekong Province -Although this province in the south-eastern corner or Laos. like its neighbour Attapeu, is officially open to tourism the difficulty of transport means that only a few tourists have ventured here.
Laos least populous province. Sekong numbers only 63.100 people .
Sekong
with a population density or just 8.3 persons per square kilometer. Sekong Province also a very poor province in which nearly a quarter of all children die before the age of five. The worst poverty and health problems occur between the Se Kong river and the Vietnamese border, an area UN and NGO aid workers call ‘The Zone’.Malaria is rampant in the lowland areas or Se Kong and Attapeu Provinces. especially towards the Vietnamese border where the deadly is the most common variety. Take the appropriate pre- cautions (see Health in the Facts for the Visitor chapter).
Sekong
Few Lao Loum – either ethnic Lao or tribal Thais – live in this corner of Laos. which is the traditional home of several LaoThcung or Mon-Khmer tribes, including the Chantong, Chicnh, Liven, Kakang, Katung, Katu. Kayou, Lnwac, Ngc, Nyuhcun, Suay, Talicng, Ta-oy (Tahoy), Yai and Ye, Many or these tribes migrate between hilly Sekong and the Central Highlands of Vietnam (where they are known as Montagnards).
Sekong Province
Of the several Mon-Khmer ethnicities found in Sekong, the most numerous are the Katu and the Talieng. The latter total around 25,000 and are found only in the district of Dak Cheung, east of the provin- cial capital and 1500m above sea level. Both groups tend towards monogamy but tolerate polygyny (two or more husbands);their belief systems mix animism and ancestor worship.
It’s difficult to get around the province because’ of the lack of roads. During the rainy season the road to Dak Cheung, for example, becomes impassable. At other times you can reach the district by truck in four hours.
