Place:Thakhek, Khammouan, Laos

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Khammouane province (Khammouan) (Lao: ຄໍາມ່ວນ) is a province in the center of Laos. Its capital lies at Thakhek.

Khammouane province covers an area of and is mostly of forested mountainous terrain. Many streams flow through the province to join the Mekong River. The vast forests of the Nakai-Nam Theun National Park are an important watershed that feed many Mekong tributaries as well as form the catchment area for Nam Theun 2, the largest hydropower project in Laos. The Xe Bang Fai River, Nam Hinboun River, and the Nam Theun are the main rivers of the province.

Part of the aborted Thakhek-Tan Ap railway would have crossed the province to connect with the North-South Railway at Tân Ấp Railway Station, Quảng Bình province, Vietnam through Mụ Giạ Pass.

source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Thakhek (Lao language: ທ່າແຂກ), the capital of Khammouane Province, is a town in south-central Laos on the Mekong River. The Third Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge, linking Thakhek and Nakhon Phanom, Thailand, across the river, started in 2009 and was opened on 11 November 2011.

The city has many French colonial style official buildings, villas, and shops. In 1943, 85% of the population of Thakhek were Vietnamese due to the French policy of encouraging Vietnamese immigrants to Laos. Remnants of the abortive Thakhek-Tan Ap railway can be seen in and near the town. The railway would have run between Thakhek and Tân Ấp Railway Station, Quảng Bình Province, Vietnam through the Mụ Giạ Pass.

Western scientists first encountered the Laotian rock rat, kha nyou (Laonastes aenigmamus), in Thakhek's market.