About halfway there is a junction at N18 02.407 E105 03.157 with the road to the west going to the Nam Theun II Dam and to the east to Ban Phonsaat while straight on goes to Lak Xao
The road to the west to the Dam and over the Nam Theun river to the Northwest
The road to Lak Xao from the junction
Once the road enters the plains to Lak Xao, the road bordered by rice fields on both sides deteriorates quite a bit and in the rainy season can be difficult to ride with lots of mud and deep ruts. About 10-15 km from Lak Xao on Rd 8 the road starts having a very patchy asphalt cover which continues till you reach Rd 8.
