Life in laid-back Laos is languid and leisurely: watching the morning sun light up the mighty Mekong River, wandering through aromatic markets and kicking back with a beer in hand. lt’s the simple pleasures that make a visit to this enigmatic country a delight, and what Laso lacks in in-your-face attractions is made for with lush surrounds, friendly folk and gastronomic treats. The casual grandeur of Unesco World Heritage-listed Luang Prabang and samall-town feel of the capital, Vientiane, make Laos one of the highlights of Southeast Asia.
November to February, as knows how to turn up he sweltering heat and torrential downpours are a speciality
Circumnavigating Vientiane’s revered Pha That Luang stupa Shopping nirvana at Luang Prabang’s night market Floating down Name Song in Vang Vieng till dusk Fine dining at one of Luang Prabang’s atmospheric eateries Cooling off under the Kuang si waterfall, near Luang Prabang
Read Bamboo Palace by Christopher Kremmer-part travelogue, part mystery, it chronicles the lost dynasty of Laos
Listen to expat Paris-based troupe, Molam Lao
Watch Bombies, a documentary probing the legacy US carpet bombing campaign inflicted on Laos
Eat foe, noodle soup in any variety; tam maak hung, deliciously laden spicy papaya salad
Drink Bolaven Plateau brew for coffee aficionados; light and tasty Beer Lao; lao-lao a clear yet fiery rice alcohol that’s more of an acquired taste
Pai talat (to the market)
Longtail boats; rice; Buddha-filled pagodas and wats; café culture; rural bandits; unexploded ordnance
Laos has one of the lowest population densities in Asia- around 18 people per sq km (about 11 per sq mi); by the end of the Vietnam War, Laos had the dubious distinction of being the most bombed country in the history of warfare
Laos is beset by economic hardship and instability. ln 2003, the US signed a Bilateral Trade Agreement with Laos, ending a trade embargo that had been in place since the communists took power in 1975, while the government set a goal to haul itself out of the Least Developed Country bracket by 2020.