Laos

From our own experience

Accommodation: is very easy in Laos. We only went along the main route (Rt. 13) and there is accommodation in any large town. The tourist places have more then one to offer. This is the only country we visited that has hot shower in almost every guesthouse, while normally you would have a ‘relative’ cold mandi. The rooms we took were about US$3,-

Money: The Lao currency is Kip (2003:9800 Kip = $1). They are not changeable in any other country, so make sure you change them before you leave Laos. Traveller cheques and Credit card is no problem either. ATM’s are not available.

Food: We prefer Thai or Chinese (the Lao chickens are rather thin), but the sticky rice is delicious. Food can be obtained anywhere and is tasteful. In the major cities you can get food from all the surrounding countries and in Vang Vieng its possible to get any DVD with your pizza… just pick a restaurant with your favourite movie (yugh!).

Water: you can buy 1 liter water bottles anywhere that fit exactly in your water bottle holder, 6 liter for 6000 kip, 1500 per bottle.

Safety: Once in a while there are some bombs in Vientiane or in other large cities. They are not targeted at tourist areas (like Bali) but to overthrow the Communist government. You will notice when you ask someone that they talk about ‘bandits who rob busses’. Therefore, you will see a lot of military along the road between Vientiane and Luang Prabang at the ‘crucial’ points.

Visa: If you come from China (like we did) you need to get a Visa on beforehand. We obtained one in Kunming, Yunnan province, that borders Laos. It depends on the border crossing if you can get a visa on arrival. Check various websites (like the Loney Planet Thorntree) what the latest situation is.

People: lot of children that make a looong sa-bai-diiiiii sound echo (‘hello’). Even from trees there are children you can hear saying hello but can’t seem to find. Friendly people in general but also a bit shy to get in contact with you.

Language: Lao is the language and not so many people outside the major tourist cities speak anything else. Bring a Lao phrasebook to open conversations they would like to have. If you keep within the tourist wave (from Vientiane to Luang Prabang to Chang Kong on the Tai side) you won’t need to speak any but English, even the menu’s are in English.

Clothing: dress properly to prevent people staring at you for ages. 3/4 pants are okay and short sleeved t-shirts as well.

Vaccinations: Malaria and all standard tropical stuff.

Road conditions: getting better (more paved) every year. We even took the wrong turn off because our (2003) map indicated only one of the two being paved while in real the newly paved turn off is now the main road. All the way, Vientiane to the border with China is now paved, but also some of the side roads are. Other roads are heavily potholed or gravel.

Map: We had brought a map from home but bought an alternative map in Luang Nam Tha. This map is developed by a German motor biker and very useful and up to date for cycling. You can by this map (strong material) in the major tourist cities.

Traffic behaviour: Good/ normal behaviour. Not so much traffic anyway. Lot of look-alike bicycles of the same brand, lot of children will try to keep your speed.

From the World factbook (2002)

Background: "In 1975, the Communist Pathet Lao took control of the government, ending a six-century-old monarchy. Initial closer ties to Vietnam and socialization were replaced with a gradual return to private enterprise, an easing of foreign investment laws, and the admission into ASEAN in 1997."

Geographical facts: Country size: totals 236,800 square kilometer with 5,083 kilometers of borders with Burma, Cambodia, China, Thailand and Vietnam. Altitude: The lowest point is the Mekong River at 70 meter and the highest point reaches 2,817 meter in Phou Bia.

Climate: Laos climate is tropical monsoon with a  rainy season (May to November) and a dry season (December to April). The terrain consists of mostly rugged mountains with some plains and plateaus. 

Population: 5,777,180 (estimation of July 2002), of which Lao Loum (lowland) 68%, Lao Theung (upland) 22%, Lao Soung (highland) including the Hmong ("Meo") and the Yao (Mien) 9%, and ethnic Vietnamese/Chinese 1%. Religions: Buddhist 60%, animist and other 40% (including various Christian denominations 1.5%). Languages: Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages.

Government and economy: Communist state, indpendent since 19 July 1949 (from France). Constitution promulgated on 14 August 1991. Population below povertyline: 40% (estimation 2001). Currency: kip (LAK), kips per US dollar: 9,467.00 (December 2001). Fiscal year: 1 October - 30 September. Television broadcast stations: 4 (1999). Amount of internet service providers: 1 (2000), amount of internet users: 6,000 (2001). 

Railways: 0 km (2001).

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This page is last updated: April 2004