Laos belongs together with Myanmar en Cambodia, among the least prosperous countries in the Southeast Asia. This means that traveling through Laos can be a bit more adventurous than traveling through other countries, which tourists are now more used to, such as Thailand en Vietnam . For many travelers, that is an advantage of traveling through the country. In this blog I take you to Laos and tell you about Laos; what there is to see, do and experience, so you can decide if this destination is right for you.
About Laos
History
Laos has a turbulent history with many wars. Before the eighteenth century, the area belonged to an empire called 'the empire of the million elephants'. After this, the empire divided into three parts, which were always invaded by neighboring countries Burma, Siam en Vietnam .
In 1893 the French Laos and became part of the Union of Indochina colony. During the Second World War, Laos was occupied by Japan. Laos became independent in 1954 after defeating the French in the First Indochinese War.
While the second Indochinese war, also better known as the Vietnam War, Laos was hit hard. More bombs were dropped on Laos than during the Second World War Germany en Japan together!
Shortly after the end of the war, communist and neutral groups seized power in 1974. They called on December 2, 1975 Lao People's Democratic Republic from.
France in Laos
The French influences are still noticeable when you travel through Laos. For example, there are bakeries with croissants and baguettes, and pate is sometimes on the menu. In Luang Prabang you can still see a lot of beautiful French-colonial architecture. It won't surprise you that you will encounter more French travelers.
Religion
If you travel through Laos, you will definitely come across Buddhist temples. The majority of the population is Buddhist. There are still some peoples who follow natural religions and a small number of Catholics and Protestants.
Poverty
Laos is still a poor country, but Laos has improved considerably over the past 20 years. Poverty has been halved and malnutrition has been reduced. There is access to education, health care and clean drinking water. Yet there are still people, especially farmers, living below the poverty line. They depend on their harvest for income and food, and that is becoming increasingly difficult with a changing climate.
When you travel through Laos, outside the big cities you will see that people live more simply and live off the land. You probably see that when you sail on the Mekong River, in the small villages along the river.
Best places to visit in Laos
Many travelers visit the places below. Laos is often combined with traveling through Thailand, Cambodia and/or Vietnam.
Ban houayxay
Ban Houayxay is a small town near the Thai border. This is often where a trip through Laos begins or ends. The tourists come here for the popular ones Gibbon Experience and with Mekong River Cruise.
Also read: Laos | The Mekong River Cruise (slowboat) info and experience
also look at: below our video of the Gibbon Experience:
Luang Prabang
Luang Prabang is also called the pearl of the Mekong and when you are there, you will immediately see why. There is a friendly, non-urban atmosphere. There are many colonial houses decorated with flowers. You will find many cozy restaurants along the river. There is also a lot to discover in the surroundings of the city.
Vang Vieng
Van Vieng was once known for tubing. Tubing as it was done then was banned about 12 years ago. However, the place still attracts many tourists who visit the lagoons and viewpoints or take a balloon flight or paramotor flight.
Nong Kiau
Nong Kiau (or Nong Khiaw) is located on the Nam Ou River and has beautiful mountain peaks. Tourists visit the town to canoe, climb to viewpoints and waterfalls, and explore caves.
The further north of Laos
The other places in the north of Laos are more remote and are (as yet) less visited by tourists. The tourists who come there mainly do so for trekking tours.
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Transport in Laos
The infrastructure in Laos is not optimal. You will often have to travel by bus over winding roads or in rickety boats. Preparing for such trips is also virtually impossible. You can only buy tickets in the place where you leave and the seller cannot actually tell you what your means of transport looks like, at most what time you leave and approximately how long the journey will take. You can also see it this way; this makes traveling through Laos even more old-fashioned adventurous!
There is one exception and that is traveling between places Luang Prabang, Van Vieng en Vientiane. Because that is possible with the LCR train. The train also departs to the north, but these are places where fewer tourists come.
Also read: Traveling with the LCR train in Laos | Everything you need to know
In the cities you can move comfortably by scooter. There are many rental companies and your accommodation often also offers rentals. It costs about 6 euros per day. It is also possible to use taxis. Apps like Loca en SM Green (electric cars) work just like Uber of Grave and work well within the cities.
Tip:: If you're looking for cheap E-Sims with internet for Laos, we've got you covered Air it recommend. This gave us good coverage and fast internet for ten euros.
Money matters in Laos
In Laos you pay with the Lao Kip. It is often also possible to pay with American dollars, euros or Thai Baht, because the value of the Kip can decrease. Yet you feel rich with the Laotian Kip, because 1 euro is currently worth 24.000 Kip. So sometimes you walk away with millions in your pocket.
Paying with your credit or debit card is not common, with the exception of more expensive restaurants and hotels. You can withdraw cash from ATMs in the cities. It is often not possible to withdraw more than 2 million Kip at a time. Converted to about 88 Euro. A transaction usually costs you 50.000 Kip, 2 euros or 20% of the amount you withdraw. The costs depend on the bank where you withdraw the money and the costs of your own bank.
If you travel to more remote areas in Laos, make sure you have enough cash. There may be hardly any ATMs and they are sometimes broken. An example is the town of Muang Khua. There were 2 ATMs here when we were there, but both were out of service.
In any case, count on a lot of money if you use your debit card to pay for your hotel. See below an Instagram video of a payment we made of 4 million KIP!
Also read: Withdrawing money and withdrawing money abroad | Everything you need to know
Also read: Which (prepaid) credit card is best to travel with? And why?
The best time to travel to Laos
November to February are the best months to travel through Laos. It is not yet too hot and the rainy season (which lasts from the end of April to September) has not yet started.
Burning Season
Although people say that burning crops is no longer allowed in Laos, it is still widely done. This could be so bad in the months of February and March that you could have difficulty breathing.
We were in Laos from February to March 4 and, although it was often quite foggy, we did not experience any problems. It did make for beautiful, colorful sunsets!
I have heard from other travelers that it caused problems in the north of Vietnam at the same time. It seems that many Laotians are complying with the ban.
Closing comments
Would you like to know more about traveling in Laos or do you have questions for other travelers? Then sign up for the Facebook group 🇰🇭 Cambodia & Laos 🇱🇦 Travel, vacation and backpacking, with more than 1000 members.
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- Experience the real Asia
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