Laos is a land of soft light and long twilights; brown churning rivers and shy children; crumbling ornate French mansions and rough bamboo huts; water buffalo and opium.

It is a place where deft hands work giant wooden looms at silk markets and hundreds of bicycles ride past gilded temples dodging ambling orange monks holding shiny black umbrellas.

It’s a land rich in imagery, colour and life. A place where the breath naturally slows, the mind quietens and the singsong pace of South East Asia takes hold.

People are poor in Laos and live off the land, which is largely mountainous and forested. This rustic rural charm is the country’s main tourism draw card. Affectionately regarded as the ‘Thailand of 20 years ago’, Laos has a slowed-down easiness which appeals to travelers wanting a ‘genuine’ cultural experience.

Although tourism is the fastest growing industry in Laos, it’s managed to maintain its cultural integrity and stay off the mainstream path. The distinct lack of tacky tourist joints and hordes of travelers creates a peaceful atmosphere where you can easefully slide sideways into a singsong existence - smiling from one day into the next while exploring Laos's stunning scenery and shy but friendly people. And it’s cheap – cheaper than Thailand with currency issued in ridiculous denominations. You can be a millionaire many times over in Laos.

However, its peaceful ambiance hides a dark secret. During the communist revolution and war in Indochina between 1964 and 1973, the USA dropped more bombs on Laos than they did during the whole of World War II, destroying what little infrastructure there was and forcing many Laos to live in caves deep in the mountains.

Despite the blazing barrage from above, the Lao people have held onto their peaceful and passive persona. A quick ‘Sa bai dee’ (hello) to someone passing on the street is usually answered with a beaming Buddha smile. Their laid-back disposition could be attributed to Laos’s close ties to Buddhism. Although persecuted in the past by the country’s communist regime, the Lao government is now Buddha-friendly and glittering golden temples, which survived the bombing, are home to many monks and open to visitors.

From the limestone mountains and poppy fields of the north bordering Thailand, Myanmar, China and Vietnam, to the river deltas flowing into Cambodia, Laos follows the sensuous curves of the Mekong River whose silty waters are the lifeblood of the nation. Laos is landlocked in the heart of South East Asia and most of it is an impenetrable tangle of wilderness clinging to limestone mountainsides. Only four percent of the land is arable, and even then only a few hardy crops can endure the mountainous and monsoonal conditions – the main one being rice, the second being opium poppies grown in the infamous Golden Triangle.

The rest is a pulsating green wilderness interrupted by rough dirt tracks and bamboo villages dotting the banks of the many rivers feeding into the mighty Mekong.

It’s this lack of disruption which has allowed two of South East Asia’s most powerful animals to survive in Laos. The Indochinese Tiger and the Asiatic Elephant still prowl and stomp through the undergrowth, putting hot fear into peasants’ hearts that have yet to be desensitised to nature’s ferocity by urbanisation’s sanitised bootprint. 

Expect the simple life in Laos and allow yourself to glide from place to place on Laos time.

SURVIVAL GUIDE  

There are two main seasons in Laos – the rainy season from May to November, and the dry season from December to April. The dry season is the best time to travel as monsoonal rains play havoc with the country’s already crumbling infrastructure, washing away mountain roads and swelling the already swollen rivers to frothing mad magnitudes.

Laos is an official communist state, which loud speakers at dawn heartily remind Laotians and tourists alike.

Seventy percent of the population is ethnic Lao and the official language is Lao, which has a gentle singsong sound. Lao women are especially beautiful with round cheekbones and long shiny dark hair. Even while working in the fields or in the many small stores and roadside eateries, they have a regal bearing enhanced by their traditional silk garments.

Women and children are predominant in Laos – they check you into your rooms, cook your food and wash your clothes while effortlessly carrying children bundled in blankets on their backs. Men are conspicuously absent. Troubled rumours of opium dens and addiction circulate, or maybe the men are all working hard in the fields to feed their families?

Lao currency has a fun name – Kip – and US$1 will get you roughly 9800 kip. Exchange US$100 and you’re a millionaire. 

No special vaccinations are needed for Laos outside the normal shots needed for travelling in South East Asia – Hep A, B, typhoid, diphtheria, tetanus and polio. Malaria and dengue fever are alive and kicking in Laos. While you can take anti-malarial pills, there’s no protection against dengue fever. Always sleep with a mosquito net in rural areas, cover up around dusk and use strong insect repellent.

Thanks to Buddhism, there are a few important social dos and don’ts to adhere to in Laos. Never touch a Lao’s head or show them the soles of your feet. Dress modestly and public shows of affection are frowned on. Take your shoes off before entering a Lao home and accept hospitality when it’s offered.

Thirty-day tourist visas are issued on entry and cost US$35.