LAOS
About Laos
Less than a decade ago, Laos (pop. 5.25 million) was largely unknown
to Western travellers. Other than a brief period during the 1960s,
when the former French colony became a player in the Vietnam War
, it has been largely ignored by the West - a situation that only
intensified after the 1975 revolution and the years of xenophobic
communist rule that ensued.
However, since the Lao People's Democratic Republic reluctantly
reopened its doors in the 1990s, a steady flow of visitors has
trickled into this poverty-stricken, old-fashioned country, and
a few traveller-oriented services have begun to emerge. For many,
a journey through Laos consists of a whistlestop tour through
the two main towns of Vientiane and Louang Phabang, with perhaps
a brief detour to the mysterious Plain of Jars or ancient Wat
Phou. However, those willing to explore further and brave difficult
roads and basic, candlelit accommodation will be rewarded with
sights of a rugged natural landscape and ethnically diverse people
not much changed from those that greeted French explorers more
than a century ago.
Laos's life-line is the Mekong River , which runs the length of
the landlocked country and in places serves as a boundary with
Thailand. Set on a broad
curve of the Mekong, Vientiane is perhaps Southeast Asia's most
modest capital city, and provides a smooth introduction to Laos,
offering a string of cosmopolitan cafés to compensate for
a relative lack of sights. From here, most tourists dash north,
usually by plane, to Louang Phabang, though it's worth taking
more time and doing the journey by bus, stopping off en route
at the town of Vang Viang , set in a spectacular landscape of
rice paddies and karsts. Once the heart and soul of the ancient
kingdom of Lane Xang, tiny, cultured Louang Phabang is Laos's
most enticing destination, with a spellbinding panoply of gilded
temples and weathered shop-houses. The wild highlands of the far
north aren't the easiest to get around, but the prospect of trekking
to nearby hilltribe villages has put easy-going Muang Sing on
the map. From here, you can travel to the Burmese border at Xiang
Kok , and then down the Mekong River to Houayxai , an entry point
popular with travellers arriving from Thailand in search of a
slow boat for the picturesque journey south to Louang Phabang.
Lost in the misty mountains of the far northeast, the provincial
capital of Xam Nua gives access to Viang Xai , where the Pathet
Lao directed their resistance from deep within a vast cave complex.
Following Route 6 south brings you to the ramshackle town of Phonsavan
, set beside the Plain of Jars, a moonscape of bomb craters dotted
with very ancient funerary urns. In the south, the vast majority
of travellers zip down Route 13, stopping off in the three major
southern towns: uninteresting Thakhek , the genial and cultural
Savannakhet - also a handy border crossing with Thailand,
and offering buses to Vietnam too - and the important transport
hub of Pakxe . Further south, near the former royal seat of Champasak
, lie the ruins of Wat Phou , the greatest of the Khmer temples
outside Cambodia. South again, the countless river islands of
Si Phan Don lie scattered across the Mekong, boasting scores of
traditional fishing communities and the chance to spot the rare
Irawaddy dolphin.
November to January are the pleasantest months to travel in lowland
Laos, when daytime temperatures are agreeably warm and evenings
slightly chilly; at higher elevations temperatures can drop to
freezing point. In February, temperatures begin to climb, reaching
a peak in April, when the lowlands are baking hot and humid. Generally,
the rains begin in May and last until September, rendering many
of Laos's roads impassable.
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