When To Go to LAOS

The best time to visit is between November and February - during these months it rains least and isn't too hot. This is also the main season for both national and regional bun (festivals). If you're heading up into the mountains, May and July can also be pleasant. Roads can be washed out during rainy season (July to October), but there's plenty of river travel opportunities. Peak tourist months are December to February and during August, although there are relatively few visitors at any time.


Laos' isolation from foreign influence offers travellers an unparalleled glimpse of traditional Southeast Asian life. From the fertile lowlands of the Mekong River valley to the rugged Annamite highlands, Laos is the highlight of Southeast Asia.
This is the least developed and most enigmatic of the three former French Indochinese states. A ruinous sequence of colonial domination, internecine conflict and dogmatic socialism finally brought the country to its knees in the 1970s, and almost 10% of the population left the country

Introducing LAOS

Laos , officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked communist state in southeast Asia, bordered by Myanmar (Burma) and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south, and Thailand to the west. Laos traces its history to the Kingdom of Lan Xang or Land of a Million Elephants, which existed from the fourteenth to the eighteenth century. After a period as a French protectorate, it gained independence in 1949. A long civil war ended when the communist Pathet Lao came to power in 1975.

In the Lao language, the country's name is "Muang Lao". The Imperial French, who made the country part of French Indochina in 1893, spelled it with a final "s", i.e. "Laos". The usual adjectival form is "Lao", i.e. "the Lao economy", not the "Laotian' economy; although 'Laotian" used to describe the people of Muang Laos to avoid confusion with the Lao ethnic group.

The culture of Laos has been highly influenced by Theravada Buddhism. This influence is reflected throughout Laos in its language as well as in art, literature and the performing arts.

Laotian music is dominated by its national instrument, the khaen (a type of bamboo pipe). Bands typically include a singer/rapper (mor lam) and a khaen player (mor khaen) alongside fiddlers and other musicians. Lam saravane is the most popular genre of Laotian music, but ethnic Lao in Thailand have developed an internationally-best selling form called mor lam sing.

One significant archive of ancient Laotian culture is the Plain of Jars in Xieng Khouang province.

The languages of Laos and Thailand to the untrained ear may seem similar; however, they are in reality very different. Although most Laotian people will understand spoken and written Thai and even speak Thai, most Thai people outside of Issan (North/North East Thailand) do not understand Lao. The writing of the two languages is also rather different and in general very few Thai read Lao.

The main similarity in the two languages is that in general many of the nouns are the same - however, most verbs, adjectives etc are different; also Lao does not use male and female ending particles as used in Thai (i.e. Kaa (Female) and Kap (Male))

Sabbai Dee and welcome to Laos, the 'land of a million elephants' and one of the last places to see old Indochina. The pace of Laos is slow and its people relaxed and friendly.
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