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
caf้s 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.
