Lao Mellow
Laos is a peaceful, laid-back paradise, with a penchant for beautiful countryside. It has soaring mountain peaks, verdant river valleys, deep dark caves, and a handful of picture perfect towns. It is a traveler’s paradise.
It hasn’t always been this way. Laos is still suffering the ravages of nearly 300 years of continuous warfare. As with Vietnam and Cambodia, the principle conflicts of the 20th century involved France and the United States. Between the independence war with from France, and the heavy U.S. B-52 strikes, Laos is the most bombed country, on a per capita basis, in the history of warfare.
Since 1980, foreign aid to Laos has skyrocketed, making up to 78% of the national budget in some years. Despite this, Laos remains one of the ten poorest countries in the world. Infant mortality is 91 out of 1,000 live births (four times higher than Thailand), and the ratio of citizens to trained physicians is 4,381 to one (Vietnam has a ratio of 2,298 to one). Although Laos espouses a 12-year public school system, three years of education is the national norm (teachers typically have about five years of schooling).
Despite these problems, and years of virtual isolation, Laos has slowly opened itself to the outside world. The first foreigners to arrive in the 1990s found a wonderfully preserved slice of old Southeast Asian culture, and little has changed for the travelers of today. The Lao way of life remains as it always has, slow and relaxed – the polar opposite of the noise, pollution, and crowds of Saigon and Bangkok. As a traveler to Laos, life slows as well. Days are spent lounging by a river, exploring beautiful temples, or playing in crystal clear waterfalls.
If you get the chance, visit Laos. Our guidebook calls it the “Highlight of Southeast Asia,” and based on our experience, we would have to agree.
Enjoy the Laos Photo Gallery.
Enjoy the video of Phet, a young tiger cub rescued from wildlife traders trying to illegally smuggle three tiger kittens over the Chinese border. Although her two brothers did not survive, Phet is doing well under the guidance of the local authorities and the Laos Tiger Rescue Project.
It hasn’t always been this way. Laos is still suffering the ravages of nearly 300 years of continuous warfare. As with Vietnam and Cambodia, the principle conflicts of the 20th century involved France and the United States. Between the independence war with from France, and the heavy U.S. B-52 strikes, Laos is the most bombed country, on a per capita basis, in the history of warfare.
Since 1980, foreign aid to Laos has skyrocketed, making up to 78% of the national budget in some years. Despite this, Laos remains one of the ten poorest countries in the world. Infant mortality is 91 out of 1,000 live births (four times higher than Thailand), and the ratio of citizens to trained physicians is 4,381 to one (Vietnam has a ratio of 2,298 to one). Although Laos espouses a 12-year public school system, three years of education is the national norm (teachers typically have about five years of schooling).
Despite these problems, and years of virtual isolation, Laos has slowly opened itself to the outside world. The first foreigners to arrive in the 1990s found a wonderfully preserved slice of old Southeast Asian culture, and little has changed for the travelers of today. The Lao way of life remains as it always has, slow and relaxed – the polar opposite of the noise, pollution, and crowds of Saigon and Bangkok. As a traveler to Laos, life slows as well. Days are spent lounging by a river, exploring beautiful temples, or playing in crystal clear waterfalls.
If you get the chance, visit Laos. Our guidebook calls it the “Highlight of Southeast Asia,” and based on our experience, we would have to agree.
Enjoy the Laos Photo Gallery.
Enjoy the video of Phet, a young tiger cub rescued from wildlife traders trying to illegally smuggle three tiger kittens over the Chinese border. Although her two brothers did not survive, Phet is doing well under the guidance of the local authorities and the Laos Tiger Rescue Project.
posted by Scott and Lynn at 6:44 PM
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