DIRECTORY © in dollars. best topay inkip;ifpriced indollars, pay rates. Ifthepriceisquoted inkip,you’ll do their unfavourable (toyou,atleast)exchange convert thepriceintoanothercurrency using cheaper thanlettingthehotel orguesthouse the occasionalmidrange offering. to budget-pricedandhotels and guesthouses options are more modest,typicallyrestricted Luang Prabang,Pakse and Vang Vieng)the you get offthebeaten track(, israpidlyimproving. once Thatsaid, The range andqualityof accommodation in Directory 312 ACCOMMODATION CONTENTS

L Paying intherequested currency isusually ok 330 330 327 328 326 Work Women Travellers Volunteering 329 Visas 328 Travellers withDisabilities 323 Tourist Information 321 Toilets 327 321 Time 327 Telephone 326 Solo Travellers Shopping 324 Post 324 Photography &Video 319 320 Money 322 Maps 321 Legal Matters 318 Internet Access 317 316 Insurance 320 Holidays 320 315 Gay &Lesbian Travellers Food 320 Festivals &Events Embassies &Consulates Dangers &Annoyances Customs 317 Courses 317 Climate Charts Business Hours 314 Activities Children 315 Accommodation 312 o n e l y

P l a n e t

P u b l i c a t i o n s

P t y

L t d ‘Real Laos’, p ‘Real Laos’, 45 . theboxednot toexpect,see text, Feeling the style. Foranideaof whattoexpect,and chance fortravellers toexperiencelife, Lao bed, dinnerandbreakfast, andprovide a in ruralareas, cheap ataboutUS$5foryour creasingly popular. areHomestays invariably inavillageStaying homeisbecomingin- be provided. available; assumethatafanwill otherwise, An iconisincludedtoindicate ifair-con is tached bathroom,unlessstatedotherwise. pricesforroomswithat- are high-season Homestays Accommodation priceslisted inthisbook PRACTICALITIES        party line. party language newspaper,cleaves tothe Saturday, thecountry’sonlyEnglish- times.org.la), publishedMondayto tiane Times. ment mouthpiecesimilartothe (www.lerenovateur.org.la), agovern- Francophones canread The weighed in ments. Goldandsilver are sometimes The metric system isusedformeasure- or flatsockets. outlets usuallyfeature round two-prong The LPDR uses220VAC circuitry;power videos. and/orkaraoke people watchThai TV Programming inLaoislimited somost Lao National channels. hastwoTV TV in themorningis15360. International. Agoodfrequency forBBC VOA, Australia France Radio andRadio Short-wave radios canpickupBBC, news twicedaily. broadcasts sanitisedEnglish-language (LNR;www.lnr.org.la),National Radio The LPDR’ssingleradiostation,Lao Vientiane Times bàat (15g). (www.vientiane Le Rénovateur Vien-

DIRECTORY 313 in order of in order of not Then there are the few top-end hotels with hotels top-end the few are Then there in LaosWhat is common among all hotels Small and medium-size hotels oriented oriented Small and medium-size hotels Hotels may be housed in charming old French colo- old French may be housed in charming modern or historic, nial mansions. Whether tariffsas these such run from about at hotels hot with air-con, US$40 to US$100 for rooms TVwater, and refrigerator. facilities and personal- decor, more better ised service, carefully- occupying more often colonial villas or modern, purpose- restored built buildings. These typically cost between US$80 and US$200, occasionally even higher. Solid midrange with what you’d pay at home. at places, that would cost US$80 or more home, can be had for US$20 or US$40. And at the top-end boutique luxury, that would cost Hotel rooms in Vientiane, Luang Prabang, Luang in Vientiane, rooms Hotel offer Vieng, Pakse and Vang and fans as standard bathrooms fea- private for between per about US$10 and US$20 tures rooms with of is then a vast range night. There and TV hot water between costing air-con, by and US$70, differentiated about US$15 style the city and the levelstheir location, of and service. travellers business and leisure towards Asian cities. In the larger and tour groups exist in these and Pakse Vientiane, Luang Prabang is that the rooms are great value compared value compared great is that the rooms are DIRECTORY •• Accommodation US$20-80 than US$80. more less than US$20 For example, the farmers flogging bamboo bungalows on aren’t making bamboo bungalows on Don Det aren’t any money For example, the farmers flogging of the But be aware you can; that’s partBy all means try to get the best rate of travelling.

preference. We have divided accommodation by the price of a double room thus: divided accommodation by We have preference.

on their US$2 rooms, they’re just hoping you’ll buy some food and beer. Taking this into con- Taking just hoping you’ll buy some food and beer. on their US$2 rooms, they’re like inflation and the price economic imperatives sideration, as well as the fact that international Laos as much as they do prices in your own country, it’s important of oil affect to understand of this book. just When that happens, please don’t may go up during the life that room rates being ripped off. assume you’re Generally speaking,cultural context. the Lao avoid conflict possibly can and as much as they negotiations or a little, they don’t usually buy into protracted happy to bargain while they are you (as opposed to being beyond your budget) seems unfair to If the rate price. over arguments or not, straight away. will usually be accepted, This offer. by all means make a counter Midrange Top end years but prices remain recent substantially in quality of rooms in Laos has improved overall The It’s worth this if a bargain. remembering standards, they’re By Western remarkably reasonable. the price down, particularly competition is trying to bargain at the budget end where you’re small. are fierce and margins ROOM RATES by price order, startingIn this guide all accommodation is listed at the cheapest, Budget

The price of simple rooms in most towns simple rooms in most towns The price of

Facilities are improving across the country, improving are Facilities and US$30. guesthouses have stepped up the style and up stepped guesthouses have upscale rooms for between about US$15 offer also have air-conditioning and a TV, air-conditioning with also have cable TV lucky. Some in English if you’re and hot shower expect to pay about US$9 and hot shower expect to pay about US$9 this will usually to US$14; anything above averages between a night US$5 and US$8 with averages bathroom. For an attached bathroom shared hardly a necessity in lowland Laos,hardly a necessity in lowland but is very welcome in the mountains. tic bowl to scoop cold water from large jars, jars, from large tic bowl to scoop cold water is tanks drums. Hot water or even 44-gallon have cold-water showers or simple Lao-style or simple showers cold-water have you wash yourself using a plas- bathing, where but the most inexpensive places might still but the most inexpensive simple bamboo-thatch huts with shared facili- huts with shared simple bamboo-thatch US$3 a night.ties, going for as little as and charismatic wooden homes. In places In places wooden homes. and charismatic ) in southern Laos or 289 (p as Don Det such ) in northern Laos 207 Muang Ngoi Neua (p you’ll come across guesthouses consisting of than 16 rooms. They typically occupy large, large, They typically occupy than 16 rooms. but oc- vintage, recent of homes two-storey historic find them in more casionally you’ll gally speaking a guesthousegally speaking in Laos has fewer Guesthouses betweenThe distinction ‘guesthouse’, ‘hotel’ only, but le- exists in name often and ‘resort’ lonelyplanet.com DIRECTORY Vientiane andThaKhaek between only bytheavailability of transport. by road,sodrop-offs andpick-upsare limited stream areas of rivers allthese canbeaccessed well astheMekong are safe bets.Theup- Kongas Nam Kading, NamHinBunandSe year-round. the In centralandsouthernLaos and of theMekong course River are navigable north, theNamOu,Tha, Khan the Mekong valleycanbeinteresting. Inthe slopes of towards theAnnamite Mountains major waterways drainingfrom thewestern and lighteryourcraftis,thebetter. of overland thesmaller transport,however, of thedifficulties Because small boattoLaos. bringingyourown special customsdifficulties areas.in those equipment,alongwaterwaysthe necessary rafting andkayakingtrips,complete with PakseTha Khaek, andDonDetoffer guided Luang Namtha,Prabang,Vang Vieng, degrees of comfortandcost.Operators in kayaking tripsare allavailable, withvarying and canoeing mote corners Rafting, of Laos. is increasingly themore thewaytosee re- routes riverboat still running(p public of 142 handful a ), do-it-yourselfboating only With Boating ACTIVITIES tional ideaof aresort, withpricestomatch. totheinterna- Luang Prabang,comecloser Afew,US$70 anight. outside such asthose as amidrange hotel, iefromaboutUS$15to of sportsactivities,spaandsoon. inmanyothercountries,theavailability does notimply,asitusually towns orcities.Itdoes foranyaccommodationsituated outside used The term context ‘resort’ maybe intheLao Resorts good time. toandyou’llbemoreused likely tohave a thanyou’re offor lowerstandards service inthemoreeven expensive hotels. Soprepare English literacy isoften frustratinglypoor, toWesternand standards, their service Few have hotels managed inLaos tohone America orAustralia,canbehadforUS$80. two orthree timesasmuch inEurope,North 314 thatfeed intothe tributaries Several For trainedpaddlers almostanyof the isintheservice. however, The trade-off, As withbicycles,youshouldn’thave any resorts typicallycostaboutthesame Lao DIRECTORY •• Activities ••Activities DIRECTORY as overwhelming asinVietnamorThailand. they're –though be anuisance nowhere near inpaveddusty even andtruckscan sections, thisroadmaybecomevery the dryseason border. ontheCambodian Nong Khiang In borderto from Boten ontheChinese–Lao the entire north–southlengthof thecountry rideisalongRte 13,whichdistance extends of foodandaccommodation,theeasiestlong- roadconditions. rough bringing yourownbike, onethat’sgeared to cyclingyou’re better off out-of-town serious more thanpedallingaroundtown.Forany ally cheap unsuited affairs tomuch Chinese be hired inthelarger townsbutthey’re gener- ofabsence roadsinthefirst place. Bikes can bythegeneral thisissomewhatoffset though al- cycling anattractive proposition inLaos, The overall lackof vehicular makes traffic Cycling aking tripsinthisarea. (www.greendiscoverylaos.com) looksafter thelogistics, one else are limited butpossible. Ifyou’dprefer some- change thingsthere. Upstream put-inspots damontheNamKading a proposed might are wideandrelatively cleanrivers, though particular theNamKading andNamHinBun rugged limestonecountry.In spectacularly andrunthrough solittleboattraffic see are nowmore than10areas you canchoose getting moneyinto poorcommunities,there projectstry. Andthanksto several aimedat a mandatorypart of anyvisittothecoun- hasbecomesopopular it’salmostof Laos Trekking andforests themountains through &Trekking Hiking Plain of Jars isagoodtrip. headingeastalongRte 7towardsthe Laos, text, p 252 ) out of Innorthern ThaKhaek. theboxedand of theoriginalloop(see course Vang the boxed Viengloop(see text, p 134 ); theboxedroute (see text, p 261 ); theWest boxed text, p 297 ); theshorter Savannakhet over theBolaven the Plateau andbeyond(see on amotorbike, justslower. There’s theride (usually) justasgoodonabicycletheyare of thevariousloopsdescribedinthisbookare bikeand mountain tours, gotop 338 . are particularlyrecommended they because For alist of outfitsthatoffer guidedcycling In terms of roadgradientandavailability touring,any Alternatively, forself-guided offers raftingandkay- lonelyplanet.com Green Discovery Green

DIRECTORY 315 Travel with with Travel (Western) food, and open food, and open (Western) falang contains useful advice on how to Tourist that don’t open for that don’t open for Tourist restaurants serve generally from 11am breakfast to 11pm. Shops selling noodles and/or rice soup and/or rice soup Shops selling noodles 1pm. typically open from 7am to are of menu with a larger Lao restaurants open often dishes served with rice are from 10am to 10pm. Lao both offering Tourist restaurants and for breakfast, lunch and dinner, usually and dinner, usually lunch for breakfast, and open their doors around 7.30am serve till 10pm.         RESTAURANT HOURS vary accord- Business hours for restaurants they and the food clientele ing to their serve. Outside of Vientiane, day-care centres are are centres Vientiane, day-care Outside of For a list of standard business hours see standard business hours a list of For the CHILDREN likewise unknown, though this is rarely a a unknown, thoughlikewise this is rarely and in many problem. The Lao children adore instances on your off- attention will shower among find playmates spring, who will readily their Lao nanny service and a temporary peers at practically every stop. attitudes, physical requirements and the usual attitudes, physical requirements Lonely Planet’s patience. parental Children cope with kids on the road and what to bring smoothly. things go more along to make Practicalities as – such towards children Amenities geared seats child-safety restaurants, in high chairs facilities in or nappy-changing for vehicles, virtually unknown in – are public restrooms to be extra re- Laos. will have Thus parents sourceful in seeking or follow substitutes out Lao means the example of families (which on their laps much holding smaller children the time). of On Saturday some businesses are open all day, On Saturday some businesses are businesses, only half a day. Most except others closed on Sunday. are restaurants, vary from these, If hours inside front cover. stated in individual reviews. they are travel- many places in Southeast Asia, Like in Laos fun a lot of can be ling with children with the right as long as you come prepared (www.laos-climbing DIRECTORY •• Business Hours (www.greendiscoverylaos.com) is a (www.greendiscoverylaos.com)

Finally, you can set off on a day hike from you can setFinally, hike on a day off While the cultural side of a trip is limited a trip is limited While the cultural side of some lan- If you do go it alone and have

Shops and private businesses and private open and closeShops large operator and has a good reputation; its website has large operator and has a good reputation; detail on equipment, pricesmore and routes. .com) Based out of Vang Vieng, Adam has heaps of experi- .com) Based out of Vang his guides get good reportsence climbing the area, and is also available. equipment rental a bit later and usually stay open during lunch. and usually stay open during lunch. a bit later this mean you can expect to find Lao offi- cials back in their offices promptly at 1pm? Probably not. 5pm Monday to Friday. Some offices may 5pm Monday to Friday. Some offices may open for a half day on Saturday, but this cus- abandoned in 1998 when tom was generally introduced break two-hour lunch the official Does to one hour. was reduced by the French Government offices are typically open from are offices Government 8am to 11.30am or noon and from 1pm to BUSINESS HOURS Green Discovery profile climbing at Krabi, in . climbing profile Adam’s Rock Climbing School climbs ranging from beginner to very tough climbs ranging from beginner to very the routes compared have indeed. Climbers with the high- favourably and guides here (p 133 ) and Nong Khiaw (p 205 ). Vang Vieng ). Vang 205 ) and Nong Khiaw (p 133 (p has the most established scene, with dozens of lished at two main sites: near Vang Vieng Vieng near Vang lished at two main sites: Rock Climbing for Laos perfect of are The limestone karsts been estab- have rock climbing, and routes guage skills or a phrasebook it’s often possible skills or a phrasebook it’s often guage though village, to spend the night in a remote food and bed. to pay for your do offer a in Laos.just about any town or village Take water. and plenty of hat, sunscreen Prices, including all food, guides, transport, all food, guides, transport, Prices, including start and park fees, accommodation at about with In most casesUS$20 a day. can trek you costs person two people, with per as as few group. the falling the larger alone skills, trekking without some language Walking the country. is possible in most of Laos eastern be can the track in most of off unexploded amount of the given dangerous ) still lying around. 318 ordnance (UXO; p most involve walking through a mix of forest forest walking through a mix of most involve land and stayingand agricultural in homes or villages. guesthousescommunity in remote from; for a general rundown, see the boxed see rundown, for a general from; boxed the but is different, . Each trek organised 79 p text, lonelyplanet.com DIRECTORY mainland SoutheastAsia producea‘dryand tern include Xieng Khuang, Hua Phantern includeXieng Khuang, and February. tothisgeneral Exceptions pat- lastinguntilmid- mostofbypasses Laos), created byAsia’s northeastmonsoon(which lower relative temperatures andcoolbreezes (from November toMay), beginningwith into November. May between rives andJulylasts inLaos Thesouthwestmonsoonar-for mostof Laos. wet monsoonclimate’ withthree basicseasons CHARTS CLIMATE prone to. the kindof exploration mostkidsare fantasy (p97). alleys such asswimmingpoolsandten-pin bowling also hasafew more mainstream activities, (p Khuan 96 ) outsideVientiane. Thecapital Hindu-Buddhist sculpture gardenof Xieng trips (p 142 ) are usuallywell-received too. (p 170 mostkidsfordays.Boat ) canamuse waterfalls atTat Sae(p 170 ) andTat KuangSi is alwaystheoutdoors. InLuangPrabangthe in theirmouths, thisisusuallynoproblem. As longastheydon’ttrytoputanyof them theirparentsthings atgroundlevel often miss. example, meanstheytend tonoticeallsortsof chicken’s-eye viewof athree-year-old, for to.spective beused towhatyoumight The dren tend togive does youadifferent per- as theirparents do,buttravelling withchil- of LuangPrabangandVientianeas inspiring toric temples andFrench colonialarchitecture Younger children usuallydon’tfindthehis- Sights &Activities as rabiesisdisturbinglycommoninLaos. play withanimalsencountered alongtheway Children shouldespeciallybewarnednotto theHealthtions apply;see chapter fordetails. cal problems.Alltheusualhealthprecau- potentialhand-washing –toheadoff medi- lay downafew groundrules–such asregular much itpaysto abouthealthconcerns,though supply. bring alongasufficient and cities,butforruralareas to you’llneed available atminimarkets inthelarger towns 316 allofThe annualmonsooncyclesthataffect Most children alsotake totheunique in,thebestcureIf boredom set inLaos does For themostpartparents worrytoo needn’t formulaandnappies(diapers)Baby are The monsoonis followedbyadryperiod Elsewhere, thePlainof Jars (p 193 ) invites DIRECTORY •• Climate Charts ••ClimateCharts DIRECTORY tude. Inthehumid,low-lying Mekong River valley, temperatures range from 15°Cto38°C, Provincesern Champasak receiving themost. andeast- Khammuan Vientiane, Bolikhamsai, oflatitude andaltitude,withthehighlands the months of AprilandMay. fall comingfromVietnamandChina during Phongsali Provinces, which mayreceive rain- 10 40 10 40 10 40 10 40 C% °C % °C % °C C% °C 30 30 30 30 20 20 20 20 0 0 0 0 SAVANNAKHET PAKSE LUANG PRABANG VIENTIANE 104 104 104 104 Temperatures alsovaryaccordingtoalti- accordingto variessubstantially Rainfall 32 50 32 50 32 50 32 50 86 86 86 86 68 68 68 68 °F °F °F °F JFMAMJJASOND JFMAMJJASOND JFMAMJJASOND JFMAMJJASOND Temp/ Temp/ Temp/ Temp/ 92m (305ft) Humidity Humidity Humidity Humidity 170m (561ft) 16 24 16 24 16 24 16 24 in in in in 8 8 8 8 0 0 0 0 155m (509ft) 303m (997ft) 100 100 100 100 0 0 0 0 50 75 50 75 50 75 50 75 25 25 25 25 JFMAMJJASOND JFMAMJJASOND JFMAMJJASOND JFMAMJJASOND lonelyplanet.com Rainfall Rainfall Rainfall Rainfall Max/Min Max/Min Max/Min Max/Min Average Average Average Average 0 200 400 600 0 200 400 600 0 200 400 600 0 200 400 600 mm mm mm mm DIRECTORY 317 When riding in buses, you may be able to you can’t get an aisle seat,you can’t get the right side is usu- as it cuts down the risks in the event ally safer been no reported attacks on traffic been since no reported still nervous2004. If you’re – and it’s true during murdered that two Swiss cyclists were 13 in 2003 – ask around an ambush on Rte sure in Vientiane or Luang Prabang to make travelling before secure the situation remains 13 between or Rte 7 to Phonsavan along Rte and Luang Prabang. Vieng Vang ACCIDENTS speedboats,After and assuming you’ll not be av- walking through any minefields, the law of by road is probably travelling suggests erages activity in Laos.the most dangerous Having of reports few relatively are said that, there traf- and the lack of bus crashes and the like, collisions less roads makes fic and quality of too. likely serious injuries if you choose cut your risk of an aisle seat the bus; towards the middle of If comfortable too. more generally these are Road Travel insur- and fewer Better vehicles roads, better in Laos if safe, is quite mean road travel gents not always comfortable. not yet possible to It’s from armed bandits totally rule out the threat And though it is miniscule. or insurgents, traffic in Laoswhile the scarcity of means accidents than the daily far, far fewer are there still horror on Vietnam’s roads, accidents are risk to travellers. the major ARMED ATTACK virtually fin- With the Hmong insurgency 7 and 13, particularly along Rtes ished, travel is as Khoun Phu and Kasi, in the vicinity of have as it has beensafe for decades. There Queues LaoThe Asian usual Southeast follow the services, queuing for method of is to which say but simply don’t form a line at all they distribu- push en masse towards the point of post-office counters, at ticket tion, whether to get It won’t help bus doors. windows or first- since first!’ ‘I was here angry and shout come, first-served things simply isn’t the way Rather it’s ‘first-seen,done here. first- are served’. Learn to play the game the Lao way, or passport, letters by pushing your money, the crowd as best you to the front of whatever through. you’ll get can. Eventually vi- (SAIL; www.laostudies. DIRECTORY •• Courses 021-215 764; www.ambafrance-laos.org; % (insight meditation) at Wat Sok Pa (insight meditation) at Wat Sok Pa

That’s not to say Laos is danger free. That’s not to say Laos free. is danger However, most dangers are easy enough to are However, most dangers avoid. scams, which are more annoying than actu- more are scams, which ally dangerous. were. The main change has been in the rise The main change were. as theft and low-level such petty crime, of and Thailand. And while the vast majority and Thailand. And while the vast majority Laotians honest and welcoming, of remain as idyllic as they once quite things aren’t DANGERS & ANNOYANCES Over or so Laos years the last 15 has earned as a remarkably among visitors a reputation reported with little crime place to travel, safe found in more the scams so often of and few as Vietnam, Cambodia places such touristed pornography apply, otherwise you can bring in practically anything you want, including Lao currency. sums of and foreign unlimited 500 cigarettes or 1L of distilled spirits. All the distilled spirits. All the or 1L of 500 cigarettes on drugs, weapons and usual prohibitions a moderate amount of luggage. You’re not You’re luggage. amount of a moderate than supposed the country with more to enter CUSTOMS lax entry are Customs inspections at ports of than not bringing in more as long as you’re Meditation can speak LaoIf you or Thai, or can arrange study you may be able to an interpreter, Summer Study Abroad in Laos Summer Study Abroad in Laos passana ) in Vientiane. 97 Luang (p (Map p 90 ; Centre Culturel et de Coopération Linguistique Th , Vientiane) At the time of research, regular courses in courses regular research, of At the time Lao only available and written were spoken at one institute. Language in Luang Prabang (p 157 ), Udomxai (p 211 ) 211 ), Udomxai (p 157 (p in Luang Prabang ). 99 (p and Vientiane Cooking to tourists Lao available are courses cooking on the best times to travel in Laos. to travel on the best times COURSES while in the mountains of Xieng Khuangin the mountainswhile it of for comment 13 night. to 0°C at can drop See p org/sail) An intensive eight-week language study program org/sail) An intensive eight-week at a variety of levels by the Lao-American hosted College in Vientiane. lonelyplanet.com DIRECTORY necessary. in UdonThani,Thailand,tocallforhelpif National UXO Programme (UXO Lao) and National UXOProgramme (UXOLao) text, p 199 bythe Lao ). Accordingtosurveys by nearly100years of warfare theboxed (see by unexplodedordnance ( UXO) leftbehind Large areas of are eastern contaminated Laos UXO todiscourageally enough the light-fingered. Prabang. Simplelocksonyourbags are usu- Huay XaiandLuang the slowboatbetween VientianeandLuang Prabang,andon tween especiallycareful aroundhere.Be bankontheriverfront. money neartheBCEL having daypacksstolenafter they’ve changed reportswe’ve hadseveral of (usually)women snatch bagsfrombaskets. AlsoinVientiane, on motorbikes have known toridebyand been anything of valueinthebasket duos –thieving a bicycleormotorcycleinVientiane,don’tplace pockets.keep moneyinyourtrouser Ifyouride a crowdedbus,watch yourluggage anddon’t women’s cosmetics)outonshow.Ifyouride leave cashorothertempting items (such as rooms isbecomingmore common,sodon’t are fairlyeasilyavoided. portunistic actsthat,ifyouare aware of them, Most of thereports we’ve heardinvolve op- in SoutheastAsia, inrecent ithasrisen years. and theftismuch lesscommonthanelsewhere are generallyWhile Lao trustworthypeople Theft travelspeedboat unlessabsolutely necessary. are fast.Werecommend thatyouavoid all are asdangerousin northernLaos asthey thatcareenThe speedboats alongtheMekong Speedboats p For tipsonmotorbiking,see 342 . byarun-inwithhotexhaustpipe. caused calf –thatscarontheinnerright tattoo’ version of aLao earning yourself the‘Thai is rising.Even more likely isthechance of among travellers, sothenumberof accidents As motorbikes becomeincreasingly popular MOTORBIKES number of number of yourembassyinVientianeandthe It’sworthcarryingonyourperson the traffic. your conveyance isside-swipedbyoncoming 318 Other reports involve be- theftonbuses Money orgoodsgoingmissingfromhotel DIRECTORY ••Embassies&Consulates DIRECTORY Aek UdonHospital Aek

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and NewZealand. nationalsoftheUK,Canada Nak, Vientiane)Alsolooksafter www.laos.embassy.gov.au; Km4,ThThaDeua,BanWat Sok Pa Luang, Vientiane) the remainder, andthe forexampleCanada bassies andconsulates inVientiane. Many of em- around25maintain relations withLaos, Australia country. toanySoutheastAsianapplying foravisa are given sure here. tobring aphotowhen Be bouring countrieswithvalidbordercrossings Hanoi orBeijing. bytheirembassiesinBangkok, UK, are served EMBASSIES &CONSULATES how oldanddefunctitmayappear. touch anobjectthatmaybeUXO,nomatter people have walked youshouldbeOK.Never provinces. Putsimply,ifyouwalkwhere other road wildernesstravel intheaforementioned should exercise cautionwhenconsideringoff- average foreign visitorislow,buttravellers andSekong. Prabang, HuaPhan, Luang Champasak, Khammuan, most severely affected provinces, followedby fallintoacategory ofand XiengKhuang theprovincessations, of Salavan, Savannakhet other nongovernment UXOclearanceorgani- Germany France Cambodia Vientiane) BanSiSaket, ThSetthathirath, ambafrance-laos.org; Vientiane; 3, ThThaDeua,BanThatKhao, days. Issuesvisasinfourworking Mon-Fri) Wat NakNyai,BanNak,Vientiane; US$20. visasissuedthesamedayfor Tourist & 2-5pmMon-Fri) Of the75orsonationsthathave diplomatic Opening hours fortheembassiesof neigh- speaking,theUXOriskfor Statistically US UK NewZealand Canada Australia areas toavoid, including: detailingpotential pitfallsandservices Most governments have travel advisory GOVERNMENT TRAVEL WARNINGS Mp p86; (Map (www.travel.state.gov) (www.fco.gov.uk) Mp p90; (Map (Map p (Map 86 ; (Map p (Map 86 ; (Map p (Map 86 ; (www.voyage.gc.ca) (www.smartraveller.gov.au) % % (www.safetravel.govt.nz) % % 021-315 105;fax012-315104;Th 021-215 258,259;www. % 021-212 111,110;Th 021-353 800;fax012-353801; 021-314 952;fax314951;Km lonelyplanet.com h h 9-11.30am 7.30-11am DIRECTORY 319 parinib- (Tut Jiin) performances), w lám ǎ m (Khao Watsa, Full Moon) This is the (Khao Watsa, Full (Visakha Moon) This falls on Full Puja, (Rocket Festival) This is a pre-Buddhist (Rocket rain Festival) This is a temple-centred in which festival (Lao New Year, 14-16 April) Lao new year (Lao New Year, (birth the Buddha’s tale) of Prince Vessantara, (passing away). Activities on the wat, centred are Jataka the 15th day of the sixth lunar month, which is considered the day of the Buddha’s birth, enlightenment and bana with much chanting, sermonising and, at night, beautiful candlelit processions. beginning of the traditional three-month ‘rains retreat’, JULY Bun Khao Phansa is the most important holiday of the year. Houses are are Houses is the most important holiday of the year. and Buddha images cleaned, people put on new clothes In wats, you’ll see fruit and washed with lustral water. are flower offerings votive mounds of sand or at altars and stone in the courtyards. Later, people douse one another and sometimes random tourists with water, which is an appropriate activity as April is usually the hottest month of is particularly This festival picturesque in Luang the year. it includes ), where 154 text,Prabang (see the boxed p The elephant processions and lots of traditional costuming. 14th, 15th and 16th of April public holidays and the are vast majority closed. are of shops and restaurants MAY Visakha Busa Bun Bang Fai now celebrated alongside Visakhaceremony Busa in Laos and northeastern It can be one of the wildest Thailand. in the whole country, with music, dance and folk festivals (especially the irreverent theatre processions and general merrymaking, all culminating in the firing of bamboo rockets into the sky. The firing of the rockets to initiate the is supposed to prompt the heavens rainy season and bring much-needed water to the rice vary from village to village. Dates fields. APRIL Bun Pi Mai Vietnamese Tet & Chinese New Year & Chinese New Year Vietnamese Tet MARCH Bun Pha Wet the time This is also a favoured is recited. penultimate life, (second to Khao for Lao males to be ordained into Phansa) the monkhood. days Pha Wet is celebrated on different Bun vil- and friends villages so relatives from different in different respectivelages can invite one another to their celebrations. summons. Chanting and offerings mark the festival, culmi- and offerings Chanting mark the festival, summons. wats throughout of candlelit circumambulation nating in Phu in Vientiane and at Wat the country. Celebrations most fervent.) are 278 (p and Savannakhet Pakse Celebrated in Vientiane, with parties, and visits to Vietnamese and Chinese fireworks Chinese-temples. and Vietnamese-run usually businesses days. close for three ). ). has has 8- boun (Map Consulate Consulate h (Map (or Lao National Lao National Consulate in Consulate 041-212 418; bun 7.30-11am & 1.30- % 021-314 910; Th Sok Pa 910; Th Sok Pa 021-314 021-214 581; www. 021-413 400; Th That h % % % (www.tourismlaos.org) 7.30-11.30am & 2-4.30pm

7.30-11.30am & 1.30-4pm (1-3 January) Public holiday. (1-3 January) Public 021-214 581; 15 Th Bourichane,021-214 581; 15 Consulate in Savannakhet in Consulate h h (Map ; p 255 8.30am-noon & 1-4.30pm Mon-Fri) & 1-4.30pm 8.30am-noon 8-11.30am & 1.30-4.30pm Mon-Fri) % 031-214 199; www.vietnamcon Consulate in Luang Prabang in Luang Consulate DIRECTORY & Events •• Festivals 021-267 000; fax 021-267 190; http:// 021-267 000; fax 021-267 190; (Map p 86 ; 86 (Map p (Map p 86 ; 86 (Map p (mid-January) The annual harvest The annual (mid-January) drop-off 9-11am & collection 2-4.30pm h h % % 8.30am-noon & 1-3pm Mon-Fri);8.30am-noon & 8.30am-noon & 1-3pm) Come here for visa 1-3pm) Come here 8.30am-noon & (Magha Puja or Bun Khao Chi, Full Moon) (Magha or Bun Khao Puja Chi, Full h (Burma; Map p 86 ; 86 Map (Burma; p Embassy (Map p 86 ; 86 (Map p Embassy h h 071-254 748; 041-212 373; cnr Th Tha He & Th Chaimeuang, 041-212 373; cnr Th Tha He & Th

% % (Map ; p 269 (Map p 90 ; 90 (Map p

Makha Busa FEBRUARY Bun Khun Khao JANUARY International New Year for the larger celebrations. for the larger Tourism Administration year’s dates details and lists the current more are. All of this makes advance planning advance planning this makes of All are. the difficult. of The website set in stone and some festivals are celebrated celebrated are set in stone and some festivals you times depending on where at different Most festival dates change according to the according to the change dates Most festival lunar calendar, though not even these are Festivals in Laos are mostly linked to agri- in Laos mostly linked are Festivals cultural seasons or Buddhist holidays. The in Laoword for festival is FESTIVALS & EVENTSFESTIVALS Vietnam USA Thailand Vientiane; Luang, Issues tourist visas in four days for US$20. This commemorates a speech given by the Buddha to 1250 enlightened monks who came to hear him without prior festival sees villagers performfestival offering thanks ceremonies to the land spirits for allowing their crops to flourish. renewals, extensionsrenewals, etc; 11am Monday & Friday, 1-4pm Mon-Fri) laos.usembassy.gov; Th Bartholomie,laos.usembassy.gov; Vientiane; lonelyplanet.com Th Sisavangvong, Savannakhet; 4.30pm Mon-Fri) A one-month tourist visa costs US$50 and a three-month visa US$60. p 146 ; Mon-Fri) This consulate issues same-day visas for US$40; in SavannakhetConsulate sulate-pakse.org; Th 21; Mon-Fri) Issues tourist minutes for within a few visas days; three US$60 or for US$45 if you wait Pakse Luang, Vientiane; Luang, Issues tourist visas in two working days for US$50, or in days for US$45; three thaiembassy.org/vientiane; Th Kaysonethaiembassy.org/vientiane; Phomvihane, Vientiane; in Vientiane Vientiane; p 255 ; Savannakhet; Mon-Fri) Tourist visas (1000B) issued and non-immigrant the same day. DIRECTORY of AwkPhansa). detriment Day, savingthemselves considerableexpense(muchtothe untilNational some ofthetraditionalAwkPhansaactivities mandatory, hencemanypoorer communitiespostpone sickle flagsare flownalloverthecountry.Celebrationis speeches etc. LaonationalandCommunisthammer-and- overthemonarchywithparades, ebrates the1975victory Luang. ends withafantasticcandlelitprocessioncirclingThat monks receive almsandfloralofferings. Thefestival Muang. Earlyonthefirstmorninghundreds of is alsoaprocessionbetweenPhaThatLuang andWatSi acrossthecapital.There fireworks, musicanddrinking ingly commercialcelebrationlastsaweekandincludes Centred aroundPhaThatLuang inVientiane,thisincreas- venues around town.Thefocusison theblossomingwork lpfilmfest.org) seeseight daysoffree screenings atseveral Luang PrabangFilm Festival LaoNationalDay DECEMBER Luang That Bun Pha NOVEMBER Nam Bun Loy KrathonginThailand. incense inaceremony called Van LoiHeuaFai, similarto the release ofsmallbanana-leaf boatscarryingcandlesand with and,nearanyriver, Phansa iscelebratedwithparties and otherrequisites oftherenunciate life. ofAwk Theeve totravelandare presented with robes,almsbowls asteries rainsretreat, monkscanleavethemon- the three-month Phansa Awk Bun OCTOBER/NOVEMBER Padap Din HawKhao AUGUST/SEPTEMBER place. tions take hencemanyordina- temporarily, to enterthemonkhood other crops. Thisisalsothetraditionaltimeofyearformen or soasnottodamagefieldsofrice forego thewandering therainyseasonthey wander thecountryside,butduring they are allowedtotravel fromwattoorsimply themselves inasinglemonastery.Atothertimesofyear tostation whichBuddhistmonksare expected during 320 festivals intwomonths. (2 December)soresidents aren’t saddledwithtwocostly postponeduntilNationalDay towns theracesare often AwkPhansa. Insmaller boat racesare heldtheday after towns,includingVientianeandLuang Prabang, many river monks willchantonbehalfofthedeceased. are presented totheBuddhistorder(Sangha)so gifts place–bonesbeingexhumedforthepurposeand take cremations tothedead.Many sees thelivingpayrespect DIRECTORY ••Food DIRECTORY ( Bun

suang héua; (OkWatsa,Full Moon)Attheendof (2December)Thispublicholidaycel- Luang Festival, Full (That Moon) (Full Moon)Thissombre festival Boat Racing Festival) BoatRacing In (earlyDecember;www.

English subtitles. housesandallfilmshave of SoutheastAsianproduction

festivals mentionedonp 319 . movestate pretty slowly,ifatall,duringthe holidays,andtheorgans official on these of Holidays Schools andgovernment Public are offices closed HOLIDAYS –aresexual frownedupon. –whetherheterosexual orhomo- affection recent years. publicdisplaysof Inanycase, we haven’t heardof policebustinganyonein isillegal,though speaking, homosexuality nent asinneighbouring Thailand.Strictly gay andlesbiansceneisnotnearlyaspromi- ormisunderstood. heardtosay) The been don’t dothat,whywouldthey?’menhave often women eitherdeniedcompletely (‘Lao ant of lesbianismis although homosexuality, culture isveryFor themostpartLao toler- GAY &LESBIANTRAVELLERS kinds of restaurants inLaos. descriptionsofthorough thecuisineand and top-endcategories. haven’t dividedthemintobudget, midrange sive hencewe byinternational standards, areVirtually allrestaurants inexpen- inLaos FOOD sible, for your insurancecompany. copies of themedical report, inEnglishifpos- or Thailand,besure tocollect allreceipts and and motorcycling often are not. activities are covered; rockclimbing, rafting ifhazardous small printinanypolicytosee in Thailand.Readthe toahospital essary, (Medivaced),being evacuated byairifnec- tohavelimited it’svital apolicy thatcovers so area,high-risk andwithmedical services isgenerally considered idea. Laos a wise a As always,agoodtravel-insurance policyis INSURANCE Lao NationalDay Day Children’s International LabourDay International Lao NewYear only. Women’sDay International Army Day NewYear International

theFood&Drinkchapter, p See 61 , for If you undergo medicaltreatment inLaos (20January) (14-16 April) (2December) (1January)

(1May) (8 March) Forwomen (8 March) (1June) lonelyplanet.com DIRECTORY 321 they don’t like. falang Police sometimes hint at bribes for traffic If you stay from anything you know away The legal age for voting and driving in Laos for voting and The legal age consent for sexualOtherwise, of age the If you are detained, embassy ask to call your If you are their home country regarding age of consent, of age their home country regarding even when abroad. MAPS Laos difficultGood maps of to find. The are generally best all-purpose country map that’s is 18. Sexual Relationships and Sexual between foreigners relationships illegal. Lao not married are citizens who are to or engagement for marriage Permission a Lao in a formal citizen must be submitted for application to Lao authorities. Penalties from range a relationship failing to register US$500 to US$5000, and possibly imprison- ment or deportation. Catching men in the act, a bar with a or just witnessing them leaving the au- excuse of working girl, is a favourite thorities for deporting should note in Laosrelations is 15. Travellers that they can be prosecuted under the law of ing or phone call between Lao and officers can someone from your embassy/consulate adjudication and release, in quicker result innocent (as genuinely though unless you are opposed been set to having up) the diplomats advisecan do little and will probably you to just cough up the cash. In such offences. violations and other petty along a choice casestypically offer the police to come down ‘Would you like the lines of to the station to pay your fine, or would you and now?’ Presented it here of care to take like it’s up to you whether to a choice, with such by paying a bribe, or fight matters expedite corruption in Laos by doing things by the book. by local expats), you could easily find yourself find yourself could easily expats), you by local any without throughrailroaded the system legal representation. If not, things you should be fine. to be illegal, pos- Drug – and expensive. messy might get are using prostitutes ) and 131 session (see p travellers crimes for which the most common the dealer or consort with caught, often are the authorities (and being the one to inform you might any ‘action’ be of a cut take later forced to cough up). A meet- in Laos, is one. or consulate if there DIRECTORY •• Internet Access

Your only consolation is that it’s usually If you’re travelling with a laptop, internet with a laptop, internet travelling If you’re In places where there’s plenty of competi- plenty of there’s where In places

Computers in most internet cafes have have cafes in most internet Computers See p 345 for recommendations on health on health recommendations for 345 Seep by Amnesty International (and corroborated (and corroborated by Amnesty International have committed a crime to find yourself in committed have trouble with the law. However, as documented ally don’t come after foreigners for petty, con- foreigners ally don’t come after cases In most you must truly offences. cocted much worse for locals, and Lao worse much gener- officials government permission, to running a business government too efficientlythat competes with someone connections. who has high government repeatedly in cases involving everything from repeatedly marrying a Laoa foreigner national without you can be fined, detained or deported for any you can be fined, detained or deported at any time, as has been demonstrated reason certain rights are guaranteed, the reality is that guaranteed, the reality certain rights are tional legal code in 1988, followed by a con- order – the reverse later stitution two years Although how it’s usually done. on paper of LEGAL MATTERS Revolutionary Laos na- established its first have wi-fi, often for free. often wi-fi, have bandwidth for the same cost as using a fixed bandwidth for the same cost as using a fixed and cafes restaurants hotels, Many computer. Vieng in Vientiane, Luang Prabang and Vang cafes usually allow you to plug into their their usually allow you to plug into cafes ingly Skype, though you might need to search around for a headset. instant-messaging software such as Yahoo! as Yahoo! such instant-messaging software loaded and increas- and MSN Messenger across the country and speeds are usually usually speedsacross the country and are fast; though in the sticks they can be pretty excruciatingly slow. where they need to call long-distance to reach they need to call long-distance to reach where the server, will be higher: rates between US$3 Broadband is spreading and US$6 an hour. 6000K an hour. In towns where there are only are there towns where In 6000K an hour. services, such one or two places offering or tion – such as Vientiane and Luang Prabang – tion – such low, about 5000K or usually very are rates a connection. in numbers, someone will have established have someone will in numbers, cafes are popping up fast, and you can get you can get popping up fast, and are cafes capi- but not all, provincial online in most, tals. Generally if tourists go there speaking, the internet was some sort of newfangled newfangled some sort of was the internet disappearing. fast fishing device Internet are INTERNET ACCESS Lao most The days in which people thought lonelyplanet.com insurance, and p 343 for vehicle insurance. for vehicle 343 and p insurance, DIRECTORY maximum of 700,000Kto2millionK(about fore youget overexcited, ATMs a dispense Prabang, are relatively ubiquitous.Butbe- andincitieslike VientianeandLuang Laos, this guide, ATMs are nowfoundinmuch of contrasttotheprevious editionofIn stark travelling inLaos. information are insidethecountry. those the onlyreliable sourcesof foreign exchange of this, Because rency PDR. outside of theLao boxed text. the Thai baht(B)andUSdollars (US$);see three currencies are forcommerce:kip, used inreality transactions, gotiable ineveryday onlykipislegallyne- kip(K).Although Lao isthe nationalcurrencyThe official inLaos MONEY (p89). Centre recent years, available attheirTouristVisitor (LNTA) hasalsoproducedafew citymapsin NationalTourismAdministration The Lao and somehotels intherelevant destinations. areVieng. These available inbookshops maps of Vientiane,LuangPrabangandVang hobomaps.com) impossible tofindoutsideGermany. also gets very goodreports, it’salmost though Know-How Reise the latest edition waspublishedin2009.The at www.gt-rider.com. Atthetimeof research aswellonline inLaos, many guesthouses It’s available atbookshopsinThailandand withascaleoflaminated affair 1:1,650,000. available isGT-Rider.com’s 322 ATMs Chiang Mai–based HoboMaps p See 13 foranideaof thecostsinvolved in kipisnotconvertible toanycur-The Lao more the nonsenseword like theeasieryour travels willbe.baht, dollarsor comparatively inkip, way it’sdoneinLaos andthesooneryougetusedtothinking to usontheground.Althoughthismay seeminconsistent, andattimesconfusing,thisisthe more tobequoted islikely inUSdollars. In thisbook,we’re listingpricesinthecurrency quoted ordollars.boat hire) AnythingcostingtheequivalentofUS$100or baht may bequoted inkip, snacks andmeals),whileslightlymore (eg hotel expensive rooms,long-distance goodsandservices isusuallypreferred (B)andUS dollars (US$).Kip Thaimixture baht ofkip, forsmallpurchases(eg to encouragetheLaopeopleusetheir owncurrency, theLaocontinuetodocommerce ina istheofficialcurrency of theLaoPDR,anddespiteAlthough kip thegovernment’s recent push MATTERS MONEY DIRECTORY ••Money DIRECTORY and thefirstsyllableof thewordkippers, ispronounced lesslike tip:thewordkip A quickkip has produced a series of hasproducedaseries good (www.reise-know-how.com) Laos, geep . asturdy (www. map ing enough cash to fill a wheelbarrow (admit- cashtofillawheelbarrow ing enough themoutunlessyou’re chang-worth seeking offer marginally better rates, butit’shardly can befoundinlarger towns,andsometimes likely tochange. moneychangers Unlicensed unless there’s aneconomiccrashthat’sun- There isnoreal and blackmarket inLaos, Market Black are available.and more banking services interest because in NongKhai rates are higher Thaibanksacrosstheriverin Vientianeuse new account.Alternatively, expatriates living youmustopena draw anymoneyinLaos; Thai bank,youwon’tbepermitted towith- an accountataThailand-based branch of a Thai banks.Unfortunately, ifyoualready have Vientiane, includingbranches of atleastfour banksin lar, bahtorkipaccountsatseveral Foreign residents canopenUSdol- of Laos Banking p still workoutcheaper; see 323 . might yourplasticintothebankitself taking workoutsowell.So withdrawal, thatdoesn’t charges toyourhomebankoneach overseas most of us,youalsohave topayextortionate If,like40,000K, aboutUS$5,pertransaction). drawal fee (ANZATMs, forexample,charge on thebank,nottomentionavariablewith- depending US$83 toUS$240)pertransaction, presidents. Thai king,whileanotherthirdcelebrates US Vientiane, infact,bears theportraitof the estimated one-thirdof allcashcirculatingin US dollarforthedomesticcasheconomy.An relies heavilyLaos ontheThaibahtand Cash tedly, that’s not asharditsoundsinLaos). lonelyplanet.com DIRECTORY 323 Digital photography has reached LaosDigital photography has reached and, Exchange rates at country banks tend banks tend at country rates Exchange Licensed moneychangers maintain booths maintain booths Licensed moneychangers cash your stash of organising Therefore, of exchange is much more protracted. Banks protracted. more is much exchange of and if you take the following into account the following into and if you take why you won’t come away is no reason there shots – without upsetting with some great anyone. as such particularly in popular tourist centres Travellers Cheques can be cashed at most cheques Travellers banks in Laos, but normally only in ex- the are in US dollars for kip. Cheques change acceptable, and in fact outside most readily Vientiane they might be the only cheques be difficult It can sometimes accepted. to because the bank cheques travellers change enough kip, especially in more won’t have that the bank can so check provinces, remote few Very you sign. before your cheques cover cheques. accept travellers merchants PHOTOGRAPHY & VIDEO Laos is a fantastic destination for photography head to a market in a larger town or city, or city, town in a larger head to a market and don’t changer ask around for a money rates. expect great in to be slightlythan what you’d get lower that the national the fact Vientiane, despite for all a single daily rate bank mandates from rates banks. For the latest government BCEL,a list of www.bcellaos.com. For check see as we went to press the rates exchange inside front cover. Tipping not customary in Laos is Tipping except in the bill 10% of where restaurants, upmarket service – but only if a is appreciated charge been added. hasn’t already in Vientiane and Luang Prabang can generally can generally Prabang and Luang in Vientiane UK pounds, euros, Canadian, and US change Japanese Thai baht and dollars, Australian change banks provincial most yen. Elsewhere or baht, though you mightonly US dollars lucky. get Sao) and (including at Talat around Vientiane simi- are Their rates at some border crossings. staylar to the banks and they open longer. a big town is highly recom- you leave before carrying US dollars mended. If you plan on in Laos. you arrive or baht, stock up before in LaosIf you want to buy these currencies an khâa taang taang an khâa ą DIRECTORY •• Photography & Video in Lao) in Vientiane, branches thanáakháan k thanáakháan

Once you leave Laos no one – except per- leave Once you For larger transactions the dollar and the For larger Exchange rates are usually virtually the usually virtually the are rates Exchange

Banque pour le Commerce Extérieur Banque pour le Commerce Extérieur However, the vast majority of transactions of However, the vast majority same whether you’re changing at a bank or a changing same whether you’re a to offer likely also Both are moneychanger. bills (US$50 for larger rate better marginally and US$100) than smaller bills (US$20 and for rates better less). Banks to offer also tend though the whole process cheques, travellers times remained fairly stable at about 10,000 to times remained however, Don’t, count on this the US dollar. the same. remaining Exchanging Money kip has in recent volatility the of years After listed on p 88 . 88 on p listed tions) it might shopping around; be worth the various commissions/transaction are fees banks may have slightly different charges, so so charges, slightly different banks may have op- are there in Vientiane (where if you’re debit cards for a 3% transaction fee. Other debit cards for a 3% transaction fee. Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng, Tha Khaek, Vieng, Tha Khaek, Luang Prabang, Vang cash advances/ offer Savannakhet and Pakse and Visa credit/ withdrawals on MasterCard Lao (BCEL; láo páthêht Luang Prabang accept Visa and MasterCard, Luang Prabang accept Visa and MasterCard, lesser Amex and JCB. and to a much extent cards are these two towns, credit Outside of virtually useless. A growing number of hotels, upmarket res- upmarket hotels, A growing number of taurants and gift shops in Vientiane and Credit Cards of your cash in baht and/or dollars, along with your cash in baht and/or dollars, of kip. smaller amounts of on their way into Laos – haps other travellers you go. it before will want your kip, so spend about US$150 worth – are quite a bit easier to quite about US$150 worth – are If you plan on notes. carry than 129 10,000K US$20, over transactions of making frequent most space by carrying luggage you can save money less of a hassle; five 1000B notes – – 1000B notes a hassle; five money less of they’re 20,000K. they’re carrying make They also favoured. baht are both of these larger notes are red, so watch you so watch red, are notes these larger both of thinking out 50,000K notes don’t go handing dors, especially in rural areas, will struggle to in rural areas, especially dors, Also, notes. the 20,000K and 50,000K change having a wad in your pocket. Notes come come Notes in your pocket. a wad having 1000, 2000, 5000, 500, of in denominations ven- and 50,000 kip. Small 10,000, 20,000 will be carried out in kip, so it’s always worth always worth in kip, so it’s carried out will be lonelyplanet.com DIRECTORY the sticks, socarryallyou’ll need. towns butyou’llbe luckytofindthemoutin camera batteries are readily available inbig and keep themcharged.enough Standard torechargeneed batteries, sobesure topack not alwaysavailable. Thisisaproblemifyou and addingglare totheskies. of dustorsmoke dampingdownthe colours (March toMay) whenyou’lloften findalayer much brighter,compared withthehotseason are clearer andthegreens of theforest are ens open. least, tokeep yourgear drywhentheheav- Alsoalwayscarryaplasticbag,atlenses. camera toprevent mouldgrowinginsidethe to October)packsomesilicagel withyour (fromJunegear soduringtherainyseason or shootingover water. especially whenphotographingtemple ruins ful forcuttingglare andimproving contrast, and late afternoon. Apolarisingfilter ishelp- day forphotographyare earlytomid-morning As inothertropicalcountries,thebesttimesof Tips Technical as apologetic anddumb-touristasyoucanbe. in doubt,refrain, andifyouget stoppedbe when of installations; airportsandmilitary are officials sensitive aboutphotography Lao Restrictions before youshoot. lagers anywhere inthecountry,andthink Trekking (p 234 ) fordetails. Sensitive you, butitistoyoursubject.See like abigdealto notseem such might taboos tribes.Breaking amongseveral people istaboo people orreligious totems; photographyof always mission before snappingaway.Intribalareas ing theirphotostaken, sosmileandaskper- In ruralareas peopleare often tohav- notused People Photographing about US$1orUS$2. can write photostoeitherCDorDVDfor are available. alimitedcards andeven range of cameras Pakse, theusualrange of batteries, memory Vientiane, LuangPrabang,Vang Viengand 324 Outside major citiesandtownselectricityis isn’tallbad.Theskies The wetseason Moisture isthebiggest threat toyour Use discretion whenphotographingvil- Most internet cafes have cardreaders and DIRECTORY ••Post DIRECTORY askpermissionbefore photographing oriented photographytoursofLaos. oriented photographers. humanitarian photo toursofLaosledbyexperienced leave of- itopenforinspectionbyapostal better off postingyourparcelsfromLaos. parcels. Ifyou’re you’re headingtoCambodia, tend towait untiltheyget toThailandsend pensive andisfairlyreliable, butpeoplestill isnotallthatex- postfromLaos Sending POST provincial capitals. extent Pakse inSavannakhet, andafew other Vientiane andLuangPrabang,toalesser cluding DV,are readily available in forsale inpopularformats,in- Blank videotapes Video Rustic Pathways Grasshopper Tours FotoFugitive tours ofbased Laos. A handfulof outfitsnowoffer photography- Tours camera. tipsonhowtogettains themostoutof your ging fabrics, handicraftsand regional favour- bythenumberofif notexceeded, stores flog- growth intouristnumbers matched, hasbeen isimprovingShopping fast.The inLaos SHOPPING for openinghours. insidefrontcoveryellow withwhite trim.See bythecolourscheme:post offices mustard thecountryyou canrecognise Throughout torent youneed apost-officebox.ice inLaos; Note thatthere isnohomemail-delivery serv- dress it: somethinghere Tosend ad- stante service. (p post office 89 ) inVientianehasaposte re- especiallyforpackages.as certain, Themain charge forthismandatory‘service’. opened forinspection;there maybeasmall ficer. tobe alsoneed Incomingparcelsmight photo toursofLaos. outfitalsooffers elephant-centric com) Thisbicycletouring When postinganypackage youmust Planet’s Lonely Lo PDR Lao Vientiane Restante Poste Name Person’s Waiting formailtoarrive, isnot however, (http://tours.fotofugitive.com) Seasonal (http://tours.fotofugitive.com) Seasonal (www.rusticpathways.com) Teen- (www.grasshopperadventures. Travel Photography lonelyplanet.com con- DIRECTORY 325 To shop for carvings, look in antique or was once part of a loom, these can look a loom, these can look was once part of many on a wall at home and, unlike great throughout ubiquitous handicrafts that are unmistakably these Lao. Indochina, are The Lao carvings produce well-crafted in wood, Subjects include anything frombone and stone. to themes fromHindu or Buddhist mythology Authentic opium pipes can be everyday life. and sometimesfound, especially in the north, carved intricately have bone or bamboo shafts, ceramic bowls. The selec- along with engraved every smaller year. tion, though, gets Don’t buy anything made handicraft stores. apart from the elephant from ivory; quite causedslaughter by the ivory trade, many any ivory items countries will confiscate found in your luggage. Fabric (Textiles) among the most beautiful, most are Textiles to buy while and easiest items recognisable in Laos. that with a hanger you’re Together lery, clothes, carvedlery, clothes, musical instru- wood, Because statuettes. coins and bronze ments, of ban the of lax enforcement the government’s due to an overall antiques, of on the export you might be funds and personnel, lack of to buy these objects. However, bear tempted them only that it is illegal to take in mind not that if you do so you the country but out of and its precious the country of will be robbing on the fight against For more heritage. limited see www. Asia, antiquity theft in Southeast heritagewatchinternational.org. Carvings ) is not a terse exchange of numbers and animosity. Rather, bargaining Rather, exchange of numbers and animosity. bargaining ) is not a terse ban on the export of an- export of ban on the DIRECTORY •• Shopping tor lákhá total

The first rule to bargaining is to have a general idea of the price. Ask around at a few vendors vendors around at a few Ask a general idea of the price. is to have first rule to bargaining The

to get a rough notion. When you’re ready to buy, it’s generally a good strategy to start to buy, it’s generally a good strategy at 50% ready to get a rough notion. When you’re much you have of an item, buying several If you’re of the asking price and work up from there. to your first agrees If the seller immediately a lower price. and receive to request leverage more further probably paying too much, but it’s bad form to bargain at this point. In price you’re general, keeping a friendly, flexible demeanour throughout the transaction will almost always planning on buying really if you’re bargaining only begin And remember, work in your favour. thousand a few Most importantly, simply no point in getting angry or upset over the item. there’s do this. less money than you, never kip. have locals, who inevitably The BARGAINING 101 an ancient skill will involve Many of your purchases in Laos in that has long been abandoned Khao seen on ’s Th San, bargain- may have Contrary to what you the West: bargaining. ing (in Lao, a price that is on two people try to agree Lao style is a generally friendly transaction where fair to both of them. For tips on bargaining in Laos,For tips on bargaining see below. There is a There

In general the Lao are gentle and very scru- and very the Lao gentle general In are Antiques sprinkling of antique shops. Anything that sprinkling of looks old could be up for sale in these shops, (especially porcelain pottery including Asian China), old jewel- from the Ming dynasty of Vientiane and Luang Prabang each have a a have Prabang each Vientiane and Luang a ‘two-tier pricing system’ when it comes to a ‘two-tier pricing system’ but it’s nowhere quoting prices to foreigners, near as evident as in Vietnam. come down is usually less than what you see countries. Laosin neighbouring has definitely tempt to gouge the buyer (tour operators may operators the buyer (tour to gouge tempt The amount they be an exception to this rule). pulous in their bargaining practices. A fair pulous in their bargaining at quickly with little at- price is usually arrived be bargained for and it can’t hurt to try in a for and be bargained fixed. prices are shop, though increasingly costs. Most things bought in a market should costs. Most things bought in a market places in Laos as in aggressive it’s not nearly as Good bargain- Southeast Asia. other parts of way to cut practice, is one takes ing, which Bargaining is a tradition introduced by early is a tradition Bargaining however, in most Arab and Indian traders, Bargaining tiques and Buddha images from Laos, from images tiques and Buddha though ban is slack. this of the enforcement centres and in thesecom- cities it’s easiest to centres It is, however, always price. quality and pare and in from the producer, direct nice to buy that’s possible. many villages ites from Vietnam and Thailand. Vientiane Vientiane Thailand. Vietnam and from ites shopping the main are Prabang and Luang lonelyplanet.com DIRECTORY different stylesaccordingtothegeographic how it’s made andget prices. ‘wholesale’ ing villages themselves, where youcanwatch best placestoshop forthiskindof accessory. Talat Sao(MorningMarket; p 113 ) isoneof the from piecesof hill-tribeclothing.Vientiane’s pieces of fabricfrom‘antique’ nyaam are called of SouthAsia andSoutheastAsia. these InLaos, allacrossthemountains tions, like seen those in theAustro-ThaiandTibetan-Burmese tradi- groupsproducewovenThoeng shoulderbags both animalandhumanfigures. scenes thatrepresent village life, including dau aremeanings. InHmongthese called parently ritual abstract patterns thatcontain to producestrikinglycolourfulfabricsinap- pieces of clothare embroidered andquilted mix beadworkwithweaving andembroidery. Provinces and Attapeu somefabrics In Sekong symbolswovensentational intothepattern. words, numeralsorothernonrepre-Khmer tographic storylines,sometimeswithafew mat-mii munities inthesouthernprovinces there isa com- andMon-Khmer Thoeng Among Lao different typesof clothingorwall-hangings. Indonesian The result isasoft, spotted pattern similarto volves ‘tie-dyeing’thethreads before weaving. marked bythe weddings andfestivals. singly orinpairs over theshoulders during shawl thatmenandwomenwear Lao–Thai the clothtakes isthe is woven inalongtheborders. Anotherform around skirt).Sometimesgoldorsilver thread form of a zags, animalandplantshapes–usuallyinthe geometric patterns –stripes,diamonds,zig- feature amixof solidcolours withcomplex are very recognisably Lao. and weaving styles,generating fabricsthat techniques are uniqueinboth loom design other SoutheastAsian weaving textiles, Lao textiles dohave Lao Although similaritieswith provenance andethnicityof theweavers. 326 Among theHmongandMientribes,square The southernweaving stylesare often speaking, thefabricsofGenerally thenorth Silk andcottonfabricsare woven inmany The bestplacetobuyfabric isintheweav- Many Soung and Lao tribesamongtheLao (flowercloth).Somelarger quiltsfeature DIRECTORY ••SoloTravellers DIRECTORY nowadays are those made with older nowadaysare madewitholder those weaving traditionthatfeatures pic- phàa nung nyaam ikat mat-mii . Mat-mii . Among the most popular . Amongthemostpopular or phàa b technique, which in- sin cloth can be used for clothcanbeused (awomen’swrap- į ang, phàa nung anarrow pan- or or without the need forexpensivewithout theneed landlines. some trulyremote villages toget connected satellite phoneswithoutalandline)hasallowed phones and,inrecent years, WINphones(fixed still notconnected, theintroductionof mobile peopleare the telephone front.WhilemostLao hascomealongwayinshorttimeon Laos TELEPHONE remote areas p oroutlate(see atnight 330 ). should exercise theusualcautionwhenin among bothmenandwomen.Lonewomen Travelling isvery common aloneinLaos TRAVELLERS SOLO in Thailand. times available, butyoucanget better prices aredone bythehilltribes.Gems alsosome- made pieces.Someof thebest silverwork is hardforwell- youmustsearch although Laos, Gold andsilver jewelleryare goodbuysin Jewellery pricestomatch. high are dedicated textiles, tohigh-quality with storesVientiane andLuangPrabangseveral ally charge more andqualityisvariable. In Sao. Tailor shopsandhandicraftstores gener- provincial towns,includingVientiane’sTalat and reasonable pricesatopenmarkets in Failing this, youcanfindadecentselection and you can buyalocalSIM cardforaslittle GSM and3G systems. Competition isfierce onthe panies offer mobile phoneservices Telecomtime. Lao private com- and several Phone intomobiletelephony big hasbought Laos Mobile if there isone. cafe (mostprovide international callservices), it’s almostalwayscheaper aninternet touse about 2000Kto4000Kperminute. Nowadays three tomostcountriescost minutes. Calls per-minute basis,withaminimumcharge of from 7.30amto9.30pmor8am10pm. rate phone office exists,hours typicallyrun stuck onawallnearthephone. Where asepa- it iscompleted. Afadedlistof rates isusually charges. Youmustpayforthecallinkipwhen cannot placecollectcallsorreverse phone post office, which isusuallynearby.Operators Telecomor ifthere is noLao fromthe office, Telecom offices inmostprovincial capitals, International callsare alsocharged ona You canmake international callsfromLao lonelyplanet.com DIRECTORY 327 (www. porcelain abyss. Next to porcelain abyss. Next to (www.trekkingcentrallaos.com) (www.ecotourismlaos.com) Instead of trying to approximate a chair or a chair trying to approximate of Instead Even in places where sit-down toilets are sit-down toilets are where in places Even uncommon outside hotel Public toilets are tourismlaos.org)

Fanstastic! Offices in Tha Khaek,Fanstastic! Savannakhet, Luang Namtha, Sainyabuli, Phongsali Pakse, good, with staff all pretty and Sam Neua are and other activities in treks trained to promote and able to hand out brochures their provinces about them. They knowledge and first-hand For years a visit to the LaoFor years National Tourism than was little more Administration (LNTA) or two to time, with a brochure of a waste changed. things have it. But you wasted prove such map-crazy neighbours It’s still not like offices now has in as Thailand, but the LNTA well Vientiane and Luang Prabang that are good websites very worth visiting, plus three information: valuable pre-departure that offer Central Laos Trekking Lao Ecotourism Lao National Tourism Administration with brochures, well-stocked are offices Many displays easily understood maps (usually), have attractions and English- their provincial of speaking staff to answer your questions. and water to clean their nether regions while regions to clean their nether and water the toilet. Secondly, a cou- still squatting over into the toilet poured extra scoops are ple of rustic away. The more basin to flush the waste a may simply consist of toilets in rural areas a hole in the ground. planks over few installed, may not be designed to the plumbing will usu- cases there In such paper. toilet take the usedally be a rubbish bin for toilet paper. on the lobbies and airports. While you are it’s per- road between and villages towns acceptable or use to go behind a tree fectly the roadside. TOURIST INFORMATION tion, if you’re a budget traveller expect the expect the traveller a budget you’re tion, if the norm. toilet’ to be ‘squat rather-less-royal an incon- consider squat toilets Whether you ‘the or part of anatomically healthy venience, no cause Laos’,alarm – for really real there’s bad. not that they’re toilet, a tradi- a modern sit-down stool like flush with or less toilet sits more tional Asian footpads the floor, with two the surface of the on either side of reservoir using a is scooped water from which use toilet-goers the scoop plastic bowl. Firstly, the typical squat toilet is a bucket or cement or a bucket the typical squat toilet is (bát 856. % 030. See % 020 code at the 00 first, then the 00 first, % % DIRECTORY •• Time to be used in special card phone

0 first, then the area code and number. number. code and then the area 0 first,

% In some areas (such as Si Phan Don where where Don as Si Phan (such In some areas All mobile phones have a phones have All mobile

The country code for calling LaosThe country is In 2010, many mobile numbers in LaosIn 2010, many mobile numbers Network coverage varies depending on on varies depending Network coverage

in most midrange and top-end accommoda- in most midrange TOILETS now found ‘thrones’ are While Western-style 5am in London, 1pm in Perth and 3pm in and 3pm in 5am in London, 1pm in Perth is no daylight (sum- saving Sydney. There mer) time. Laos is seven hours ahead of GMT/UTC. Laos GMT/UTC. ahead of is seven hours Thus, noon in Vientiane is 10pm the previ- ous day in San Francisco, 1am in New York, TIME

In theory, Tholakham Lao (Lao Telecom), a In theory, Tholakham Lao (Lao Telecom), cards company, issues telephone private Phonecards thóhlasáp) they don’t. These phones In reality, booths. been superseded by mobile phones and have no one uses them anymore. towns and villages for area codes inside Laos. for area towns and villages beginning of the number. Similar to this are to this are Similar the number. beginning of begin with WIN phones, which For international calls dial For international code and number. country code, area For long-distance calls within the country, dial only be reached through a Vientiane operator. through a Vientiane operator. only be reached to and from These days you can direct-dial country. the most of Until a few years ago most cities in Laos years a few could Until gained an extra digit. See the boxed text, p 17 , 17 p text, gained an extra digit. See the boxed information. for more Phone Codes need to make that call, buy ahead. need to make dominant that it can be hard to find recharge hard to find recharge dominant that it can be So if you really cards for other companies. M-Phone reigns supreme), one company is so supreme), reigns M-Phone than Tango Lao and M-Phone, but Tango’s Lao but Tango’s and M-Phone, than Tango cities and towns. larger to is limited coverage government-affiliated company – have the the – have company government-affiliated expensive more These are widest coverage. Telecommunications Lao – another (ETL) Telecommunications for between each. 15,000K and 60,000K as 10,000K from almost anywhere. Calls are Calls are almost anywhere. from as 10,000K widely available are cards recharge and cheap lonelyplanet.com the company and the region. In our ex- and the region. the company and Enterprise of perience, LaoTelecom the inside front cover and under individual the inside front cover DIRECTORY one passport-size photo of yourself; and the one passport-size photoof andthe yourself; kip,arecurrencies, notaccepted); includingLao lent inThaibaht(travellers cheques andother US$20 andUS$42cashortheequiva- between Pakse andmostrecently, Savannakhet. national airportsatVientiane,Luang Prabang, ternational bordercrossingsandattheinter- onarrivalatnearly all ofvisas itsofficial in- governmentThe Lao issues30-daytourist onArrival Visa Tourist the boxed text). atnearlyallborderpoints(see tourist visas ellers frommanycountriescanget 30-day andtrav- iseasierthanever intoLaos Getting VISAS (www.sath.org) &Hospitality Society fortheAccessibleTravel USA Mobility International Accessible Journeys Source Access-AbleTravel on travel forthemobility-impaired: International organisations withinformation before.who mayhave Laos through wheeled tion sourcescanputyouintouch withthose Fortunately agrowingnetworkof informa- require agooddealof advanceplanning. forthefullyambulatory. even transport isparticularlycrowdedanddifficult, pretty much lefttoyourownresources. Public ceptions beinginthetopend.Hence you’re thefewaccess forthephysicallydisabled, ex- nor domosthotels toprovide make efforts ramps orotheraccesspointsforwheelchairs, dopublicbuildingsfeaturements. Rarely forpeoplewithmobilityimpair-obstacles often presents manyphysical –Laos uneven whenpresent(sidewalks) –even thelatter are With itslackof paved roadsorfootpaths TRAVELLERS WITHDISABILITIES (iftherebusy guesthouse isone). usually get up-to-date informationfroma local LNTA tobeunhelpful,youcan officials be more hindrancethanhelp.Ifyoufindthe visitingsuch even some cases anoffice might the lackof informationcanbeprofound; in butEnglishisoftenoffice and rudimentary where. Allprovincial have capitals anLNTA options andbookings. should alsobeabletohelpwithlocaltransport 328

changeHowever, hasn’treached every- The wholeprocessisdead easy.Youneed will anytriptoLaos users, For wheelchair DIRECTORY ••TravellerswithDisabilities DIRECTORY (www.disabilitytravel.com) (www.access-able.com) (www.miusa.org) which has the same restrictionswhich hasthesame andvalidityas although thiscanonlybedoneinVientiane although additional 90daysatacostof US$2perday, passport attheairportinmeantime. another source. keep Theywill,however, your you togointotownandtryget dollars from such theimmigrationofficers cases mayallow arrived In withoutcashtopayfortheirvisas. travellers get they stuckinairportlimbobecause so besure several We’ve tobringenough. seen exchange forThaibahtoranyothercurrency, are unlikely tobeablegive youdollars in change this.Moneychangers places atthese of arguing aboutthecorrect exchange rate will with aflatrate of 1,500B(US$46)–no amount you’lllikelyUS$ forthefee, otherwise bestuck aside US$30andUS$35.Ifpossible,set between to forkoutthemost(US$42),andothers port you’re having carrying,withCanadians of asked anyonewho’sactuallybeen toshowit. a validreturn airticket, butwe’ve heard never airport arrivalsyou’re topossess alsosupposed butit’s OKtoleave blank.For Laos thatsection thenameof in theory youalsoneed acontact you’ll have topayan‘overtime fee’ of US$1.In weekend orholiday,outsideof office hours, fee of aboutUS$2,andifyou’re arrivingona have aphotoyou’llhave topayanadditional any onefromthisguidebook).Ifyoudon’t name of ahotelat(pick youwillbestaying itor visa, theapplicationfee isaroundUS$35. itor visa, and extendable uptooneyear. As withthevis- goodfor30days issued anonimmigrant visa isgenerally assignmentinLaos or volunteer A person whohasashort-term professional Nonimmigrant &BusinessVisas 200B express fee. dayforanadditional onthesame your visa three youcanget workingdays.InBangkok asdescribedabovetation andgenerally takes costanddocumen- involves thesame roughly abroad offer Theprocess 30-daytouristvisas. embassiesandconsulates on arrival,Lao If youdon’twant,oraren’t eligibleforavisa than 30days. formore inLaos toextend yourstay you need onarrivalif and applyforanewtouristvisa are, it’sprobablycheaper toleave thecountry and LuangPrabang.Dependingonwhere you Tuit Visa Tourist isextendable an The 30-daytouristvisa fee variesdependingonwhatpass- The visa Journalists canapplyforthejournalist visa, lonelyplanet.com DIRECTORY 329 Nonimmigrant visas, journalist visas and leave. Simple as that. leave. VOLUNTEERING been working in Laos have Volunteers for usually on one- or two-year contracts years, that include a minimal monthly allowance. where you are, this is probably more expensive expensive this is probably more you are, where than simply exiting Laos a new and requesting tourist visa on arrival. The whole process can in one hour. be completed through to be extended business visas have or organisation. the sponsoring person Overstaying Your Visa Overstaying your visa is not seen as a major to pay a You’ll have crime but it is expensive. overstayed day you’ve for each US$10 fine of when you at the immigration checkpoint DIRECTORY •• Volunteering

Cau Treo/Nam Phao (p244) (p244) Phao Treo/Nam Cau ) 253 (p Cha Lo/Na Phao Lao Bao/Dansavanh (p 262 ) ) 310 Keua (p Bo Y/Phou Tay Trang/Sop Hun (p 229 ) 229 Trang/Sop Hun (p Tay ) 202 Na Meo/Nam Soi (p ) 196 KhanNam Can/Nam (p Mukdahan/Savannakhet (p 256 ) ) 274 (p Tao Chong Mek/Vang Tha Li/Kaen Thao (p 172 ) 172 Li/KaenTha (p Thao /Vientiane (p 117 ) ) 249 KhaekNakhon (p Phanom/Tha Chiang Khong/Huay Xai (Hoksay; p 172 ) 172 Chiang Khong/Huay (Hoksay; p Xai ) 185 Huay Kon/Muang Ngeun (p Trapaeng Kriel/Nong Khiang (p 296 ) 296 KhiangTrapaeng Kriel/Nong (p Mohan/Boten ) (p 215

                Vietnam Vietnam Thailand China China Cambodia Cambodia VISA ON ARRIVAL – PORTS OF ENTRY – PORTS ON ARRIVAL VISA arrival available on the ports visas were tourist of writing, these were the time where of entry At Prabang, Pakse airports Luang at the international also available on arrival at Vientiane, (visas are posts. for a full list of border 334 and Savannakhet). See p                 Business visas, good initially for 30 days,

You’ll need your passport and a photo and can expect to pay US$2 per day for the extra time you want (plus a US$3 processing fee). a tourist visaYou can extend a maximum of two 30-day periods, although depending on ting an extension is easy, but is only possible ting an extension ). 148 ) and Luang Prabang (p 85 in Vientiane (p Visa Extensions long as your Lao get- visaAs has yet to expire, Vientiane (and a few in Thailand) can arrange in Thailand) can arrange Vientiane (and a few visassuch with one to two weeks Like notice. nonimmigrant visas, these up can extended to a year. are relatively easy to obtain as long as you have easy to obtain as long as you have relatively are in brokers in Laos.a sponsoring agency Many applicant must also fill in a biographical form. the nonimmigrant and visit visas except that the lonelyplanet.com DIRECTORY volunteer opportunities. volunteer inarangeoffields. qualifications andexperience in Thailand. Thisinturn meansthatthere oravailable be asshemight as being‘loose’ in acafe orrestaurant isnotusuallyperceived Hencecase. aforeign drinking woman seen thisisnotthe perceived asaprostitute, inLaos associate withforeign malesforfear of being a‘proper’image oftenwants topreserve won’t women travellers. WhileaThai womanwho as compared withThailand,hasbenefitsfor virtually anyotherAsian country. ago, they’re stillmuch lessfrequent thanin more commonthantheywere afew years incidents ofeveryday harassmentare sexual women travellers isextremely rare. Andwhile p is very safe (see 317 ) andviolenceagainst as much asin manypartsof Thailand.Laos cultural mores watered thathasn’tbeen down of tobesensitive to aset youstillneed though isaneasycountryforwomentravellers,Laos TRAVELLERS WOMEN Overseas Voluntary Service Abroad Service Volunteer UN Volunteers Global Volunteers Earthwatch International Volunteers Australian information: stayanotherday.org) sionally. Thewebsite the boxed text, p 161 volunteers) need occa- A coupleof groupsinLuangPrabang(see inanygreatyet toarrive capacity. inLaos roleforafewunteer’ ormonths, weeks has where youactuallypaytobeplacedina‘vol- tion (NGO)community. work withinthenon-government organisa- sortofThese jobscanleadtonon-volunteer ment agency andattempts to‘buildcapacity’. The volunteerisoften placedwithagovern- 330 forNewZealanders.professional contracts projects. and economicdevelopment humanitarian ordinates teamsofvolunteersonshort-term uk); the globe. around environmentalprojects volunteers inshort-term contracts. totwo-year on one- ralianvolunteers.com) PlacesqualifiedAustralianresidents two years. volunteersforupto nl) Placesqualifiedandexperienced The relative lackof prostitutioninLaos, agencies formoreCheck outthese The alternative approach tovolunteering, Canada DIRECTORY ••WomenTravellers DIRECTORY (www.vsocanada.org); (www.earthwatch.org) Placespaying (www.earthwatch.org) (www.unv.org) Places volunteerswith isagoodresource forunpaid (www.globalvolunteers.org) Co- (www.vsa.org.nz) Organises Stay AnotherDay (VSO) (VSO) Netherlands UK (www.aust (www.vso.org. (www.vso.

(www. shouldn’t have anyproblems. prefer whentheyget itiftheyputonasarong anything,butI’d Vieng toldus:‘Iwouldn’tsay mean theydon’tcare. As onewomaninVang about whatyou’re wearing,butthatdoesn’t a bikini,peoplewouldlook. Broadway inNewYorkwearingnothingbut woman walked downOxford StinLondonor easier tounderstand. Relatively speaking,ifa it’s intheirshoes if youtryputtingyourself stared atisn’tmuch funforthetraveller, but when travellers do,peopletend tostare. Being singlet topsorvery shortskirtsorshorts.So where tourists),towear they’re toseeing used modern placeslike VientianeandVang Vieng inmore unusualformostwomen(even highly tion istoavoid overly revealing clothes.It’s s ifyourbusor though, company. Generally, woman travelling aloneasawomanwhowants a see missive, menmight inruralareas Lao and citieswhere societyisgenerally more per- while thisislessprevalent inthelarger towns male andfemale –asbeingabitstrange. And – bejudgedwithout companymight byLao women rarely travel alone,soaforeign female male solicitations. are generally fewer problemswithuninvited number of jobsavailable toforeigners isin- munity, especially inenergy andmining,the a fast-growing international businesscom- With alarge numberof aidorganisations and WORK get off theroof whilemenare not,thisiswhy. aren’t soconcerned,butifyouare asked to daysmostcaptains bring badluck.These of riverboats, to thiswasbelieved because culture, anditwillberepaid inkind. Show thissmallmeasure of respect forLao skirts thatcometosomewhere neartheknee. aresleeve universally popular,asare shortsor notice thatshirtswithatleastatinystripof togetneed wrappedupina meanyou women aroundyou.Thisdoesn’t dress inawaythat’snottoodifferent from in avillage orriver, isessential. asarong It’s goodadvice–ifyou’re planningonbathing it.’ [a bikinionly]andit’sembarrassingtosee out of theriver. It’snotourwaytodress like that ǎ wngth The bestwaytoavoid unwanted atten- isnotanabsolute.That, however, Lao Traditionally womendidn’tsitontheroofs Elsewhere, justkeep youreyesopenand confrontyou peoplewillalmostnever Lao ǎ ew has other women on board, you hasotherwomenonboard,you lonelyplanet.com sin, butyou’ll DIRECTORY 331 to find work with a UN-related program or an program UN-related work with a to find assist- technical aid or foreign providing NGO ance to Laos. difficult These find; to jobs are offices is to visit the Vientiane your best bet of about person- and inquire organisation each nel needs and vacancies, then start seeking out them socially and buying employers potential operating NGOs For a list of Beerlao. lots of in Laos, see excellent www.directoryof the ngos.org. DIRECTORY •• Work If you have technical expertise or interna- technical If you have Possibilities include teaching English pri- English include teaching Possibilities tional volunteer you might experience, be able necessary, but they do help. grees in English teaching aren’t absolutely absolutely aren’t English teaching in grees vately or at one of the handful of language language of the handful of or at one vately pays about work which in Vientiane, centres Certificates de- or an hour. US$5 to US$10 creasing, but still relatively small. The greatest The greatest small. but still relatively creasing, in Vientiane. are positions of number lonelyplanet.com TRANSPORT tier crossing isusuallypretty simple. eitherside,buttheactualfron- can betough borders are often remote andthetravelling VietnamorChina. Land Thailand, Cambodia, It’s LAOS by landorairfrom possible toenter Laos ENTERING AWAY THERE& GETTING planet.com/travel_services. tours canbebooked onlineatwww.lonely and andpricesdon’tvarymuch. Flights Laos around much –onlyafew airlinesservice is refreshing toshop inthat youdon’tneed are many border options,flyingintoLaos when weresearched thisedition.Whilethere border crossingsthatwere opentoforeigners descriptionsofbook bygivingdetailed all ders, somethingwe’ve acknowledged inthis numerouslandandriver bor-go viaLaos’s vehicles.equally uncomfortable very andtraversed rough, byinfrequent and are butthevastmajority of sealed, roadsare mainhighways consuming. Mostof Laos’s infrequent, unreliable andextremely time- domestictransportisstill thanever, flights are andthere sealed, are more domestic agrowingnumberofAlthough mainroads Transport 332 canbepretty tough. aroundLaos Getting CONTENTS oa rnpr 343 Tours 344 Local Transport 343 Hitching ETN RUD 338 332 Bus, S Boat 339 332 Air 338 AROUND GETTING Air 332 Entering Laos THERE&AWAYGETTING a oocce 341 Car &Motorcycle Bicycle 338 Overland 334 Many travellers are choosing tocomeand ǎ wngth ǎ w&LtDiSa 340 ew &LotDoiSaan & 1-4pmMon-Sat,8am-middaySun) .airasia.com; % 028; InternationalTerminal,Airport Vientiane; China Eastern Airlines China Eastern Bangkok Airways AirAsia the majority of inandoutof flights thecountry: Airlines isthenationalcarrierandmonopolises Lao although ternational to/fromLaos flights (PKZ; (ZVK; % Vientiane; Airport Wattay International There are fourinternational airportsinLaos. &Airlines Airports AIR Kan andPaksan. the Mekong River Beung crossingbetween where you can’t get onarrival,such as avisa if youare crossingatoneof thefew borders a passportwithsixmonths’ validityandavisa The onlyreal prerequisite is for entering Laos Passport if you’re flyingfrom theUKyou’llprobably withastoponthe way.Forexample, Bangkok you’ll paylessbutit willtake longer ifyouflyto but farescapital, fluctuate sharply.Generally, Luckily there are plentyof totheThai flights your first toBangkok. missionistofindaflight Unless you’re inacountryborderingLaos, Tickets Airlines Vietnam AirwaysInternational Thai Lao Airlines thaiairways.com; Th Luang Prabang,Vientiane; Mon-Sat, 8.30-11.30amSun) flychinaeastern.com; Th Luang Prabang,Vientiane; .bangkokair.com) Sisavangvong, Luang Prabang; national Terminal, Vientiane; www.vietnamairlines.com; Plaza Hotel,ThSamsènethai,Vientiane; 4.30pm Mon-Fri, 8am-middaySat) 4.30pm Mon-Fri, 071-212 173); 021-212 051;www.laoairlines.com; Central Vientiane % % (airline code AK; Map p (airline codeAK;Map 86 Inter- ; WattayAirport 041-212 140) 031-251 921). h Luang Prabang International Airport Airport Luang PrabangInternational (airline codeQV; 8am-5pm) h Savannakhet International Airport Airport International Savannakhet (airline code VN; Map p (airlinecodeVN;Map 90 ; 1stfl,Lao Map p Map 90 Vientiane; ; ThPangkam, (airline code PG; Map p (airline codePG;Map 150 ; Th h 8am-5pm Mon-Fri, 8am-middaySat) 8am-5pm Mon-Fri, and The followingoperate in- 8.30-11.30am &1.30-4.30pm (airline code MU; Map p (airlinecodeMU;Map 86 ; h Pakse International Airport Airport Pakse International % % % % Airport 8am-midday &1.30- (airline code TG; Map p (airline codeTG;Map 86 ;

(VTE; (VTE; 021-513 029;www 021-222 527;www. 021-212 300;www. 071-253 334;www Map p Map 86 ; Wattay % % h % 021-512 165) 021-217 562; 8am-midday 021-512 (LPQ; (LPQ; in in TRANSPORT 333 (www.

Nok Air flies to Nakhon Phanom, from where flies to Nakhon from where Phanom, Bangkok Airways and Lao Airlines fly twice Some people save money by flying from Some people save Hanoi several daily flights are between There on (US$125, one hour) Vientiane and Hanoi Lao Vietnam Airlines and for slightly more, Airlines. Both airlines also fly between Hanoi and Luang Prabang (US$130, one hour). text, p 117 ). Udon Thani is 55km south of ). Udon Thani is 55km south of 117 p text, Nong Khai and Bangkok–Udon Thani tickets if Likewise, start at about 900B. on Air Asia bound for central Laos,you’re nokair.com) crossing to River it’s only a short Mekong Tha Khaek. daily between Bangkok and Luang Prabang (US$160, 1¾ hours). Chiang Mai Lao flights a week Airlines has five between 2½ (US$155, Vientiane and Chiang Mai via Luang Prabang (695,000K, one hours), hour). VIETNAM Kuala Lumpur flight conducts a daily between Kuala Air Asia (US$152, 2½ hours). Lumpur and Vientiane THAILAND Bangkok has one flight between daily Bangkok THAI while Lao minutes), and Vientiane (9200B, 70 Airlines has two flights direc- daily in each tion (US$115), a thrice-weekly flight between Savannakhet and Bangkok 80 min- (US$120, and Bangkok and a flight utes) between Pakse ($132). Bangkok to Udon Thani in Thailand and then the carrying on by road to Nong Khai, over (see to Vientiane Friendship Bridge the boxed at Pakse (US$119, 50 minutes), between 50 minutes), (US$119, Siem at Pakse 3½ hours) (US$180, Luang Prabang Reap and and be- (1,345,000K), Pakse daily, also via tween Reap and Savannakhet Siem (US$150, 70 minutes). CHINA Lao daily between Airlines flies Kunming China 2½ hours). and Vientiane (US$155, Eastern flies the same Airlines for route slightly more. . Concorde 0 2236 0262; www.

% ( 6737 7188; www.statravel. % (

Bangkok 03 5391 2922; www.statravel.co.jp) 03 5391 2922; www.statravel.co.jp) % (

GETTING •• Air THERE & AWAY Singapore , 2526 3391; www.concorde-travel.com) % ( and

The upshot of this is that you should get you should get upshot of this is that The

opinions, quotes and advice from as many from as many and advice opinions, quotes before agents as possible airlines and travel you spend your hard-earned cash. Details as should be regarded in this chapter given for your not a substitute and are pointers research. up-to-date and own careful THINGS THINGS CHANGE! is par- in this chapter information The for to change: prices ticularly vulnerable routes volatile, are travel international schedules introduced and cancelled, are and deals come and go, change, special amended. are requirements rules and visa with your airline directly You should check you under- agent to make sure or a travel (and ticket you may buy) stand how a fare of the security require- works, and be aware travel. ments for international

The only flights directly into LaosThe only flights directly come Vientiane (US$165, 2½ hours) daily, stopping Vientiane (US$165, 2½ hours) Siem Reap Lao Airlines flies between Siem Reap and available at the time of research. at the time of available also talk of a Phnom Penh–Pakse flight op- Penh–Pakse a Phnom also talk of by Lao erated Airlines, but details weren’t Between Phnom Penh and Vientiane, Lao Between Penh Phnom flight with a daily code-share Airlines operates There’s Vietnam Airlines (US$165, 1½ hours). CAMBODIA Phnom Penh from the following five countries – all prices from the following five for one-way flights. are listed among others. In Hong Kong try among others. Travel statravel.co.th) com.sg) a flight to Laos. STA Travel is always a safe bet, is always a safe Travel a flight to Laos. STA in and has branches Asia can book you Asia in agency travel Almost any (THAI). Once you’re in Bangkok, there are are in Bangkok, there Once you’re (THAI). trains, planes and buses heading to Laos. British Airways or Thai International Airways British Airways or Thai International those on the breadline, Biman Bangladeshthose – all on the breadline, a stop in the airline’s home involve which of flight with city – than you would on a direct get a better deal with airlines such as Gulf Air, deal with airlines such a better get Airlines, Garuda or, for Singapore Emirates, lonelyplanet.com TRANSPORT

nouvelles-frontieres.fr) co.nz) Both Zealand New VoyagesWasteels STA Travel Frontières Nouvelles Lastminute cheapest. Thefollowingagents are worthalook: airlinesareabout €700.MiddleEastern usually from Europeans canpickupdiscounted seats Europe Continental agency. Alsotry cuts.com) the US. Fares are from fromCanada similartothose Canada STA Travel FlightCentre also check www.travel.com.au. added inallthetaxes). Foronlinebookings ataboutA$1200returnstarting (onceyou’ve Melbourne and Perth, withdiscountfares fromSydney, other airlinesflytoBangkok THAI,Qantas, BritishAirwaysandseveral Australia of research. weren’t details although available atthetime HoChiMinhCityandPakse,flying between via Phnom Penh. Airlinesmayalsostart Lao Minh CitytoVientiane(US$190,three hours) Vietnam AirlinesfliesdailyfromHoChi Ho ChiMinhCity 334 nationalsites. various Lonely Planet offsets thecarbonfootprint ofallstaffandauthor travel. initiatives ofclimate-friendly throughoutthedeveloping world.with contributions to portfolios ‘carbon calculators’ thatallowpeopletooffset thegreenhouse gasestheyare responsible for thecarbonoffset scheme runbyClimateCare.we support Websites suchasclimatecare.org use travel across manyindustries, modeswhere possible and,togetherwithotherconcernedpartners change –doubletheeffect ofits CO Intergovernmental Panel onClimate Changebelieves aviationisresponsible for4.9%of climate just CO perpersonthanmostcars,theytravelless fuelperkilometre muchgreater distances. It’snot induced climate change. Moderntravel isdependentonaeroplanesandwhiletheymightuse Every thatrelies oncarbon-based fuelgenerates formoftransport CO CLIMATE CHANGE &TRAVEL (including CO and GETTING THERE&AWAY ••Overland GETTING Lonely Planetregards travel asaglobalbenefit.Weencouragetheuseofmore climate-friendly Flight Centre is Canada’s nationalstudenttravel isCanada’s Travel Cuts Cuts Travel STA Travel 2 ( ( emissionsfromaircraftthatare theproblem.The altitudeatwhichaircraft emitgases % % (www.lastminute.com) Clickthroughto ( % 01805-456 422;www.statravel.de) 134 782;www.statravel.com.au) 2

) and particles contributes significantlytotheirtotalclimate The) andparticles change impact. (www.wasteels.fr) 133 133;www.flightcentre.com.au) ( Travelocity %

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(www.travelocity.ca) 2 emissionsalone. . Low season fares ataboutNZ$1100. Low season start world. the developing in Donatessomeprofittoprojects northsouthtravel.co.uk)

Expedia Cheap Tickets Cheapflights.com comparisons andbookings: lars more. Thefollowingare goodfor online Nondiscounted fares are hundred several dol- Airlines, Korean AirlinesandEVA Airways. PacificAirways, Cathay Airways,China and more direct, withairlineslike AllNippon FromLosAngeles it’scheaper,the lowseason. ataboutUS$1100returnMoscow) starting in widely, withthecheapest (viaplaces like Fares range fromNewYorktoBangkok USA The Bag Travel Trailfinders STA Travel Travel North-South ing at. Airways andKuwaitare worthlook- Etihad about £400.OmanAir,SriLankan, at withdiscountpricesstarting to Bangkok, It’s nothardtofindabargain fromLondon UK The Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Chinaand Thailand, Myanmar,Cambodia, shares landand/orriverLaos borders with Travelocity STA Travel Orbitz

OVERLAND co.nz) Rcmedd agencies: Recommended have thecountry. branches throughout (www.orbitz.com) (www.expedia.com) (www.sta.com) ( (www.travelocity.com) ( % % ( % (www.cheaptickets.com) 0871-230 0040;www.statravel.co.uk) 0871-703 4698;www.travelbag.co.uk) 0845-058 5858;www.trailfinders.co.uk) (www.cheapflights.com) 2 , themaincauseofhuman- ( % 01245-608 291;www. lonelyplanet.com TRANSPORT 335 Travel this way is via Chiang Khong (p 172 ) 172 this way is via Chiang Khong (p Travel evenings later. Or you could leave leave Or you could evenings later. time to comfort- as noon and still have as late but bus (faster the 5pm overnight ably reach arriving in Luang recommended), not really travellers next morning. Many Prabang late or from Chiang Mai buy through-packages The majority of visitors are heading to or heading to or are visitors of The majority main three are from Luang Prabang. There the allows you to make options but no route trip in a single journey. The Chiang Rai–Huay is by far the most Xai–Luang Prabang route the quickest and potentially tourist-friendly using buses, (around 24 hours two days route combination). bus-boat interesting by a more And it’s ideal if you want to stop en route at Luang for the Gibbon Experience, treks Namtha or to see Nong Khiaw and do the last section by Nam Ou riverboat. you’ll need to usewhere tuk-tuks and a cross- ). If you 172 Huay Xai (p to reach ferry river depart from Chiang Rai the of bus on the first Huay Xai in time for the day you should reach slowboat ride to Luang Prabang arriving two THAILAND TO VIENTIANE THAILAND between Through-buses run regularly Khon Kaen towns of Vientiane and the Thai Nakhon(four hours), Ratchasima (seven and Udon Nong Khai (1½ hours) hours), Friendship Bridge via the Thani (2½ hours) also sev- are There ). 117 p text, (see the boxed eral daily trains (www.railway.co.th/english) from Bangkok to Nong Khai (about 12 hours), between Nong as well as four daily departures Khai Dongphasy Station. and Vientiane’s For . 116 details Laos on entering via train, see p flights budget are From Udon Thani there (www. on Air Asia to Bangkok and Phuket airasia.com). NORTHERN LAOS TO THAILAND border opposite Mae Sai it simply isn’t worth isn’t worth Sai it simply Mae opposite border hop through – simply the trouble northern and cross the bor- Sai Mae Thailand to/from need You’ll still awkward permits der there. and to go betweenand a tour guide Tachilek link only permitted the from which Kengtung, is by air. Myanmar of to the rest Thailand eight to to Thailand open crossings are There taking a boat across Some involve foreigners. on one of or crossing the river the Mekong, the Friendship Bridges.

Thorntree before setting off before GETTING •• Overland THERE & AWAY

A proposal to open the Nan Tuey border to It’s possible to bring your own vehicle into It’s possible to bring your own vehicle

The following overviews discuss the various even with the visa and relevant travel permits, even with the visa travel and relevant a guide to lead them to arrange would have that town is on the Thai As to/from Tachilek. Locals cross into Myanmar at Muang Mom ) but foreigners, 227 Kok (p ) and Xieng 178 (p Myanmar interest in currently obscure towns like Ou ) at the north towns like obscure in currently interest 236 ) and Ou Neua (p 235 (p Tai Phongsali fascinating province. of foreigners would massively increase traveller traveller increase would massively foreigners China–Lao open currently border crossing on the Chinese From Mohan to foreigners. side it’s around a two-hour minibus ride to town. large the nearest Mengla, perfectly feasible to make the journey in hops to make feasible perfectly ), the only 215 p text, (seevia Boten the boxed hours) and Kunming–Luang Prabang (around hours) on a Chinese sleeper24 hours bus). It’s also to northern Laos. Luang Namtha– (five Udomxai–Mengla Jinghong (six hours), China towns in through-buses link major Handy Trapaeng Kriel (Cambodia). See the boxed information. , for more 296 p text, border, as there is nothing much available at available much is nothing border, as there the new crossing at Nong Khiang (Laos) and tough to arrange transport yourself at the at the transport yourself tough to arrange

Kratie (six hours) and Phnom Penh (11 (11 Penh and Phnom Kratie (six hours) Thesehours). also call at Ban Naksang and for travellers in both directions Xai Ban Hat Don. It’s best to in Si Phan planning to relax these through-buses, one of as it’s pretty take Cambodia daily buses and minibuses are con- There (four hours), with Stung Treng necting Pakse with the right paperwork (see p 341 ) and Lao 341 with the right paperwork (see p bringing bi- visitors customs don’t object to cycles into the country. Laos and Cambodia from Thailand, Vietnam (http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com/) and frontier posts in the relevant chapters. Of Of chapters. posts in the relevant and frontier regu- details change course border-crossing the check larly, so ask around and to local citizens) and are cross-referenced to cross-referenced and are to local citizens) the journeys detailed descriptions of more overland options that are feasible for foreign- feasible options that are overland (severalers crossings being limited border Vietnam; see the colour map at the front of seeVietnam; of at the front colour map the locations. for their this book lonelyplanet.com TRANSPORT runs between the latterruns between and Savannakhet’s International Bus hours), andtheThai-Lao and Mukdahan(about10 linkBangkok buses nationals. Several to non-Thaiand non-Lao southernmost Mekong River crossing open theboxed (see Savannankhet text, p 256 ) isthe Hanoi p see (fordetails 248 ). toHue, Danang,DongHoiand Tha Khaek overland linking route toVietnam, withbuses (12 hours). Thiscrossingisalsoapopular Phanom andNakhon Bangkok between buses p 249 ) isabreeze andthere are daily several theboxedPhanom (see andThaKhaek text, straightforward. are almostuniversallyLaos convenient and northeastern Thailandandcentral between border crossingsthatstraddletheMekong relativelyAlthough few them,the touristsuse THAILAND TOCENTRALLAOS andthreewill probablytake twonights days. likely tomissconnectionssuch thatthetrip built thisissomewhatmasochistic andyou’re but untilthePak roadisre- Lai–Sainyabuli ing nearKaen theboxed Thao(see text, p 187 ), of incase eventualities. an extraday’sleeway butshouldallow at twodaysandonenight to LuangPrabang.Eitherwayyou’re looking then continuenextmorningdowntheriver Pak Kaen, take theafternoon boattoPak Beng from MuangNgeun istoheadupdesolate alwaysoperate.that doesn’t Analternative ride toChomphet/LuangPrabang,though continue nextdayonasuper-rough pick-up be abletoreachdayand thesame Hongsa at8amfromNan,intheoryyoushould start the borderintoMuangNgeun (p 182 ). Ifyou you’ll have kilometres towalkseveral from andapossibilitythat day onmostsections a littlefiddlywithonlyoneconnection theboxedat HuayKon(see text, p 185 ), is Luang Prabangroute, which leaves Thailand or gesticulations. TheNan–MuangNgeun– withlocallanguages tobecomfortable need almostnoforeign touristssoyou’ll but see effectively required tostickwiththe group. youareyou waitingaroundattimesbecause of doingthingsyourself andcanalsoleave good value. Someworkouttwicetheprice minor hassle,inourexperiencetheyare rarely save agencies. Whilethese alittle Chiang Rai 336 The bridge Mukdahanand between The river Nakhon crossingbetween cross- The third possibilityisLoei–Pak Lai, Two otherpossibilitiesare perfectly feasible GETTING THERE&AWAY ••Overland GETTING et p274). text theboxedbus. Formore onthiscrossing,see headaches instead andget theinternational you’re not likely tosave much money.Save the time you’ve overcharged been on bothsides combination of localtransport, butbythe from there. Itisalsopossibletodothisbya bus asfarUbonandarrange atrainticket inPaksebe purchased oryoucantake the Combination busandtraintickets can also adaytoBangkok. service is onethrough (Thailand) bordertwicedaily,plusthere via theVang Tao andChongMek (Laos) (fourhours includingcrossing) Ratchathani connectPakseInternational buses withUbon THAILAND TOSOUTHERNLAOS ThailandandcentralLaos. crossing between make thisthemostinconvenient methodof side and noavailable onarrivalattheLao visas dearth of regular transportontheThaiside and Paksan boxed (see text, p 240 ), where a Kan istheriver Beung crossingbetween Laos Thailandandnorthern der crossingsbetween points northinVietnam(p 259 ). very toDanangand time-consumingbuses thereFrom Savannakhet, are alsoregular but tremely convenient andhassle-free crossing. (45minutes),bus station makingthisanex- through some of Laos’s mostremote some ofthrough Laos’s and consider breaking yourjourney up,passing Hanoihour busridebetween andVientiane, youbuyaticketBefore forthehellish24- difficult. a reputation fordeliberately making‘escape’ townsneartheborders havethe Vietnamese posts –atleastforadecentprice. Some of to arrange onwardtransportfrom border ings inisolated territory, it’snotalwayseasy the boxed text p 337 ), butwithbordercross- the (see then youcanexpectsomehaggling than tryingtomake thetripinhops.Even busrather usingathrough we’dadvise case andPakseSavannakhet p (see 318 ). Inevery and easilydoneinLuangPrabang,Vientiane, inadvance–nowquickly visa Vietnamese toget atallofvisas butyou’llneed your these, issues30-daytourist ent borderposts.Laos differ- andVietnamatseven Laos between At thetimeof writing,foreigners couldcross Vietnam VIETNAM TONORTHERNLAOS The exceptiontothetraveller-friendly bor- lonelyplanet.com TRANSPORT 337 If you’re starting out in central Vietnam, If you’re Buses on the Vinh–Phonsavan route, which which route, Buses the Vinh–Phonsavan on accessed from Dong Ha, is the largest and is the largest accessed from Dong Ha, all crossings to/from Vietnam. Once easiest of in Laos, up your journey with you can break in one very long day but we’d recommend long day but we’d recommend in one very stopping in Vieng Thong and Nong Khiaw en route. pass the border at lonely Nam Can (see the ), allow you to visit the enig- 196 p text, boxed but don’t run daily. Jars matic Plain of TO VIENTIANE & CENTRAL LAOS VIETNAM buses from both Hanoi direct are there Yes, and Ho Chi Minh City to Vientiane (see the want to ), but do you really 337 p text, boxed Ho in the case (or 48 hours of spend 24 hours on a bus? An alterna- Chi Minh City) or more up your trip in beautiful to this is to break tive central Laos. but seldom-visited options. The border different a few you have ), easily 261 at Lao p text, Bao (see the boxed sible till the next morning – bring a few snacks sible till the next morning – bring a few slept in just in case. Having to tide you over to Luang Prabang Sam Neua you could get GETTING •• Overland THERE & AWAY Among the most common is the ‘12-hour’ bus between Vientiane and Hanoi, which is in fact fact and Hanoi, which is in bus between Vientiane most common is the ‘12-hour’ Among the nastiest partThe how many do much to avoid them, no matter about these scams is you can’t And as we to go and hope for the best. where the scammers you could tell Alternatively VIETNAM BORDER WOES BORDER VIETNAM while been scammed who’ve travellers from received email we’ve for every a Beerlao If we had big party. a very There to have and Laos, we’d be able border between Vietnam crossing the be told that won’t and plenty of lies you’ll you might encounter, scams different several are certainly you money but will most necessarily cost you off. piss to open. Once across spent waiting for the border hours trip including several a 20- to 24-hour scam Bao) another common but also Dansavanh/Lao Treo at Nam Phao/Cau the border (mainly your bus stops and demands an You’ll know this one when the suddenly rising price. involves one also applies to local transport This extra, further from the border say, US$20 each to continue. minibuses. be it by motorbike,truck or – the worst – tourist-oriented public bus, into Vietnam, you seek.questions you ask or assurances the flow and hope best thing to do is just go with The If you do come across a problem, try to keep a smile as many are. your crossing is trouble free, paying a lower amount. As – usually it’s hard) and get the best result on your face (yes, we know worse. much your frustrations through your fists makes matters as it might sound, venting attractive For sometimes it will pay off. been running forever), years ago (these scams have discovered Our minibus stopped halfway up the Treo. to Cau us, it happened on Rte 8 coming from Vinh left. and the driver got out money. We refused, demanded more and the driver range Annamite bags of cement ‘What now?’ than a truck loaded up with No sooner had we asked ourselves yes, no problem,’ came the the hill and stopped. ‘To the border?’ I asked. ‘Yes, over lumbered Sitting atop the truck as I’d shown him we only had 1300d between us. after even smiling reply the was fantastic and almost as good as we wound our way slowly up through the cloud forests the last laugh as well, some of our faith in humanity. We had itself, which had restored gesture We enjoyed couple. at the border trying to rip off a Canadian driver when we found our greedy guy.’ you do, go with that them: ‘Don’t, whatever telling Other decent alternatives start from the alternatives Other decent so getting Laoso getting money probably won’t be pos- caves. Indeed, the bus can drop you 1km out- caves. side Vieng Xai but that will be around 6.30pm, are ideal for visiting the disturbing Vieng Xai are Vietnamese towns of Thanh Hoa and Vinh. Vietnamese towns of Thanh Hoa–Sam Neua buses (daily), which pass through the border at Nam Soi (see the and beautiful route a ), take 202 p text, boxed least three days (better one week) one the and take days (better least three – ideally planning stops Nam Ou riverboats in Muang Ngoi Neua as well as Nong Khiaw. night in in Muang Khua, buses with a change Udomxai). But you’d be far wiser to allow at book. Reaching Luang Prabang from Dien Luang Prabang book. Reaching would be possible in two days (one Bien Phu painfully slow, bumpy route, road reconstruc- painfully slow, bumpy route, this of tion should be finished within the life arriving in fascinating Phongsali province. arriving in fascinating Phongsali province. a The bus is daily and although currently Phu–Muang KhuaPhu–Muang bus, crossing the border at ), before 229 p text, Trang (see the boxed Tay beautiful land crossings. An increasingly beautiful land crossings. An increasingly is to start from north- popular alternative Vietnam then usewestern the daily Dien Bien lonelyplanet.com TRANSPORT years andare reasonable at value. Except (Sam Neua), suffer fairlyfrequent(Sam Neua), suffer cancel- ports like BounNeua(Phongsali) orNathong must paycashin US dollars. both international anddomestictickets, you Prabang, where credit cardsare accepted for inVientianeandLuang Airlines’offices Lao com). Airlines’ websitecheck (www.laoairlines. Lao domestic andinternational; forthelatest fares scheduled airroutes andprices,both Laos’s Airfares map(p 339 ) gives youanideaof all Vientianeisthemainhub.TheLaos flights, Fordomestic Capricorn. Airand Lao Lao smallerdestinationsarethough handledby Lao Airlines isthemainairlineinLaos, Airlines inLaos AIR AROUND GETTING p310. text, theboxedNhon. Formore onthiscrossingsee possible tomake yourwaytoHoiAnviaQuy andcentralVietnam,asitis southern Laos vehicle. Thisborderisonewaytocombine andexpensive, involvingachartereddifficult socoming underyourownsteam is Laos, crossing isinanextremely remote area of andKontum.This Attapeu half thatbetween hours tocomplete theentire journeyorabout border. tonine Theshuttletakes abouteight the Phou Keua andBoY(Vietnam) (Laos) aswell andAttapeu, bothSekong through Paksetions) between andKontum,passing (inbothdirec- There isadailybusservice VIETNAM TOSOUTHERN LAOS Lo (p 242 (p inThaKhaek ) orwithastay 244 ). undergroundspectacular river atThamKong Punctuate yourjourneywithavisittothe VientianeandHanoi between buses use. and which isalsotheroute thatthedirect text, viaVinh, p244),which iseasilyaccessed theboxed Treopopular crossingisatCau (see Themost DongHoiandThaKhaek. between thatrun isthebuses tually theonlytraffic quiet area, withfew andvir- placestostay, theboxedCha Lo(see text, p 253 ), butit’sa (p 254 ). Moving north,there’s acrossingat Chi MinhTrail(p 263 ), orinSavannakhet visitingwhat’sleftof theHo inSepon, stays 338 Prices have fairlysteady been inrecent especiallytosmallerair-Domestic flights, GETTING AROUND••Air GETTING ists, usuallycostingabout10,000Kperday. adecentnumberof tour-most placesthatsee bicyclescanbehiredSimple single-speed in Hire cling inSoutheastAsia. arguablymake thebestcountryforcy- Laos inmosttownsandonhighways traffic relativelyThe stunningroadsandlight, slow orRussianplanes. Chinese olderandless-reliable use domestic flights someof though the many domesticflights, planes operate mostinternational routes and years. Frenchous incidentsforseveral ATR-72 has improved andthere haven’t anyseri- been airline –theplanes,maintenance andpilots– ‘pretty much’. about the Almosteverything lers stillaskwhetherit’ssafe. Theansweris Airlineshadabadreputation andtravel-Lao going adayortwobefore. likely isstill tobecancelled,confirmtheflight arefill fast.Atothertimes,whenflights more can it’sbesttobookaheadasflights season the planecomesintoview!Duringholiday areSome such flights onlyconfirmedonce smoke duringtheforest-burning season. lations duetofogand,inMarch, duetoheavy Grasshopper Adventures Grasshopper Adventures Discovery Green from afew weeks. hours toseveral mountain-biking tours, ranginginduration offer touragencies and guesthouses Several Tours more. orTaiwaneseChinese bikes mountain cost the Thaibikes more Low-quality comfortable. bikesand US$100.TheChinese are sturdier, US$70 You canbuy anewbicycleforbetween Purchase height. adjustedcan usuallyget tosuityour theseat or handlebars andbroken bells.Ask andyou seats ing. Commonproblemsincludeloose sure before toinspect themthoroughly hir- come invaryingdegrees of sobe usability, handful ofLaos-basedtours. outfitthatofferstures.com) a Establishedbicycle touring based companyoffers afew cyclingtoursofthe country. BICYCLE bikes mostly Thai-orChinese-made These Aviation,In itsprevious incarnationasLao (www.greendiscoverylaos.com) Laos- (www.grasshopperadven lonelyplanet.com TRANSPORT 339 CHINA CAMBODIA Pakse Hanoi 119 . This aspect of progress means progress . This aspect of Siem Reap 150 155 ew 125 VIETNAM Siem Reap ǎ 123 118 THAILAND Savannakhet Sealed roads and buses, however, mean that wngth ǎ 130 93 106 local people have access to faster and cheaper and cheaper access to faster local people have them and it’s not our place to begrudge travel, view, point of that. However, from a travellers’ transport is a great river the gradual death of romantic things more few were There shame. Savannakhet in the south (about 70% of its Savannakhet 70% of in the south (about a accommodate length in Laos). Smaller rivers canoes smaller boats, from dugout to of range ‘bomb boats’ made from junk dropped from the skies during the Second War. Indochina as good transport are mass river the days of time a new road is opened as finished. Every business, unable to boatmen go out of more those with the price and pace of compete the masses – buses of and modern conveyors s Sam Neua Phonsavan 80 120 165 Penh Phnom 119 80 132 Luang Prabang Udomxai (Muang Xai) Phongsali 82 106 Vientiane 152 Kuala Sainyabuli Lumpur 115 (www.north-by-northeast. 106 106 Luang Namtha (www.laosabaidee.com) Family-run (www.laosabaidee.com) Family-run CHINA Xai GETTING AROUND •• Boat Huay 160 155 (www.spiceroads.com) Specialises in cycling (www.spiceroads.com) Kunming 125 Bangkok Full one-way economy airfares in US$ THAILAND (BURMA) MYANMAR Chiang Mai LAOS AIR FARES LAOS com) Thailand-based company offering two cycling tours of Laos. between Luang Prabang in the north and between in the north and Luang Prabang most important route and is, in theory if most important and is, in theory if route year-round in practice, navigable no longer Nam Ou, Nam Khan, Nam Tha, Nam Ngum and is the longest and Se Kong. The Mekong the highways and byways of traditional Laos,the highways and byways of being the Mekong, the main thoroughfares More than 4600km of navigable rivers are are rivers navigable of than 4600km More Spice Roads BOAT outfit that specialises in bicycle tours of Laos. North-by-Northeast Tours Laosabaidee Travel lonelyplanet.com tours. tours. TRANSPORT eight- to10-personeight- capacity. around US$10 anhourfor aboatwithan ferries can behired. The phái really short trip (egcrossingariver) a boats)aretail fora themosttypical,though to hire ariver The taxi. Prabang tothePak OuCaves, it’s usuallybest hole inthedeckatbackof theboat. decks. Thetoilet(ifthere isone)anenclosed Passengers onthewooden sit,eatandsleep facilities range fromnonexistent toultra-basic. boats were designedforcargo transportand fall farshortof the tonote ofalso important thatstandards luxury Prabang there shouldbeplentyof room.It’s sometimes overloaded, whilefromLuang ney. FromHuayXai,boatsare often packed, about US$24perperson forthetwo-dayjour- andrelativelyis stilladailyevent cheap at HuayXaiandLuangPrabang– boat between –theslow The mostpopularriver tripinLaos Taxis (SlowBoats) &River Ferries River river excursion whileinLaos. the country,it’sstillworthdoingatleastone you’ve rustledupinsomeremote cornerof Huay XaitoLuangPrabangoronalocalboat another. Sowhetherit’sonatouristboatfrom itwillbeamemorabletrip,onewayor tain outtheadventure…andseek youcanbecer- prepared toget off thebeaten right river and few placesleftwhere youcandothis,ifyou’re boats ontheMekong anymore, there are stilla produce andanimalsontheway. its wayalongtheriver, pickinguppeople, riverside village toanotherastheboatworked fromone than sittingonaslowboat,tacking 340 While there are barely anyregular local For shorter river trips,such asLuang      many waterways: Following are someofthe KNOW YOURBOAT      (rowboat)orone of thesmallimprovised GETTING AROUND••Bus,S GETTING héuaphái mounted onthestern; foundallover Laos héuahangnyáo very anddangerous fast,exhilarating,deafeningly loud,uncomfortable héuawái route; they’re slow,butcalled‘express’ becausethey’re boats faster thandouble-deck héuaduan héuasáa (double-deck boats)–big,oldboats;almostextinct (double-deck (speedboat) – these resemble a surfboard withacarengine(speedboat) –theseresemble strappedtotheback; asurfboard (rowboat)–essentiallyapirogue;commoninSiPhan Don. (express boat)–roofed cargo boats,commonontheHuayXai toLuang Prabang (longtailboat)–boats(usuallyroofed butnotalways)withengine gimbal- Queen Mary héua hang nyáo héua hang nyáo héua ǎ (boats) thatyoumayencounter inyouradventures alongLaos’s . Mostriver- wngth ǎ (long- ew &LotDoiSaan héua are com) Luang Prabang, Nong Khiaw, VangLuang Prabang,NongKhiaw, Vieng, areplaces toorganise these LuangNamtha, the more scenicstretches of river. Thebest fering kayakingandraftingtripsonsomeof ingly hardtofind,tourcompaniesare of- With publicboatroutes becomingincreas- are, dangerous. however, cost canbeshared amongpassengers. They per hour,butsomeplyregular routes sothe two daysormore. Charters costatleastUS$30 insixhours take aferrydistance thatmight are(speedboats) common.Theycancover a Huay XaiandVientiane,Thai-built bus price, butare only available onthemost and cost about50%more thanthe normal are buses knownasVIPbuses These buses. offering faster andmore-luxurious air-con along Rte 13andoninternational routes – onsomebusierroutes –particularly services day.Privateevery operators have established canmeanafew ‘regular’ices, though inLaos cessible afew regular years serv- agonow see anddestinationsthatwere allbutinac- Laos, frequent before andgofurtherthanever in with benches are downeitherside. Buses more rows’), which are converted pick-upsortrucks either bybusor is publictransportinLaos Long-distance S BUS, along theMekong onrefurbished river barges. (www.cruisemekong.com) IslandsTours CruisesandMekong River Mekong Oasis andPakse.Tha Khaek Tours Along theupperMekong River between For somethingabitmore luxurious, ,

(www.asian-oasis.com), Mekong Cruises Mekong Ǎ WNGTH s Ǎ ǎ

alloffer multidaycruises (www.mekong-cruises.com) EW &LOTDOISAAN wngth

Luang Say ǎ ew lonelyplanet.com (literally ‘two

(www.luangsay. héua wái and Asian Asian

TRANSPORT 341 licence, registration licence, registration Thailand 0 4241 1591 extThailand 103;

% ( carnet, , or any other Land, or any Transport 8.30am-4.30pm) On the LaoOn side you’ll need all the docu- If you’re heading to China it’s virtually im- If you’re Exiting into Thailand or Cambodia is fairly Land Transport Office renting motorbikes you’ll never be asked for you’ll never be asked motorbikes renting licence. any sort of & SpareFuel Parts fuel cost about US$1.12 research At the time of for petrol, slightly less for diesel.a litre Fuel from drums or for motorcycles is available (read their account at www.landcruising.nl), (read the necessary have just don’t some borders but had to They crossedpapers. at Na Meo border while they at the their vehicle leave Hoa to sort out the went 200km to Thanh took two days which permit with the police, their and copies of Vietnam usually won’t and insurance papers. vehicles. issue permits to right-hand drive than a bicycle larger a vehicle possible to drive across the border. Driving Licence Officially in Laos at least, to drive you need a you which Permit, Driving valid International only in your home country. If you’re must get h You’ll need your Office in Thailand, for 55B. book and tax official registration vehicle’s and an International your passport receipts, the of version or the newest Driving Permit licence. Thai driver’s also need and will to above ments mentioned Lao insurance (about 300B arrange vehicle for a week). Vietnam order. in are if your papers hassle free reported ours friends of As story. is a different

. which which carnet de carnet i mûang ew, ǐ Nong Khai’s stamped at ǎ

(www.gt-rider.com) lêm s system – you’ll system – likely the case – likely carnet wngth ǎ s carnet carnet usually service routes shorter GETTING •• Car & Motorcycle AROUND ew ǎ Golden Triangle Rider

. You simply get the . You simply get The bus itself might be a relic that’s so bad it makes an otherwise flat road feel like a potholed like a potholed so bad it makes that’s an otherwise flat road feel bus itself might be a relic The sortOur advice is don’t look at your watch too much and just soak it up. These of trips are

wngth ǎ monster. The music might be as loud as it is bad, and you might be sharing the bus with a menag- music might be as loud as it is bad, and you might be sharing The monster. One bus we took stopped for an hour outside of Savannakhet erie of farmyard animals. in order and Sam Neua Between Phonsavan too. break, Things goats into the luggage storage. to stuff live two of the day’s buses had broken down the day we went by, luckily direction. in the opposite stories and make much better events inevitably social fun than they sound. They’re actually more been the only chicken seen has already to be hours on a VIP bus where uneventful than a few down either! barbecued. And don’t assume VIP buses won’t break ON THE BUSES used to, so what should you expect? For starters, buses of Laos probably won’t be what you’re The it will almost certainly ride itself depends on how lucky take The longer than the advertised time. at something approaching 60kph on smooth, moving day. It could be relatively on a given you are modern bus, with two seats to yourself and no karaoke. Or it might not… an ageing but relatively If you don’t have a If you don’t have Motorcyclists planning to ride through to ride through Motorcyclists planning S

CAR & MOTORCYCLE Bring Vehicle Your Own (purple book). This is available at (purple book). This is available need an International Transport Permit, need Transport Permit, an International known in Thailand as the if you bought your vehicle in Thailand, which in Thailand, which if you bought your vehicle doesn’t the recognise any international border (p 334 ) – there is no ) – there 334 border (p any international or permit required. extra charge passage Bringing a vehicle into LaosBringing a vehicle is easy enough if and a ownership of proof you have some tips see the boxed text p 342 . 342 p text some tips see the boxed Doing some sort of motorbike loop is becom- motorbike Doing some sort of For travellers. popular among ing increasingly Laos should check out the wealth of infor- Laos out the wealth of should check mation at few vehicles that it’s a doddle compared to doddle compared that it’s a vehicles few Vietnam, China or Thailand. Sure, the road infrastructure is pretty basic, is pretty the road infrastructure Sure, so are there centres the large but outside of Driving in Laos is easier than you might think. most days. Like local buses, wher- they stop most days. Like slower given generally ever you want but are usually unpaved. that the roads they ply are villages have at least one have villages capital and back the provincial will run to within a given province. Most decent-sized Most province. within a given the bus station to do this, though increasingly the bus station to do this, though increasingly for a small fee. guesthouses can book tickets ). 114 p text see prices, For an idea of the boxed major of routes and you might it’s worth find routes of major go to to have usually ahead. You’ll booking lonelyplanet.com TRANSPORT proximately 40,000K to90,000K per dayin step-through motorbikes canbehired for ap- andJapanese-madeChinese- 100and110cc Hire Vientiane. are in tofind,even expensive anddifficult drum orafew bottleson thesideof theroad. a thatched shackwithahandpumponmetal motorbike petrol–often wherever yousee just on theremotest tofill a roadssoit’sadvisable 30to50km topopupevery with petrolseem of fuelcanbepoorinremote areas. Villages thequality because stations big-brand service towns. It’sbesttofuelupinbigger townsat isavailable Diesel inmost stations. at service pricesarethough than almostalwayshigher bottlesinvillages acrossthecountry, Beerlao 342 Spare partsforfour-wheeled vehicles      before youhandover ascollateral onarent yourpassport bike. Laos aboutthebestplaceinregion todoit.There are, however, knowing afew thingsworth ping where youwant,whenwant.The lackoftrafficandstunninglybeautifulroadsmake There are few more liberatingtravel experiencesthanrenting andsettingoff;stop- amotorbike DIARIES MOTORCYCLE      GETTING AROUND••Car&Motorcycle GETTING another one. itsomewheretake theycanfixit.Donot abandonitbytheroad,oryou’llhave topayfor pick-up that,soyou’llneedtoloaditontothenext doesn’t worklike or for thebike. If itreally diesyoucan’tjustcallthecompanyandgetareplacement. Laos hospitals inThailand andyourtravel insuranceprovider isagoodidea. The samegoes to thehospital,facilitieswillbebasic. andphonenumbersfor Carrying abasicmedicalkit If youhave acrashthere won’tbeanambulancetopickyouup,andeven whenyouget or anysafety gearwhatsoever, butforallthisfreedom alltheresponsibility. youmusttake The responsibility inLaoswithoutalicence,helmet –Ingeneral,youcanrideamotorbike ofahead-onwith However, short The problems–Unlessyou’re very lucky,somethingwillgowrong. Budgetsometimeforit. pants andshoes,lestyouwindupwiththeubiquitousburntleg. sunglasses atnight.Helmetsare agoodidea(askforoneiftheydon’toffer), asiswearing face. This soongetstedious andwearingyour andyoumightfindyourselfdoingaCorey Hart tunately theiraimisn’tsogoodandmore intoyour often thannottheyendupsmacking vital. At asamagnetforallmannerofsuicidalbugs,butunfor- duskyourheadlightwillact and sunglasses. Even thesealedroadsinLaosgetannoyinglydusty,sotheselasttwoare The gear–Don’tleave homewithoutsunscreen, ahat,plasticraincoatorponcho,bandanna when youstart. US$3 orUS$4.Moneywellspent,wethink,aslongyouremember tonote thedistance shopcanfixanodometergood newsisthatalmostanybike inabout10minutes forabout odometer. withaworking gettingabike it’sworth marked, That’s easiersaidthandone. The The odometer –Given thatmanyroadshave stonesandturn-offs nokilometre are often un- coupleofdollarsaday. better theextra andare worth dealwithit butJapanesebikes bike, adirt bikes. wasdesignedtobeusedlike No110ccbike The –Priceandavailabilitymeanthatthevastmajorityoftravellers bike rent Chinese110cc s ǎ wngth ǎ ew Europcar Europcar have goodreputations: theprice.road, thehigher ing onwhere you’re the going;therougher US$40andUS$100 perday,depend- between where, withsmallJapanese pick-upscosting Informal charters canbearranged almostany- pointless. knows where he’sgoing,itseems no more, takes responsibility fordamage and when youconsiderthatadriver usuallycosts able foraboutUS$25perday. town. InVientiane250ccdirtbikes are avail- bike ifyou’re travelling outof anydistance No licenceisrequired. Trytoget aJapanese thestate ofalthough thebikes canvarygreatly. 223 867;www.avr.laopdr.com; 354-356 ThSamsenthai, itshouldn’tbetheendofworld. most large centres andsomesmallertowns, The following Vientiane-based companies vehicle, but It’s possibletohire aself-drive (Asia Vehicle Rental; Map p (Asia Vehicle Map Rental; 90 ; s ǎ wngth lonelyplanet.com ǎ % ew /fax 021- and TRANSPORT 343 (www.exploreindochina.com) (www.exploreindochina.com) (www.remoteasia.com/Motorbike.html) (www.siamenduro.com) This Thailand- This (www.siamenduro.com) (Laos Adventure Riders(Laos Adventure Association; www. based outfit has brought together its two decades of experience to put together a two-week in the region tour of northern Laos. Although most town centres are small enough are Although most town centres small settle- to walk around, even relatively place their bus stations several ments often at town in what appears out of kilometres busi- times to be a blatant scam at providing ness for tuk-tuk drivers. HITCHING is possible in Laos,Hitching if not common, and not rec- safe though it’s never entirely stand- ommended for women as the act of might at cars ing beside a road and waving cars hitching, If you are be misinterpreted. or blue- vehicle) (private with red-on-yellow and organisations (international on-white mightembassies) number plates be the best though some aid agencies ones to target, hitchers to give strictly forbid their drivers also a trucks are a lift. Long-distance cargo good bet. LOCAL TRANSPORT tours of Laos. Guided tours are all-inclusive, all-inclusive, Laos. are of Guided tours tours food and and in addition to accommodation, a 250cc dirt of rental petrol, typically include gear. and protective bike ExploreIndochina L.A.R.A Remote Asia Siam Enduro style ‘tunnel vision driving’ just doesn’t driving’ just vision style ‘tunnel work is on the right Driving but it’s not side, here. unusual to see Laowrong way go the drivers to the crossing over lane before down the left if situation right dangerous potentially – a it’s for it. At intersections not ready you’re rightnormal to turn left, and without looking never lanes people almost look while changing behind because respon- behind is the person happens in front whatever sible for avoiding them. of motorcycle companies offer A handful of Tours Self-guided motorcycle tours of Laos ranging in duration Motorcycle and here. on offer from four to 12 days are also available. are equipment rental Guided tours of the Ho Chi Minh Trail on vintage Soviet motorcycles. ride-lara.com) Riders company’s tours on this Laos-based and motorcycle shadowed by a 4X4 truck with a spare are parts. 020-7760 0813; 020-7760 0813; or by motorbike. or by motorbike. % ew ǎ 7am-9pm). Jules specialises in 7am-9pm). Jules wngth (Map p 90 ; 90 (Map p ǎ GETTING AROUND •• Hitching s h 021-223 663, 020-5550 4604; laowheels % (

Elsewhere, unsurfaced roads are the rule. the rule. are unsurfaced roads Elsewhere,

www.bike-rental-laos.com; Th Setthathirath, Vientiane; per day US$25-50; larger dirt road bikes, and insur- provides comprehensive ance, trip one-way consultation, service and a full range of clothing. equipment and Road Rules The single most important rule to driving in Laos Western- is to expect the unexpected; in fading light. like a huge hole in the road, is also a challenge hole in the road, is also a challenge a huge like cows, buffaloes, chickens and dogs, not to cows, buffaloes, and dogs, not to chickens people, head for home mention thousands of on the unlit roads, turning them into a dan- obstacle Unsigned roadwork, course. gerous Road Hazards dark; driving at dusk and after Try to avoid mountainous that relatively short road trips short road trips mountainous that relatively a typical 200km upcountry forever; can take than 10 hours. more trip could take especially in a Bring a facemask. Wet or dry, Laos is so traffic makes travel highly uncomfortable, traffic travel makes when many routes are impassable to all but are when many routes while in the and motorbikes, 4WD vehicles up by passing dust kicked dry the clouds of Laos classified roads about 23,000km of has sealed. Unsurfaced are and less than a quarter in the wet season particularly tricky roads are Indochina – quite comfortable. – quite Indochina the main roads – originally laid out by the a network that covered as part of French While the overall condition of roads is poor, roads condition of While the overall decade has made most of the last work over Road Conditions Note that most travel insurance policies don’t insurance that most travel Note motorcycles. use of cover Insurance insurance, companies will provide Car-hire exactly what is covered. to check but be sure Elsewhere, larger hotels usually have a van usually have hotels larger Elsewhere, ask at the local or can find one, or for rent tourism office.

LaoWheels jules classic rental Vientiane) Undoubtedly the most reliable place to hire place to hire the most reliable Undoubtedly Vientiane) drivers. with or without vehicles, Offers vans, 4WDs, Recommended.sedans. lonelyplanet.com @yahoo.co.uk) Christophe Kittirath ok speaks fluent French, out and is a good driver. English, knows the country inside TRANSPORT Indochina, isanendangered speciesinLaos. and yournegotiatingpowers. US$35 andUS$45dependingonthevehicle day hire withinatownorcitycostsbetween the trip,byhourorday.Typicalall- of sortscanbearranged. They canbehired by inothercitiesataxi casional tourist,though byforeignused businesspeopleandtheoc- Vientiane hasahandfulof thatare cartaxis Taxi lâaw what you’re after. Theold-stylebicycle Whatever youcallitpeoplewillusuallyknow vehicles, or,usuallyformotorcyclesidecar-style(taxi) conveyances are alsolabelledsimply But wait,there’s more…these three-wheeled thatcrashedtoearth. famous spacestation theylookedat thetime,oncethought like the someone,probablyonopium (Skylab) because they maybecalled Savannakhet) the jumbo),whileinsouth(egPakse and thisrefersLaos larger toaslightly vehicle than traditionallyin tuk-tuk asinThailand(though InVientianetheyareseats. sometimescalled can holdfourtosixpassengers ontwofacing Larger onesare called ferent namesdependingonwhere youare. Vientiane andprovincial have capitals dif- foundin The variousthree-wheeledtaxis S Jumbo, good totravellers. (p local buses 116 they’re), though notmuch Vientiane istheonlycitywithanetworkof Bus 344 Tuk-tuk (pedicab),knownasa GETTING AROUND••Tours GETTING s ǎ ǎ am-lâaw am-lâaw, Sakai-làep, am-lâaw, Sakai-làep, (samlor orthree-wheels). (samlor j ą mb cyclo ǫ h (jumbo)and elsewhere in sakai-làep thaek-sii s ǎ am-

to booklocallyandfairvalue. Easy trips. cycling,rockclimbingandrafting ing, trekking, operatorinLaos. Well-organised kayak- adventure tourism Notigers,though. andkayaking. rafting trekking, Prabang-based companywithbigrangeoftours,including mix ofpure sightseeingandadventure tours. ie Trail Tiger north. villagesfurther tominority plus trips tours betweenVientiane,Vang ViengandLuang Prabang, Lao YouthTravel Tourisme Inter-Lao Discovery Green Exotissimo sponsorship projects. andaidingcommunitiesthrough tourism on pro-poor Environmentally andsociallyresponsible tours,focussing DiemTravel Carpe available. all (p 324) cycling (p 343 photographictours) andeven with cycling(p 338 ), boattours (p 340 ), motor- tours arespecialised alsobecomingpopular, ter itineraries.More operators cancustomise of Jars, thebet- andChampasak; Savannakhet take inVientiane,LuangPrabang,thePlain agency. tourmight Acommontwo-week aforeign-basedthem ratherthanthrough and it’scheaper tobookdirectlyin Laos with A growingnumberof touroperators runtrips TOURS Xplore-Asia Xplore-Asia Viengchampa tional touroperators. largerinterna- toseveral based agencythatsubcontracts from Pakse, SiPhanDonandVang Vieng. fortheircheapadventure tours,especially backpackers of tours. standing operatorwithagoodreputation andvariety The followingare alsoworthinvestigating: EstablishedLuang (www.tigertrail-laos.com) (www.exotissimo.com) Largecompanywitha (www.xplore-asia.com) Popular with (www.xplore-asia.com) (www.viengchampatour.com) Long- (www.greendiscoverylaos.com) Biggest (www.laoyouthtravel.com) Multi-day (www.laoyouthtravel.com) Multi-day (www.carpe-diem-travel.com) (www.interlao.com) Vientiane- lonelyplanet.com

HEALTH will 345 If you happen to take any regular medica- any regular happen to take If you Specialised travel-medicine clinics are your clinics are Specialised travel-medicine Find out in advance if your insurance plan Find out in advance if tion, bring double your needstion, bring double loss case in of country in the yellow-fever zone within the six country in the yellow-fever If you Asia. Southeast days prior to entering from Africa to Southeast Asia travelling are to seeor South America you should check if vaccination. of proof you require stock all information; they best source of pect payment in cash.) Some policies offer pect payment in cash.) Some policies offer lower and higher medical-expense options; for countries that chiefly the higher ones are high as medical costs, such extremely have a policy that pays the USA. You may prefer rather than you or hospitals directly doctors If and claim later. to pay on the spot having all the docu- keep to claim later, you have mentation. Some policies ask you to call back in your home to a centre charges) (reverse assessment an immediate of country where your problem is made. VACCINATIONS by international The only vaccine required vaccina- of Proof is yellow fever. regulations a visited if you have tion will only be required without health insurance – accidents do – accidents do without health insurance medical condi- any existing happen. Declare company – the insurance tions you have and will if your problem is pre-existing check You may you if it is undeclared. not cover activities for adventure extra cover require your health insur- as rock climbing. If such you for medical expenses ance doesn’t cover extra insurance – abroad, consider getting information. for more lonelyplanet.com check evacuation is emergency uninsured, If you’re not US$100,000 are over bills of expensive; uncommon. or to providers payments directly will make health ex- for overseas you later reimburse ex- doctors (In many countries penditures. or theft. In Laos it can be difficult to find some antidepres- particularly the latest newer drugs, medications and sant drugs, blood pressure pills. contraceptive INSURANCE travel fit and healthy, don’t if you are Even Dr Trish Batchelor

Infectious Diseases Infectious 348 Internet Resources Internet 346 IN LAOS 347

The following advice is a general guide only The following advice is a general Traveller’s Diarrhoea Traveller’s Environmental Hazards Women’s Health Traditional Medicine 351 352 354 354 Further Reading Further IN TRANSIT (DVT) Thrombosis Deep Vein Jet Lag & Motion Sickness of Healthcare Availability 347 347 347 347 347 BEFORE YOU GO BEFORE YOU 345 Insurance 345 Vaccinations 345 documenting their medical necessity. If you your a heart condition bring a copy of have just prior to travelling. ECG taken names, is also a good idea. If carrying syringes If carrying syringes names, is also a good idea. a physician’s letter to have or needles, be sure from your physician describing your medical conditions and medications, including generic Pack medications in their original, clearly la- Pack letter A signed and dated belled, containers. BEFORE YOU GO BEFORE YOU and does not replace the advice of a doctor the advice of and does not replace medicine. trained in travel behaviour or be treated easily with a well- or be treated behaviour medical kit. traveller’s stocked mon. Fortunately, most common illnesses illnesses most common mon. Fortunately, with common-sense can either be prevented pecially traffic accidents) account for most Becoming problems. the life-threatening of com- ill in some way, however, is relatively lers. Pre-existing medical conditions such medical conditions such Pre-existing lers. as heart disease and accidental injury (es- cause of serious cause illness or death in travel- of and how you travel in Laos. Travellers tend to to tend in Laos.and how you travel Travellers diseases worry about contracting infectious a rare are when in the tropics, but infections Health issues and the quality of medical fa- issues and the quality of Health cilities vary enormously depending on where

CONTENTS Health HEALTH as theyellow booklet),which willlist allthe ofCertificate Vaccination known (otherwise parture. Ask your doctorforanInternational before weeks visit adoctorfour toeight de- afteruntil atleasttwoweeks they’re given, so derlying medicalconditions,such aspregnancy. andun- trip, activitiesyoumaybeundertaking, as pastvaccinationhistory,thelength of your The doctors willtake intoaccountfactors such cific recommendations foryouandyourtrip. available vaccinesandwillbeabletogive spe- 346 Most vaccines don’tproduceimmunity            at specialrisk: These vaccinationsare recommended forpeopletravelling formore thanonemonth,orthose travellers Long-term Southeast Asia: The WorldHealthOrganization (WHO)recommends thefollowingvaccinationsfortravellers to VACCINATIONS RECOMMENDED            BEFORE YOU GO •• Internet Resources BEFORE YOUGO••InternetResources before andafter travel, ratherthanvaccination.Onlyonevaccine isgiven inalifetime. Tuberculosis –Adultlong-term travellers are usuallyrecommended test tohave aTBskin effects are rare –occasionallyaheadacheandsore arm. –ThreeRabies inall.Abooster injections after oneyearwillprovide 10yearsprotection. Side tion. Recommendedforlong-term agedunder 25. backpackers gives twotothree yearsprotection; meningitis groupCvaccinegives around10yearsprotec- Meningitis There –Singleinjection. are twotypesofvaccination:thequadrivalentvaccine prising hives andswellingcanoccurupto10daysafter anyofthethree doses. sore armandheadacheare themostcommonsideeffects. Rarely, anallergic reaction com- Japanese BEncephalitis–Three inall.Booster injections recommended after twoyears. A Varicella –Ifyouhaven’t hadchickenpox, discussthisvaccination withyourdoctor. side effects. Sore armandfever mayoccur. shot. Tablets are alsoavailable;however, isusuallyrecommended theinjection asithasfewer The vaccineoffers around70%protection, lastsfortwotothree yearsandcomesasasingle Typhoid –Recommendedunlessyourtripislessthanaweekandonlytodeveloped cities. Inactivated poliovaccineissafe duringpregnancy. have reported casesofpolio. Only onebooster isrequired asanadultforlifetime protection. Polio –Since2006,India,Indonesia,NepalandBangladeshare theonlycountriesinAsia to young adultsrequire abooster. illnesscandevelopOccasionally arashandflu-like aweekafter receiving thevaccine. Many Measles, mumpsandrubella–TwodosesofMMRrequired unlessyouhave hadthediseases. in 95%ofpeople. effects are mildanduncommon,usuallyaheadache andsore arm.Lifetime protection occurs months. Arapidscheduleisalsoavailable,asacombinedvaccinationwithHepatitisA.Side Hepatitis B–Nowconsidered routineformosttravellers. Given asthree shotsover six arm occurforbetween5%and10%ofpeople. provides sideeffects atleastanother20years’protection. Mild suchasheadacheandasore Hepatitis A–Provides almost100%protection foruptoayear;booster after 12months ous 10years. Sideeffects includeasore armandfever. Adult diphtheriaandtetanus –Singlebooster recommended ifyou’ve hadnoneintheprevi- www.who.int/ith) the internet. The There isawealthof travel healthadviceon sible vaccinations. RecommendedVaccinationstry). See forpos- recently inayellow-fever been affected coun- for proof of vaccinations(unlessyou have authoritieswillask unlikelyhighly theLao ITRE RESOURCES INTERNET yellow bookletisnolonger issued, but itis vaccinations you’ve received. IntheUS, publishes asuperbbookcalled World Health Organization lonelyplanet.com (WHO;

HEALTH

Aek Aek 347 Nong Khai Wattana French Medical Embassy Australian Embassy Clinic . 0066 4246 5201; fax 0066 4246 5210) (www.safetravel.govt.nz) %

( and the in Vientiane has a decent repu- Mahasot Hospital’s International Clinic (www.smartraveller.gov.au/tips/ 021-214 150) (www.travelhealth.gc.ca) % (

(www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/ (www.cdc.gov/travel) 021-353 840) 021-214 022) travelwell.html) HEALTH HEALTH ADVISORIES your a good idea to consult It’s usually before website travel-health government’s departure, available: if one is Australia Canada New Zealand UK staying-safe) US

For medical emergencies that can’t be that can’t be For medical emergencies For minor to moderate conditions, includ- For minor to moderate better For any serious conditions, you’re The winding mountain roads in Laos can % % IN LAOS delayed before reaching Bangkok, you can reaching delayed before call ambulances from nearby Nong Khai or Udon Thani in Thailand. General Hospital in Nong Khai is the closest. The better gencies. The state-run hospitals and clinics are The state-run hospitals and clinics are gencies. in terms in Southeast Asia among the worst hygiene, staff the standards of of training, supplies and equipment, and the availability medicines. of ing malaria, ( in Vientiane embassies tation. Some foreign medical also maintain small but professional including the centres, ( off going to Thailand. If a medical problem in Bangkok, then all the can wait until you’re excellent hospitals there. are as there better, suffer from motion sickness. The section of Rte Rte suffer from motion sickness. The section of Prabang Vieng and Luang 13 between Vang we heard from one is particularly bad, and making days after guy who was ill for three as dimenhydri- this trip. Antihistamines such (Antivert, (Dramamine) and meclizine nate for treat- choice usually the first Bonine) are main side effecting motion sickness. Their is ginger, is drowsiness. A herbal alternative for some people. a charm works like which AVAILABILITY OF HEALTHCARE Laos medical emer- has no facilities for major be beautiful, but they’re also a problem if you be beautiful, but they’re Center

by Dr by Dr , which , which which is re- is which Travelling Well Travelling Traveller’s Health Health Traveller’s (www.mdtravelhealth.com) Healthy Travel – Asia & India – Asia Travel Healthy

Thrombosis (DVT) Vein IN TRANSIT •• Deep website also has good general good general also has website

Centers Control and Prevention for Disease

To prevent the development of DVT the development of on To prevent The chief symptom of DVT symptom of is swelling orThe chief light seek to meals. Upon arrival, exposure your schedule natural sunlight and readjust (for meals, sleep etc) as soon as possible. malaise or nausea. To avoid jet lag try drink- malaise or nausea. To avoid and eating fluids (nonalcoholic) ing plenty of Jet lag is common when crossing more than more lag is common when crossing Jet in insomnia, fatigue, time zones; it results five and tobacco. JET LAG & MOTION SICKNESS muscles (ie contract the leg muscles while sit- alcohol fluids, and avoid ting), drink plenty of long flights you should walk about the cabin, the leg of perform isometric compressions should immediately seekshould immediately medical attention. it may cause chest pain and difficultyit may cause chest in breath- these symptoms any of with ing. Travellers one side. When a blood clot travels to the lungs, When a blood clot travels one side. they may cause life-threatening complications. they may cause life-threatening risk. Though most blood clots are reabsorbed reabsorbed risk. Though most blood clots are and travel off uneventfully, break some may through where to the lungs, the blood vessels flights, chiefly because of prolonged immo- prolonged becauseflights, chiefly of the the flight, the greater bility. The longer Deep vein thrombosis (DVT)Deep when vein occurs blood clots form in the legs during plane DEEP VEIN THROMBOSIS (DVT) IN TRANSIT travellingwell.com.au). references include references Dawood and Richard (www. out the website Deborah Mills – check and disease information and what to do if Other recommended sick on the road. you get with useful information including pretrip with useful including pretrip information aid, immunisation first planning, emergency Lonely Planet’s book that is packed is a handy pocket-size FURTHER READING (CDC; www.cdc.gov) tions for every country and is updated daily. daily. tions for every and is updated country The cost. Another website of general interest is interest general of website cost. Another MD Travel Health recommenda- health travel complete provides International Travel & Health, Travel International at no online vised is available and annually lonelyplanet.com pain of the foot, ankle, or calf, usually on just the pain of information. HEALTH If you think you may have a serious disease, If youthink youmayhave disease, aserious and youcannot attend arecommended clinic. you are carryingtheappropriate medication problem isminor (egtraveller’s diarrhoea), ferred ifnecessary. toBangkok patientscanbetrans- any of hospitals, these availability andgovernment permission.From Thani foraboutUS$1500,subjectto aircraft Airport) 023; www.laowestcoast.com;Hangar703,Wattay International der byroad. Udon Thaniisanhourfurtherfromthebor- Udon Hospital 348 maybeappropriate ifyour Self-treatment                           Recommended items forapersonalmedicalkit: CHECKLIST MEDICAL                           IN LAOS •• Infectious Diseases IN LAOS••Infectious agent,egUral,ifyou’re infections. pronetourinary tract urine alkalisation thrush (vaginal yeastinfection) treatment, egClotrimazolepessariesorDiflucantablet lozenges throat sunscreen andhat steroid cream forallergic/itchy rashes,eg1%to2%hydrocortisone permethrin (toimpregnate clothingandmosquito nets) forrepelling insects paracetamol forpain oral-rehydration solutionfordiarrhoea, egGastrolyte migraine medication(yourpersonalbrand),ifasufferer laxative, egColoxyl iodine tablets(unlessyouare pregnant orhave athyroidproblem)topurifywater indigestion medication,egQuickEze orMylanta tronic, notmercury),sterile needlesandsyringes,tweezers first-aid items suchasscissors,plasters (BandAids),bandages,gauze, thermometer (elec- diarrhoea ‘stopper’,egLoperamide DEET-based repellent insect decongestant forcoldsandflus,egPseudoephedrine contraceptives antispasmodic forstomachcramps,egBuscopan antiseptic forcutsandscrapes,egBetadine antinausea medication,egProchlorperazine anti-inflammatories, egIbuprofen antihistamines forallergies, egCetrizine fordaytimeandPromethazinenight and Tinidazole forgiardiasis oramoebicdysentery forbacterial orCiprofloxacin; diarrhoea; Azithromycin antibiotics fordiarrhoea,egNorfloxacin infections, egAmoxicillin/Clavulanateantibiotics forskin orCephalexin antibacterial cream, egMuciprocin antifungal cream, egClotrimazole willflyemergency patients toUdon (

Lao WestcoastHelicopter % 0066 42342555;www.aekudon.com) (

% 021-512 in especially inthecities.As there isnovaccine increasingly Laos, problematicthroughout isbecomingly This mosquito-borne disease Fever Dengue mon inLaos. poorly storeddrugs are orout-of-date com- not recommended, asfake medicationsand IFCIU DISEASES INFECTIOUS self-treatment. byadoctorthantorelyter on tobeassessed to thenearest qualityfacility.Itisalwaysbet- especially malaria,donotwaste time–travel Buying medicationover the counter is lonelyplanet.com HEALTH 349 thœng thœng (pharmacies), but it is worth (pharmacies), i yáa . Condoms can be purchased. Condoms can at most ǎ The use of condoms greatly decreases but decreases condoms greatly useThe of Malaria is caused transmit- by a parasite Malaria Two strategies should be combined to should be combined to Two strategies bringing your own condoms from home. own condoms from bringing your diarrhoea, cough or chills may also occur. diarrhoea, may also occur. cough or chills Diagnosis can only be made by taking a blood sample. and malaria – mosquito avoidance, prevent antimalarial medications. Most people who For such a serious deadly dis- For such and potentially mis- is an enormous amount of ease, there You must information concerning malaria. your trip ac- expert advice as to whether get Laos, parts of tually puts you at risk. Many minimal to have areas, particularly populated side effects malaria, and the risk of no risk of from the antimalaria medication may out- the disease. getting For some weigh the risk of contracting however, of the risk rural areas, the disease any tablet the risk of far outweighs side effects. Remember that malaria can be seekfatal. Before medical advice you travel, on the right for you. medication and dosage The mosquito. infected an of by the bite ted malaria is fever, most important symptom of as headache, such symptoms but general Japanese B Encephalitis B Encephalitis Japanese at least diseaseWhile a rare in travellers, B Japanese with infected 50,000 locals are This year in Southeast Asia. Encephalitis each viral disease by mosquitoes. is transmitted and vaccina- Most cases in rural areas occur spending for travellers tion is recommended cities. There than one month outside of more people infected and a third of is no treatment, will die while another third will suffer perma- nent brain damage. Malaria does not eliminate the risk of HIV infec- HIV does of the risk not eliminate tion. The Lao phrase for ‘condom’ is anáamái hâan kh Influenza tropics, influenza in the year-round Present muscle high(flu) symptoms include fever, throat. runny nose,aches, cough and sore the age in people over severe It can be very 65 or in those with underlying medical of as heart diseaseconditions such or diabetes; for these indi- vaccination is recommended just is no specific treatment, viduals. There and paracetamol. rest IN LAOS •• Infectious Diseases

method of transmission in Laos.method of about one fifth of all HIV cases in Laos about one fifth of are sex is the main Heterosexual actually reported. of 2001. However, it’s estimated that only that only 2001. However, it’s estimated of According to Unaids and WHO, LaosAccording to Unaids and WHO, remains country’; Unaids re- a ‘low HIV prevalence between 1000 and 1800 as of a range ported HIV is a severe problem in pregnant women and problem in pregnant is a severe both mother and in the death of can result no vaccine; preven- is currently baby. There eating and drinking tion is by following safe guidelines. toms to hepatitis A, but is far less common. It Hepatitis E through contami- E is transmitted Hepatitis and has similar symp- food and water nated B, and usually are unaware of this. The long- of unaware B, and usually are cancer consequencesterm can include liver and cirrhosis. B is spread by body fluids, including sexual B is spread up to Asia, Southeast contact. In some parts of hepatitis of carriers population are the 20% of The only sexually transmitted diseaseThe only sexually transmitted that by vaccination, hepatitis can be prevented Hepatitis B for the liver to heal. All travellers to Southeast to Southeast travellers to heal. All for the liver against hepatitis A. should be vaccinated Asia Hepatitis A this food- A problem throughout the region, caus- the liver, virus infects and water-borne and eyes), nauseaing jaundice (yellow skin is no specific treatment There and lethargy. needfor hepatitis A, you just to allow time in travellers. Mosquito-avoidance measures measures Mosquito-avoidance in travellers. it. the best way to prevent are This is a mosquito-borne disease This is a mosquito-borne that is very rare yet very common in the local population, Filariasis was once known as ‘breakbone fever’). Some fever’). as ‘breakbone was once known people develop rash and diarrhoea. a There’s paraceta- and just rest no specific treatment, the as it increases aspirin take mol – do not See haemorrhaging. of likelihood a doctor to be diagnosed and monitored. bites day and night,bites so use insect avoidance high Symptoms include at all times. measures (dengue ache and body headache severe fever, it can only be prevented by avoiding mos- by avoiding only be prevented it can dengue that carries The mosquito quito bites. lonelyplanet.com HEALTH a broad-spectrumantibioticthat hasthe        oesophagus –youcanhelp preventoesophagus thisby includeulcerationof sideeffects serious the interference with the contraceptive pill.More women, indigestion, and heartburn,nausea sitivity (atendency tosunburn), thrushin The potential includephotosen- sideeffects typhusandmelioidosis. tick-borne disease, includingleptospirosis, of tropicaldiseases, added benefitof helpingtoprevent avariety leaving theriskarea. Tablets after mustbetaken forfourweeks andCambodia. northern Thailand,Laos but there issignificantresistance inpartsof 90% effective inmostpartsof SoutheastAsia, third trimesters of pregnancy. Itisaround Itisconsidered and safeLariam. inthesecond logical disorders orepilepsyshouldnottake history of depression, anxiety,otherpsycho- ety, psychosis andseizures. Anyonewitha areeffects rare butincludedepression, anxi- side suitsmanypeople. tablet Serious weekly bad press, someof itjustified,somenot.This ulcers. Itisgenerally notrecommended. (40%ofinclude nausea people)andmouth most of SoutheastAsia. Commonsideeffects and Paludrine combinationisnowlimited in able. Theeffectiveness of theChloroquine There are avarietyof medicationsavail- MEDICATION MALARIA steps: these bites bytaking antimalarial medication. catch malariaare inadequate taking orno 350        Doxycycline, taken is asadailytablet, (Mefloquine)Lariam hasreceived much colours. andtrousersinlight Wear longsleeves Use mosquitocoils. DEET.containing applied more frequently thanproducts as citronellacanbeeffective, butmustbe a mosquitonet.Naturalrepellents such aslongyouarenight, under sleeping at skin.Washthisoff lent onexposed Use aDEET-containing repel- insect before meal. goingoutforyourevening repellentSpray yourroomwithinsect with Permethrin. underamosquitonetimpregnatedSleep areas.high-risk Impregnate clothingwithPermethrin in and fans(ifnotair-conditioned). accommodationwithscreensChoose Travellers are toprevent advised mosquito IN LAOS •• Infectious Diseases IN LAOS••Infectious terial infection isspread and viacoughing Southeast Asia. bac- contagious Thishighly Measles remains aprobleminsomepartsof Measles Fansidar isnolonger recommended. treatment make doses themlessdesirable. ofQuinine butthesideeffects drugsat these days). OtheroptionsincludeMefloquine and is Malarone oncedailyforthree (fourtablets option themosteffective andsafest treatment hours of afever. developing this Ifyouchoose togetneed toagoodmedicalfacilitywithin24 of malaria. Thisislessthanideal,andyou’ll thesymptoms medication shouldyoudevelop ication buttohave asupplyof emergency treatments undermedicalsupervision. as apreventive medication. Theyare useful leaving theriskarea. risk areas. after Itmustbetaken foroneweek divers onshorttripstohigh- andforthose and headaches. forscuba Itisthebesttablet uncommon andmild,mostcommonlynausea Atovaquone are andProguanil.Sideeffects afterfour weeks leaving theriskarea. half anhourof it. Itmustbetaken for taking glass of water, lyingdownwithin andnever withamealandlarge yourtablet taking cause itis usuallyproduced fromnoninfectedcause tobesafe (orsafer) simplybe- Prabang issaid The Laos. foods)whentravelling inrural for manyLao fermented as anaccompaniment fishused eating uncooked fish. Travellers shouldinparticular avoid risk comesfromeatingraworundercooked present infreshwater The main fishinLaos. areThese tinyworms thatare occasionally Flukes) (Liver Opisthorchiasis it canbetreated withmedication. tuberculosis sufferers. There isnovaccinebut toms are very experiencedby similartothose with soil.Itisrare intravellers. Thesymp- This infection iscontracted byskincontact Melioidosis Theredisease. isno specifictreatment. can becomplicated bypneumoniaandbrain Measles fever andrash withahigh starts inchildhood. immune astheyhadthedisease Mostpeoplebornbeforesneezing. 1966are A finaloptionistotake nopreventive med- Malarone isanewdrugcombining Derivatives of Artesunate are notsuitable p ą a dàek p ą a dàek inVientianeand Luang (an unpasteurised (anunpasteurised lonelyplanet.com HEALTH 351 30% and 50% of people will suffer from it people will sufferit from 30% and 50% of startingwithin two weeks their trip. In over of diarrhoea is caused cases, traveller’s 80% of potential numerous are (there by a bacteria promptly responds culprits), and therefore with with antibiotics. Treatment to treatment antibiotics will depend on your situation – 100% effective so you must still be careful with so you must still be careful 100% effective what you eat and drink. Typhus a of by the bite Murine typhus is spread via a scrub typhus is spread flea, whereas in travellers. These rare diseasesmite. are muscle pains and Symptoms include fever, thesea rash. You can avoid diseases by fol- insect-avoidance measures. lowing general them. will also prevent Doxycycline TRAVELLER’S DIARRHOEA diarrhoea is by far the most com- Traveller’s – between mon problem affecting travellers term travellers who have significant contact who have travellers term precau- should take with the local population only is usually Vaccination tions, however. but five, of under the age to children given and post- pre- advised to get adults at risk are are The main symptoms TB testing. travel cough, weightfever, loss, night sweats and tiredness. Typhoid is also spread This serious infection bacterial a high, slowly It gives via food and water. and may be and headache, fever progressive accompanied by a dry cough and stomach and treated pain. It is diagnosed by blood tests is recommended with antibiotics. Vaccination than a week spending more for all travellers the outside of or travelling in Southeast Asia, cities. Be is not that vaccination major aware Strongyloides con- by skin also transmitted This parasite, is It affects travellers. tact soil, rarely with rash called by an unusual skin characterised larva rash on the trunk – a linear currens goes. comes and which Most people don’t sys- symptoms until their immune other have the when suppressed, becomes severely tem infection. can causeparasite an overwhelming with medication. It can be treated Tuberculosis in short-term rare Tuberculosis (TB) is very long- and and aid workers, Medical travellers. IN LAOS •• Traveller’s Diarrhoea

At low levels, there are virtually no symp- are levels,At low there A rarer way to contract liver flukes is by flukes liver to contract way A rarer

seek immediate medical attention. If you have seek If you have medical attention. immediate have been during your travels sexually active home. on your return check an STD a sexual encounter you develop any rash, you developa sexual any rash, encounter passing urine or pain when lumps, discharge tion. Condoms will prevent gonorrhoea and tion. Condoms will prevent but not warts or herpes. If after mon in Laos include herpes, warts, syphilis, carrying People gonorrhoea and chlamydia. infec- no signs of these have diseases often STDs Sexually diseases transmitted com- most lungs and causes an allergic reaction – symp- reaction lungs and causes an allergic Schistosomiasis coughing and fever. toms are with medications. is easily treated velop ‘Katayama fever’. It can occur some weeks fever’. ‘Katayama velop passes as the parasite through the exposure, after concerned, you can be tested three months after months three concerned, you can be tested may de- occasions, travellers On rare exposure. in contaminated water – travellers usually only – travellers in contaminated water If you are a light, symptomless infection. get Schistosomiasis Schistosomiasis is a tiny (also called bilharzia) Schistosomiasis your skin when swimming that enters parasite soon as possible. need to receive rabies immunoglobulin as rabies immunoglobulin as need to receive an animal bites you, gently wash the wound you, gently an animal bites iodine based and apply with soap and water, you will not vaccinated antiseptic. If you are ment. Having a pretravel vaccination means a pretravel ment. Having simplified. If is greatly treatment the postbite medical advice immediately after any animal after medical advice immediately treat- and commence post-exposure bite This uniformly fatalThis uniformly disease by the is spread animal – most com- an infected or lick of bite seek You should monly a dog or monkey. develop serious liver infections several years infections develop serious liver contact.after Rabies with medication. Untreated, patients may patients may with medication. Untreated, (or general abdominal pain) are the usual the usual pain) are abdominal (or general or worm eggssymptoms, along with worms is easily treated in the faeces. Opisthorchiasis toms at all; at higher levels, an overall fatigue, highertoms at all; at levels, an overall liver and swollen or tender fever a low-grade far south of Laos.far south of swimming in the Mekong River or its tributar- River the Mekong swimming in Khongies around Don (Khong Island) in the fish, while the risk of infestation is greatest in greatest is infestation of the risk fish, while provinces. the southern lonelyplanet.com HEALTH cook vegetables, iniodine and soaksalads Peel sitting aroundinbuffets. been allfruit, food, andavoiding shellfish andfoodthathas avoid itincludeeating onlyfreshly cooked for contractingtraveller’s Waysto diarrhoea. inrestaurants isthebiggestEating riskfactor Food HAZARDS ENVIRONMENTAL option. second-line is Tinidazole, withMetronidazole being a can take months. Thetreatment of choice goawayifleftuntreatedeventually butthis specific tothisinfection. Theparasite will work inNepalhasshownthattheyare not are often attributed solelytogiardiasis,but and intermittent ‘Eggy’ burps diarrhoea. bloating,excessgas,fatigueclude nausea, tively commonintravellers. Symptomsin- Giardia lamblia Giardiasis can occur. complications such asliver orgutabscesses ond drugtokillthecysts.Ifleftuntreated kill theparasite inyourgutandthenasec- two drugs;Tinidazole orMetronidazole to Treatmentblood inyourdiarrhoea. involves reliable medicalcareways seek ifyouhave and generally feeling unwell.Youshouldal- iefever,bacterial bloodydiarrhoea diarrhoea, in SoutheastAsia. Symptomsare similarto but isoften bypoor-quality misdiagnosed labs isvery dysentery rareAmoebic intravellers Dysentery Amoebic appropriate antibiotic. attention quickly ifyoudonotrespond toan medical a fever, orbloodinyourstools.Seek bus ride. Don’ttake Loperamideifyouhave ful, forexampleifyouhave togoonalong ofget tothecause theproblem.It canbehelp- bacteria quickly. Ciprofloxacin orAzithromycinwillkillthe best forthis.Antibioticssuch asNorfloxacin, Rehydration solutionslike Gastrolyte are the or feeling generally unwell. tom such asfever, vomiting cramps,nausea, within 24hours, plusatleastoneothersymp- sage of more thanthree watery bowel-actions better, where youare etc. how sickyouare, toget howquicklyyouneed 352 Treatment consistsof wellhydrated. staying Loperamide isjusta‘stopper’anddoesn’t Traveller’s isdefinedasthepas- diarrhoea IN LAOS••EnvironmentalHazards isaparasite thatisrela- ing dehydrationandexcessive activityinthe excessive sweating.Prevent byavoid- these common, asare by musclecrampscaused climate. Swellingof thefeet andanklesis toadaptthe ple ittakes atleasttwoweeks theyear.humid throughout Formostpeo- Many partsof SoutheastAsia are hotand turnover withahigh taurants of customers. water inbusyres- foratleast20minutes. Eat body temperature of over 41°C, dizziness, ahotdrybodywith weakness, nausea, Symptoms come onsuddenlyandinclude some daysafterwards. itiscommon tofeel weakfor rapid, though teaspoon of perlitre. salt Recovery isusually drating withwateraquarter containing of a and rehy-victim flatwiththeirlegsraised plying coolwetcloths to theskin,laying heat and/orsun,fanningthevictim andap- ture. Treatment involves getting outof the bodytempera- elevated normal orslightly anda iting, sweatyskin,afast,weakpulse orvom- weak, headache,nausea irritability, heat exhaustion.Symptomsincludefeeling and gently stretching. with double-strength rehydration solution food. Treat crampsbyresting, rehydrating do drinkrehydration solution andeatsalty (theyaggravate tablets eat salt thegut)but heat. Take iteasywhenyou first arrive. Don’t Heat Heatstroke medicalemergency. isaserious Dehydration isthemaincontributorto DIKN WATER DRINKING             less thanfourmicrons. such asiodineandasmallpore size, ie Ensure yourfilter hasachemicalbarrier Water filters shouldfilter outviruses. problems. or thosepeoplewhosuffer withthyroid should notbeusedbypregnant women The bestchemicalpurifierisiodine. It method ofpurifyingit. Boiling water isthemostefficient watered down. Avoid fresh juices–theymayhave been atpurchase.the sealisintact Bottled water isgenerallysafe –check Never drinktapwater. lonelyplanet.com HEALTH is 353 Tinea versicolor Tinea Cuts and scratches become easily infected become easily infected Cuts and scratches age firmly wrapped around the affected limb, firmly wrapped around the affected age working up to- and starting site at the bite be should not The bandage wards the chest. so tight that the circulation is cut off, and the so the cir- free or toes should be kept fingers Immobilise the limb culation can be checked. wounds in clean water and apply antiseptic.wounds in clean water If pain (increasing infection you develop signs of and surfers Divers seeand redness) a doctor. with coral cuts should be particularly careful as they become easily infected. Snakes is home to many species of Southeast Asia Assume both poisonous and harmless snakes. poisonous and never try to are all snakes Always wear boots and long pants one. catch snakes. that may have if walking in an area involves a snakebite in the event of First-aid immobilisation via an elastic band- pressure strongyloides, hookworm and cutaneousstrongyloides, hookworm larva migrans. Skin Problems climates. common in humid Fungal rashes are that af- two common fungal rashes are There in moist areas occurs first The travellers. fect armpits and as the groin, less air, such that get between that the toes. patch It starts as a red Treatment and is usually itchy. slowly spreads chaf- the skin dry, avoiding keeping involves as such ing and using an antifungal cream Clotrimazole or Lamisil. also common – this fungus causes small, most commonly on patches, light-coloured Consult a doc- and shoulders. the back, chest tor for treatment. of meticulous care Take in humid climates. complica- to prevent any cuts and scratches as abscesses. wash all tions such Immediately an injection of adrenaline (eg an Epipen) for an Epipen) (eg adrenaline of an injection the pain is For others treatment. emergency sting and – apply ice to the main problem painkillers. take Parasites in local common are parasites Numerous however, most in Southeast Asia; populations two rules The in travellers. rare these are of parasitic infec- avoid to follow if you wish to eating to wear shoes and to avoid tions are pork and vegetables. raw food, especially fish, can be transmitted parasites A number of including barefoot via the skin by walking IN LAOS •• Environmental Hazards

Ticks are contracted during walks in rural contracted are Ticks Tropical fatigue is common in long-term Tropical fatigue is common in long-term Prickly heat is a common skin rash in the heat is a common skin Prickly

Bee and wasp stings mainly cause problems Leeches are found in humid forest areas. areas. humid forest found in Leeches are with a serious should carry bee or wasp allergy for people who are allergic to them. Anyone allergic for people who are an iodine-based antiseptic to an iodine-based to any leech bite infection. help prevent bites are often intensely itchy for weeks intensely itchy after- often are bites Apply wards and can easily become infected. tor. Doxycycline prevents tick-borne diseases. tick-borne prevents Doxycycline tor. They do not transmit any disease but their as a rash (at the site of the bite or elsewhere), or elsewhere), the bite of as a rash (at the site you should see or muscle aches fever a doc- had a tick bite and experience symptoms such and experience symptoms such had a tick bite areas. They are commonly found behind the They are areas. on the belly and in armpits. If you have ears, ments. Pubic lice are usually contracted from usually contracted ments. Pubic lice are sexual contact. shampoo such as Permethrin, or in the case as Permethrin, shampoo such or oint- creams lice, with medicated body of They can be difficult to treat and you may and you They can be difficult to treat an anti-lice need numerous applications of pubic area. Transmission is via close Transmission is via contact pubic area. although body lice person, with an infected can come from contaminated bedclothes. antihistamine. Lice inhabit various parts of antihistamine. Lice inhabit various parts of your body but most commonly your head and and walls and then migrate to the bed at night and walls and then migrate with an the itch on you. You can treat to feed Bedbugs don’t carry disease are but their bites furniture the cracks of in They live itchy. very Insect Bites & Stings disease and is caused inad- by the climate, intake alcohol excessive mentalequate rest, a different daily work in and the demands of culture. ointments clog the skin so they should be so they should be ointments clog the skin Locally bought prickly heat powder avoided. can be helpful. due to expats based in the tropics. It’s rarely and by having cool showers. Creams and and Creams cool showers. and by having the skin. The result is an itchy rash of tiny rash of an itchy is the skin. The result the heat and out of by moving lumps. Treat hours for a few area into an air-conditioned tropics, caused under by sweat being trapped wet cloths or ice to their body, especially to or ice to their body, wet cloths armpits. the groin and Seek by help and commence cooling medical the heat, removing out of person the getting cool fanning them and applying their clothes, confusion, loss of coordination, seizures and seizures coordination, loss of confusion, consciousness. eventually collapse of and loss lonelyplanet.com HEALTH nant womendo pregnancy. WHOrecommends thatpreg- flow to the placenta. Manyflow totheplacenta. of thedrugsused dehydration andresult ininadequate blood pletely safe inpregnancy. more effective antimalarialdrugs are com- Chloroquine-resistant malaria. Noneof the premature labour. all pregnancy-related possibilities, including Most of all,ensure travel insurancecovers andmedicalfacilities.poor transportation facilities.Avoidthese travel inruralareas with antenatalcareyou continueyourstandard at ties available atyourdestinationandensure Always carryalistof qualitymedicalfacili- totravelpossible. It’s wise withacompanion. premature bloodpressure labourandhigh are in thethirdtrimester complicationssuch as first trimester there isariskof miscarriage and women generally feel attheirbest.Duringthe related problemsare lowestandpregnant whentheriskofand 28weeks), pregnancy- travel 16 trimester (between isinthesecond advice before travelling. Theidealtimeto Pregnant womenshouldreceive specialised HEALTH WOMEN’S applied twicedailyisalsohelpful. comfort. Onepercenthydrocortisonecream compresses andtake painkillers forthedis- the sununtilyouhave recovered, applycool 10am to2pm).Ifyouare outof sunburntstay sun duringthehottest partof theday(from outdoors. Avoidand sunglasses lyingin the a swim,andalwayswearwide-brimmed hat least factor30),makingsure toreapply after astrongsunscreenrapidly. Alwaysuse (at Even onacloudyday,sunburncanoccur Sunburn for mostspecies. suck thevenom out.Antivenom isavailable tourniquetsortryto attention. Do notuse with asplintandcarrythevictimtomedical 354 Traveller’s canquicklyleadto diarrhoea duringMalaria disease isahigh-risk IN LAOS••Women’sHealth not travel toareas with into balance, or to maintain balance. These balance. These into balance,ortomaintain ture are forceback tobringthisvital utilised andacupunc- as herbalmedicines,massage, Techniquesbalance ascausingdisease. such blockage life or im- tify avital force,andsee cal practitioners. being increasingly byWestern medi- utilised are wellrespected, andaspectsof themare systems medicine such astraditional Chinese cations. Incomparison,traditionalhealing dubious procedures withpotential compli- should beavoided, astheyoften involve rather systems and‘folk’medicine. Folkremedies traditionalhealing difference these between cal systems are There widelypractised. isabig SoutheastAsia,Throughout traditionalmedi- MEDICINE TRADITIONAL antibiotics. bring suitable tion orlongbusjourneyswithouttoiletstops; infections canbeprecipitated bydehydra- oftablet Fluconazole(Diflucan).Urinary tract Clotrimazole. Apracticalalternative isasingle is withantifungalcreams such as andpessaries otics canallcontribute tothrush.Treatment of contraception.Heat, humidityand antibi- so bringadequate suppliesof yourownform Birth controloptionsmaybelimited though products areplies of sanitary readily available. considered safe. ommended inpregnancy. Azithromycinis has prescribed. you informbothpractitioners what the other cines. Ifyouare utilisingbothsystems ensure herbalmedicinesandWestern medi- tween ‘safe’, andthere canbedruginteractions be- such asmalaria. avoided fortreating acute infections serious conditions. Traditionalmedicinesshouldbe bowelsyndromeandsomechronictable skin such aschronic fatigue,arthritis,irri- disease therapies are fortreating bestused chronic to treat bugsare variousdiarrhoea notrec- All traditional Asian medicalsystems iden- aware alwaysmean that‘natural’doesn’t Be In theurbanareas of SoutheastAsia, sup- lonelyplanet.com 355 Language are closely related to languages spoken in Thailand, northern Myanmar and pockets CONTENTS of China’s Yunnan and Guangxi Provinces. Standard Lao is indeed close enough to Script 356 standard Thai (as spoken in central Thai- Tones 356 land) that for native speakers the two are Transliteration 356 mutually intelligible. In fact, virtually all of Pronunciation 357 the speakers of Lao west of the Annamite Accommodation 357 Chain can easily understand spoken Thai. Conversation & Essentials 358 Among educated Lao, written Thai is Directions 358 also easily understood, because many of the Eating 359 textbooks used at the college and university Health 359 level in Laos are actually Thai texts. Language Difficulties 359 Even more similar to Standard Lao are Numbers 360 Thailand’s northern and northeastern Thai Places & Land Features 360 dialects. There are actually more Lao speak- Shopping & Services 360 ers living in Thailand than in Laos, so if Time & Dates 360 you’re travelling to Laos after a spell in Transport 361 Thailand (especially the northeast), you should be able to put whatever you learned in Thailand to good use. It doesn’t work as The official language of the LPDR is Lao as well in the opposite direction; native Thais spoken and written in Vientiane. As an of- can’t always understand Lao, since they’ve ficial language, it has successfully become had less exposure to it. the lingua franca between all Lao and non- In the cities and towns of the Mekong Lao ethnic groups in Laos. Native Lao is River valley, French is intermittently un- spoken with differing tonal accents and derstood. In spite of its colonial history, with slightly differing vocabularies as you French remains the official second language move from one part of the country to the of the government and many official docu- next, especially in a north to south direc- ments are written in both Lao and French. tion, but it is the Vientiane dialect that is Shop signs sometimes appear in French most widely understood. (alongside Lao, as mandated by law), LANGUAGE Modern Lao linguists recognise five basic though signs in English are becoming more dialects within the country: Vientiane Lao; common. As in Vietnam, the former colo- northern Lao (spoken in Sainyabuli, Bokeo, nial language is increasingly viewed as ir- Udomxai, Phongsali, Luang Namtha and relevant in a region that has adopted Luang Prabang); northeastern Lao (Xieng English as the lingua franca of business and Khuang and Hua Phan), central Lao trade, and among young Lao students Eng- (Khammuan and Bolikhamsai); and finally lish is now much more popular than southern Lao (Champasak, Savannakhet, French. Lao over the age of 50 may under- Salavan, Attapeu and Sekong). Each of stand a little English, but to a lesser extent these can be further divided into various than French. subdialects; the differences between the Lao Many Russian-trained Lao can also speak spoken in the neighbouring provinces of Russian, though the language has drastically Xieng Khuang and Hua Phan, for example, fallen from favour. are readily apparent to those who know the It pays to learn as much Lao as possible language well. during your stay in the country, since All dialects of Lao belong to the Thai half speaking and understanding the language of the Thai-Kadai family of languages and not only enhances verbal communication LANGUAGE person’s. is notnecessarily thesamepitchasanother vocal range,sothat oneperson’slowtone pitch arerelative tothespeaker’snatural ing andlowfalling). Allsixvariationsin three followpitchinclines(rising, high fall- tones arelevel(low,midandhigh) while the Laolanguage. overlaying nativeintonationpatterns onto ing andusingthetonesystemis toavoid the correcttone.Sofirstrule in learn- modulation ofteninterfereswithuttering emphasis andquestionsthroughtone tone, theirtendencytodenoteemotion, but evenwhenthey‘know’thecorrect grounds, itcanbeveryhardtolearnatfirst For peoplefromnontonallanguageback- ‘pillar’ or‘twenty’dependingonthetone. for example,canmean‘girl’,‘morning’, entiated bytheirtoneonly.Theword vowel-consonant combinationsarediffer- more syllables,however.Manyidentical Pali, FrenchandEnglishoftenhavetwoor Chinese. BorrowedwordsfromSanskrit, guage, likethevariousdialectsofThaiand Basically, Laoisamonosyllabic,tonallan- TONES before, above before, after,above,belowor‘around’(ie number ofpositionsrelativetoconsonants: right, thoughvowel-signsmayappearina symbols). WrittenLaoproceedsfromleftto tones (incombinationwithalltheother commonly usedincreatingthesixdifferent are fourtonemarks,onlytwoofwhich menting theconsonantandvowelsymbols used invaryingcombinations).Comple- vowel combinations(15individualsymbols sounds) and28symbolsforvowels nant symbols(formedfrom20basic The Laoscripttodayconsistsof30conso- SCRIPT Lonely Planet’s have roomforinthisguide,getacopyof Lao peopleyoucomeintocontactwith. but garnersagreatdealofrespectfromthe 356 Phrasebook Sung areas,LonelyPlanet’s If youplantotravelextensivelyinanyLao Vientiane Laohassixtones.Three ofthe For amorein-depthguidetoLaothanwe LANGUAGE ••Script couldalsobeuseful. and after). Lao Phrasebook Hill Tribes sao , . incredibly inconsistentin thisrespect, ating theLaolanguage (thegovernmentis like this: level ofthelowtone,eg Begins ataboutthemidlevelandfallsto Low Falling Tone to themidlevel,eg Begins atorabovethehightoneandfalls Falling Tone High (three). just atorabovethehightone,eg Begins abitbelowthemidtoneandrisesto Tone Rising your vocalrange,eg Flat again,thistimeattherelativetopof Tone High mark isused,eg relative middleofyourvocalrange.Notone Flat likethelowtone,butspokenat Tone Mid tone totheend. some Vientianenativesaddaslightrising everyone pronouncesitflatandlevel– level, eg conversational tonalrange–usuallyflat Produced attherelativebottomofyour Low Tone write aLaoword. way anEnglish speaker wouldintuitively eration, whichbearslittlerelation tothe the oldcolonialFrenchsystemof translit- most commonlyseeninLaosare based on Laos’s colonialhistory,transcribed words compounded bythefactthatbecause of do notoccurinEnglish.Theproblem is the Laosounds,especiallycertain vowels, alphabet isamajorproblem,sincemanyof The renderingofLaowordsintheRoman TRANSLITERATION falling low falling There isnoofficial methodoftransliter- On avisualcurvethetonesmightlook

d mid ǐ i (good).Note,however,thatnot

high het sâo (do).

héua rising (morning). khào (boat).

lonelyplanet.com high (rice).

low s ǎ am

LANGUAGE 357 w hap kháek ǎ h hóhng háem ƒ ® š $ É Ã¡ ø È ®Á¢¡ ñ μ » ð ¹ Â»¤Á»´ i hóhng háem yuu kâi nîi baw? ǐ LANGUAGE •• Pronunciation Pronunciation •• LANGUAGE

‘boy’ as the ‘oy’ in »¤Á»´ ó ‘oh-i’ ‘oe-i’ ƒ as the ‘k’ in ‘kite’ ‘p’ as in ‘put’ (but never as in ‘sing’; used as an initial as in similar to the ‘ni’ in ‘onion’; as in ‘tip’ ht, m as in ‘man’ literated ‘wing’ (often trans as in as in ‘home’ as in ‘nun’ as in ‘dodo’ as in ‘boy’ a hard ‘p’ (unaspirated and ‘skin’; similar to the as the ‘k’ in as in ‘yo-yo’ ǒ as in ‘soap’ a hard ‘t’, unaspirated and as in ‘fan’ as in ‘lick’ similar to ‘j’ in ‘join’ or more m y l f awy ohy oei k unvoiced and but unaspirated ‘g’ in ‘good’, ph ‘phone’) h as ‘v’) as w shorter (not as in ‘yew’) ng j Lao consonant in closely, the second ‘t’ in ‘stature’ voiceless) or ‘literature’ (unaspirated and s ny Lao used as an initial consonant in d t unvoiced – a bit like ‘d’ kh th n b p unvoiced)

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w th ǎ ¹ ó Âê© ´ ð ç £ § ¨ ¹¸ ¨ ó Ï ± ° ¹ì Î ¹ , , , , kh ¢ ´ míi hàwng baw? , , , , , ,

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μ ì ¸ ´ Â × Excuse me, is there a hotel nearby? Do you have a room? ACCOMMODATION hotel guest house Consonants with consonant is produced An ‘aspirated’ or puff of air. An ‘unvoiced’ an audible with no is produced ‘voiceless’ consonant vibration in the vocal chords. ¡ ¢ ³ » À

¥ ¦ ¨ © ª ê ¤ $ ® ¯ ² , or as aa deux as the ‘a’ in ‘care’ plus ‘w’ as the‘a’ in ‘bad’ plus ‘w’ combination of ‘eu’ and ‘a’ ‘u-ay-ee’ ‘ee-a-oo’ ‘a’ in ‘father’ plus as the as in ‘jaw’ same as ‘ehw’ above, but as in ‘food’ as in ‘toe’ the ‘a’ in ‘hate’ as as the ‘u-a’ sound in ‘tour’ as in French or ‘cow’ as in ‘now’ as the ‘u’ in ‘fur’ long ‘a’ as in ‘father’ as the ‘a’ in ‘bad’ or ‘tab’ (as in ‘yew’) ‘i-oo’ as the ‘i-a’ sound in ‘Ian’ as in ‘aisle’ as in ‘flute’ as in ‘feet’ or ‘tea’ as in ‘phone’ half as long as as in ‘hen’ as in ‘it’ iu iaw ua uay aew ehw ew eua ia eu oh oe u uu aai ao aw o i ii a ae eh ai aa e ×

ñ

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¼¸ ¸¨ ¸ ò ¼ ø ÷ ð ô ¾¨ ó ò ½ ¾ × × ×, × × × × × × × × × ÀÀ × × À À × À × × × × × Â Â À × × Lao vowels can be written before, after, before, after, Lao vowels can be written – in the fol- above and below consonants demonstrate this by lowing vowel chart we consonant. using ‘×’ to represent any PRONUNCIATION Vowels though they tend to follow the old French the old French to follow they tend though custom system uses a This book methods). Thai based on the Royal of transliteration Thai system, since General Transcription and very similar writing and Lao have are The only exceptions sound systems. terms may be confusion with where there in common use. that are already a more interna- gradually moving towards along the lines tionally recognisable system of Royal Thai General. lonelyplanet.com ÀÀ × × Ã À À À LANGUAGE Goodbye. Goodbye. Greetings. CONVERSATION &ESSENTIALS quieter cheaper otherrooms? Do youhave I/welookattheroom? Can I/we willstaytwonights. towel toilet soap single room sheet key hot water fan double room blanket bathroom air-conditioning per week per night How much...? two persons one person How manypeople? 358

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i l i i i baw? ht p ǎ ǎ ą ng? ǎ lonelyplanet.com i l i kawn kâi/baw kâi p ny bawn nîi...... yùus k thit n k ng ǎ ą ą ǎ ą ǎ méuang than muu bâan i? i/baw k i thaod ǎ i i seu-seu a ng? ě ǎ ǒ ua eng n ǎ i? ą ą i i? LANGUAGE 359 w ǎ n boeng į an m ai ą ą u pháa-máan ě hk hèut ǒ (míi thâwng) khài paa jép khàew l phâe th n tae phák į ƒ É n khài ę ® É jép yuu nîi khàwy baw sáb khàwy tâwng-k p lóng thâwng khàwy láwng k yàak baw mak phét khàwy k ¸ É ¤ ñ Ä© ƒ ø ng? © õ u ǎ ų ¤ … ¾ È º¤) É ©Ä© ò ¤© …

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Please repeat. What do you call this in Lao? Canspeak English? you I can’t speak Lao. Do you understand? I don’t understand. Please speak slowly. I have a fever. I have diarrhoea. It hurts here. allergic asthma malaria pregnant toothache DIFFICULTIES LANGUAGE I’d like to try that. I eat only vegetables. (I) don’t like it hot and spicy. (I) like it hot and spicy. HEALTH I’m not well. I need a doctor. an an ą ǎ awén tók awén àwk ą ą w ... dae a a-h ǎ ą buang sâwm mîit saek thùay jàwk láai-k ą j mâi thuu mâi kh

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suay ôen lot hóhng m j khàwy l khàwy hàwng sùam yuu s suay ôen tam-lùat dae! suay t suay Where are the toilets? I’m lost. Could you help me please? § Call the police! Call a doctor! Call an ambulance! Go away! Fire! It’s an emergency! EMERGENCIES Help! ´

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NUMBERS SHOPPING & SERVICES 0 ¦ø$ sǔun bank ê½$¾£¾$ thanáakháan 1 $‡¤ neung barber shop »É¾$ªñ©°Ü´ hâan tát phǒm 2 ¦º¤ ǎwng bookshop »É¾$¢¾¨Îñ¤¦õ hâan khǎai nǎng sěu hospital hóhng mǎw 3 ¦¾´ sǎam »¤Ïð museum phiphithaphán 4 ¦† sii ²ò²òê½²ñ$ pharmacy hâan khǎai yąa 5 ¹É¾ hàa »É¾$¢¾¨μ¾ post office pąi-sá-níi 6 ¹Ü¡ hók į¦½$ó (hóhng sǎai) 7 À¥ñ© jét (»¤¦¾¨) 8 pàet Á¯© I want to khàwy yàak 9 kâo ¢Éº¨μ¾¡¯È¼$ ... À¡í¾ change ... pian ... 10 síp ¦ò® money ngóen 11 síp-ét À¤ò$ ¦ò®Àºñ© travellers À§ñ¡À©ó$꾤 sek dôen tháang 12 ¦ò®¦º¤ síp-sǎwng cheques 20 §¾¸ sáo 21 §¾¸Àºñ© sáo-ét I’m looking for ... 22 sáo-sǎwng §¾¸¦º¤ ¢Éº¨§º¡¹¾ ... khàwy sàwk hǎa ... 30 ¦¾´¦ò® sǎam-síp How much (for) ...? 40 ¦†¦ò® sii-síp ... Àꉾé ... thao dąi? 50 ¹É¾¦ò® hàa-síp Do you have something cheaper? 60 ¹Ü¡¦ò® hók-síp ´óçõ¡¡¸È¾$š®ƒ míi thèuk-kwaa nîi baw? 70 À¥ñ©¦ò® jét-síp The price is very high. 80 Á¯©¦ò® pàet-síp ì¾£¾Á²¤¹ì¾¨ láakháa pháeng lǎai 90 kâo-síp À¡í¾¦ò® TIME & DATES 100 »Éº¨ hâwy today ´œ$š mêu nîi 200 ¦º¤»Éº¨ sǎwng hâwy tonight £õ$$š khéun nîi 1000 ²ñ$ phán this morning À§í¾$š sâo nîi 10,000 ψ$(¦ò®²ñ$) meun (síp-phán) this afternoon ®È¾¨$š baai nîi 100,000 Á¦$(»Éº¨²ñ$) sǎen (hâwy phán) all day long ªìº©´œ talàwt mêu 1,000,000 ìɾ$ lâan now ©¼¸$š/ªº$$š diaw nîi/tąwn nîi PLACES & LAND FEATURES sometimes ®¾¤Àꈺ bąang theua yesterday ´œ¸¾$$š mêu wáan nîi Buddhist temple ¸ñ© wat tomorrow ´œºˆ$ mêu eun cemetery ¯È¾§É¾ paa sâa LANGUAGE church sǐm khlit ¦ò´£ìò© Monday wán jąn forest paa ¸ñ$¥ñ$ ¯È¾ Tuesday wán ąngkháan jungle dǒng ¸ñ$ºñ¤£¾$ ©Ü¤ Wednesday ¸ñ$²÷© wán phut mountain phúu khǎo ²øÀ¢Ü¾ Thursday ¸ñ$²½¹ñ© wán phahát park/garden sǔan ¦¸$ Friday ¸ñ$¦÷¡ wán súk rice field (wet) náa $¾ Saturday ¸ñ$À¦Ü¾ wán sǎo river mae nâm Á´È$Õ Sunday ¸ñ$º¾êò© wán ąathit sea ê½Àì thaléh thâat stupa 꾩 January À©õº$´ñ¤¡º$ dęuan mángkąwn swamp ®ô¤ beung February À©õº$¡÷´²¾ dęuan kųmpháa trail/footpath 꾤꼸/ tháang thíaw/ March À©õº$´ó$¾ dęuan míináa 꾤¨È¾¤ nyaang April À©õº$À´¦¾ dęuan méhsǎa waterfall $ժܡª¾© nâm tók tàat May À©õº$²ô©¦½²¾ dęuan pheutsápháa LANGUAGE 361 ew h) ǎ ǒ h-t ǒ am-lâw wngth ǎ ǎ túk-túk lot thâek-síi lot thìip lot ják s s lot ( È

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nang bawn nîi dâi baw? thao d khón-la p

tuk-tuk Stop here. I’d like to hire a ... ¢ car bicycle motorcycle taxi samlor s How much to ...? How much person? How much per May I sit here? Please tell me when we arrive in ... wéhláa hâwt ... bàwk khàwy dae (passenger truck) (passenger a Also available from Lonely Planet: Lao phrasebook Southeast Asia phrasebook ǎ wlakót nyáa ngh ą ą ǐ n ǐ uan túláa uan phajík uan k uan k uan thánwáa uan s uan mithúnáa ę ę ę ę ę ę ę d d d d d héua b lot tûu d lot d héua © Ü ¡ ò $¾ ÷ $¸¾ ç ñ ò ì¾ ì½¡ $¨¾ ¤¹¾ ÷ ð ñ ò $ ò ò

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I’d like a ticket.

I want to go to ... Where we get on the boat? do

What time (do we, does it, etc) arriveWhat time (do we, does it, there? What time will the … leave? ¥½ºº¡¥ ... minivan bus boat TRANSPORT aeroplane December October November August September June July lonelyplanet.com GLOSSARY forhealthandsafety bound totheparticipant

e p67. see a Westerner

which the32 transience ofallthings

jumbo j j Jataka hùay héua wái héua phái héua hangnyáo héua h h f falang ness, disease dukkha Don corvée bun b BCEL in Laos;alsoaLaounitofmeasure equalto15g baht b bâan Asean anicca essentiality ofreality, ie no permanent‘soul’ anatta ą Glossary 362

Buddha’s pastlives; (Buddhistscriptures) the Tripitaka English, LaoForeign TradeBank

Ban onmaps called tuk-tuk Laos in northern practices orreligious earnedthroughgoodactions ‘merit’ spiritual wordsforfoodanddrink, For alistof Lao į ę ǒ ahaan ahaan į ą in háw ǎ ǎ hdii a e as w t i – – – – – ǐ – Banque pour le Commerce Extérieur Lao;in –BanquepourleCommerceExtérieur

i – – – – beer; jar rice noodles,oneofthemostcommondishesinLaos rice ą

–AssociationofSouthEastAsianNations – pronounced pronounced –

–

i – – – – (bàat) – stream; written Huayonmaps stream; written the general Lao word for house or village; written the generalLaowordforhouseorvillage;written boat

– – – a Buddhist stupa; also written Chedi a Buddhiststupa;alsowritten

sometimes speltbasior

– Buddhist conceptofimpermanence,the a motorised three-wheeled taxi, sometimes three-wheeled a motorised from theLao enforced, unpaidlabour (Pali-Sanskrit) ofthe mythologicalstories Buddhist conceptofnonsubstantialityornon-

–

monastery buildingdedicatedtothestorageof Buddhist concept of suffering, unsatisfactori- Buddhist conceptofsuffering, food b Lao name for the Muslim YunnaneseLao namefortheMuslim wholive –

į khw speedboat a sót

Thaiunitofcurrency, commonlynegotiable row boat ǎ isdraughtbeer n – b d (guardian spirits) are symbolically (guardianspirits) sáa-dók ų ą

longtail boat n, wn; falang-sèht often speltboun;afestival; also often island inLao baci; or‘French’; Western, aceremony in to LaoandThai legendsandart all activities River) (Mekong to shortened made air-tightwithbeeswax reeds fittedintoahardwoodsoundboxand bamboo-like

Lao Thoeng Lao Thoeng also speltLaoSung residence athigheraltitudes, forexample,Hmong,Mien; LaoSoung the Lao–ThaiDiaspora LaoLoum lào-láo in the1940s LaoIssara Laos, ascommonatdiscosfestivals lám wóng lák méuang làap kip khw khúu-b khan khào-n n khào j khào khào kháen naga náang síi muu bâan Muang múan meuang m mae nâm LPRP LPDR LNTA lingam

or fish maps on Muang written in ancienttimesacitystate;often translates as‘masterofverse’ temples Khmer-built

slopes peopleswholiveonmidaltitudemountain Mon-Khmer ǎ w lám – ǒ ǎ – Lao National Tourism Administration –LaoNationalTourism – – –LaoPeople’s Party Revolutionary m

–LaoPeople’s DemocraticRepublic n – pronounced – fun, which the Lao believe shouldbepresent in –fun,whichtheLaobelieve

į a spicy Lao-style saladofmincedmeat,poultry a spicyLao-style – i ǐ

–see –apillarorphallussymbolicofShiva,commonin ǒ ą nâa-kha – rice aw – –

–pronounced a m a wind instrument devised ofadoublerow a windinstrumentdevised

–Buddhistnuns –Laofolkmusicaltheatre tradition;roughly guardian spirits – literally, water mother; river; usually –literally,watermother;river;

distilled rice liquor distilled rice bread – – – ‘Highland Lao’, hill tribes who make their whomake Lao’,hilltribes –‘Highland – – – – – nâm

‘Lowland Lao’,ethnicgroupsbelongingto Lao Buddhistmonk –

Lao resistance movement againsttheFrench – ‘circle dance’,thetraditionalfolkdanceof

village meuang pastry or sweet; sometimes shortened to pastry orsweet;sometimesshortened sticky rice, theLaostaplefood sticky rice,

‘Upland Lao’,alooseaffiliationofmostly inLao;mythical waterserpentcommon city pillar with river names, as in Nam Khong names,asinNamKhong with river kìip; Laounitofcurrency méuang; district ortown; district GLOSSARY

t l

i o f 363

a n l o talàat

a m s i y i e c

a

r r s e e w s

t r a m p e a m m g

h , o pàak (mouth) of n c e

c o t - s l i i

s n a

h

o r t r

n e

o o e , f t l

p a s e - t s n i o e ‘seminar’; euphemism ‘seminar’; amanáa; t s o

c ǎ © Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd - s r s c r r u si a e written Tat on maps nâm tók; written Tat e an open-sided shelter; a hall shelter; a-láa; an open-sided

o e , p ǎ

s e p r n

s talàat sâo is the morning market; southern Laos term for river; southern Laos term hence Se o o a u f

s jumbo xe; – literally, two-rows; a passenger truck; o t o i t n t

– two-storey building designed to have a o r e ew i – Buddhist novice monk; also referred to as monk; also referred – Buddhist novice – insight meditation – the Vietnamese forces who fought for u e s t – taxi i t o u – pronounced – pronounced – see – (Pali-Sanskrit vihara) a temple hall vihara) a temple – (Pali-Sanskrit – street/road; often – street/road; spelt Thanon on maps;

y d p waterfall; also

– market; o n a n r – Buddhist stupa or reliquary; written – Buddhist stupa or reliquary; That on maps t an –

h o o – pronounced – pronounced – unexploded ordnance – Lao Buddhist monastery f ’ – ordination hall in a Lao Buddhist monastery; named – ordination hall in a Lao Buddhist c c u

. – lane

– sacred; also spelt – sacred; wngthǎ – also spelt r t o s m i d i ǐ ǎ ǐ e n y i n

also written songthaew

shop on the ground floor and a residence above residence shop on the ground floor and a on maps or ‘black’, market;mèut is the free, written Talat

vipassana wat wihǎ s soi tàat talàat thâat thaek-sii thanǒ tuk-tuk UXO Viet Minh sala samana samanera néhn s se shophouse s shortened is to ‘St’ to ‘Th’ as street after stone tablets, the sima, (pronounced siimáa) or sacred for this purpose which mark off the grounds dedicated Indochina’s independence from the French for labour and re-education established after camps the 1975 Revolution

the river Don means Don River, and Pakse means means Don means Don River, and Pakse h e s t k a t

a s n s d e a

o a t m c o i o

r

t l r

e e p r t u i k

u o a

a e

f t

’ h h m s t t n

’

i t o o e i w

T d e

k . S g e

n d . i s n t t i i a h L

h t

e l

t l l y

e e t p t

s P , h w

e

s g , s r i

d n r n r r

r o o o e i

u , t t h w a

t e w

r r c

i o o e l n n h D b I ‘ t

k

. u

o -

P

d u GLOSSARY (hall) where monks and lay – a sala (hall) where – the Lao version of the Indian epic,

e e n o t I t v

y e c

. o i n y e r b l a – sarong, worn by Lao men t n l a – shoulder sash worn by men n s – literally, Country of Laos; both a general – literally, Country of Laos; both – a three-wheeled pedicab; also written

– sarong, worn by almost all Lao women – sarong, worn by almost all Lao o P – alternative name for jumbo in southern o e

e y

r – fermented fish sauce, a common accompani- – fermented y r

s – ‘cooling’, the extinction – ‘cooling’, the defile- of mental h

l

ang t e y

e e

l

v s l

g n – hill or mountain; also spelt phu – Buddhist novice monk; also referred to as monk; also referred – Buddhist novice – cloth e o a

– water; can also mean ‘river’, can also mean – water; ‘juice’, ‘sauce’:

– nongovernmental organisation, typically involved organisation, typically involved – nongovernmental

o n – North Vietnamese Army t – National Protected to a classification assigned Area, – holy image, usually referring to a Buddha; – holy image, usually referring – fish p

i i o L

r a dàek a

y am-lâaw aláa lóng thám t

g

u i ą ą a ǎ ǎ t

s i

p d lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com

term for the country and a common journalistic reference journalistic reference term for the country and a common Lao Front (a cover Patriotic to the military arm of the early Party); often abbreviatedfor the ’s to PL ments; the ultimate goal of Theravada Buddhism ments; the ultimate samlor

Laos due to the perceived resemblance to a space capsule Laos due to the perceived resemblance (Skylab) venerable sakai-làep s s phúu phàa salòng Pha Lak Pha Lam phàa bį phàa nung phàa pha Pathet Lao Pathet p p NVA NPA nibbana néhn NGO nâm © the Ramayana in the foreign-aid industry in the foreign-aid

people listen to Buddhist teachings ment to Lao food 20 wildlife areas throughout Laos areas 20 wildlife anything of a watery nature anything

samanera