Despite its popularity with a few in-the-know travelers, Laos is one of those countries that tend to get overshadowed, in this case by Thailand to the south or China to the north. Time for an intro to the country.
Embedded deep in Southeast Asia, Laos is, in a nutshell, off the beaten track. Even the most touristy of destinations like the old capital of Luang Prabang, a UNESCO World Heritage Site from end to end, seem downright underpopulated when compared to Bangkok or Beijing. The upswing of that is you can go to Laos and not get that vaguely cynical sense that the natives are “faking it” for a bigger share of the tourism dollars.
Your journey will most likely start in the modern capital of Vientiane, just across the Thai border. This being Southeast Asia, you will get a crash course in Buddhism—and gold leaf. Call it an irony, but the religion that inspires such tranquility in Japan and elsewhere does a 180 here: the That Luang, or Great Stupa, is a temple practically hosed down in gold. For something a little simpler, try Wat Sisaket. It’s no less impressive, and it won’t blind you on a sunny day.
For something a little more rustic and wild, the southern provinces of Champasack and Attapeu are nature in full force. In Laos, water is never far away; the south is as riverine as it gets to still be called “land.” But it is also an emerald world unto itself. Tigers, elephants, and leopards all pad through the rain forest, and the crater lake of Nong Fa is so crystalline you can see the (very deep) bottom.
And then there is the Plain of Jars. Probably the most famous of Laotian sites, this place is hard to explain because it a total mystery as to what this is. Thousands of huge stone receptacles stud an otherwise nondescript plain on the Xieng Khouang Plateau in north-central Laos. Some say they could have been made for fermenting beer. More likely they are funerary monuments dating back to the Bronze Age, but no one really knows.
Unlike much of the region, Laos can get very rugged, particularly in the north where the Himalayas fray apart. It is also fairly rustic, a world away from Vientiane. This hinterland bordering China is a fascinating blend of cultures, not really Lao, but not particularly Chinese. It’s also home of “lao lao,” the strongest booze you’re likely to have in the country.
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