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A gentle trip through Laos in eight questions about the essentials. Young or old, everyone can join in and discover something new along the way.
Easy-going wanderer 0–3 · Jungle-path explorer 4–6 · Laos insider 7–8
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Sticky rice is steamed in bamboo baskets and eaten with the hands: people squeeze a small ball of it between their fingers and use it to scoop up other food. Lao people sometimes call themselves 'luk khao niao', which means 'children of sticky rice'.
Photo: 국립국어원, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 kr.
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Laos is surrounded by China, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, so goods that arrive by ship have to travel on through a neighbouring country. Instead of a coast it has the mighty Mekong River, which runs along much of its western side.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.
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Lao and Thai are close cousins in the same language family, and Lao is also spoken in the Isan region of north-eastern Thailand, where it is usually called Isan. Each language has its own script, though, so people who chat together easily may still struggle to read each other's writing.
Photo: Fobos92, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
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The name Vientiane is a French spelling of the Lao Viang Chan, which can mean 'walled city of sandalwood' or 'walled city of the moon'. About 20 km from the city, the First Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge carries cars, people on foot and even a railway line across the river to Thailand.
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Its Lao name, tam mak hoong, means 'pounded papaya', and the large, deep mortar used for it, called a khok, is a must in every Lao kitchen. Thin strips of unripe papaya are bashed together with chilli, lime, fish sauce and palm sugar, so it tastes sour, hot, salty and sweet all at once.
Photo: Takeaway, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
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The slow boats set off from Huay Xai, on the border with Thailand, and spend the night moored at Pakbeng, a small riverside village about halfway to Luang Prabang. All along the way, travellers watch forested hills and riverside villages glide past.
Photo: Tango7174, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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Gibbon couples sing loud duets that can often be heard up to about a kilometre away, and their young sometimes join in. A forest reserve in Bokeo province, in north-western Laos, protects a small, separate group of black crested gibbons, which are critically endangered.
Photo: James Eaton, Wikimedia Commons, CC0.
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Moon bears get their name from the pale crescent on their chest, and since 2003 the Tat Kuang Si Bear Rescue Centre has given rescued bears a home in leafy enclosures where they can climb and splash in water. Right next door, the waterfall tumbles over white limestone into a string of turquoise pools.
Photo: Guérin Nicolas ( messages ), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
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