Words by Jeannine Williamson
Of all the South East Asian countries, landlocked Laos – bordered by China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar – is the one that many people have barely heard of, let alone visited.
It’s a nation where dense forests and isolated villages rub shoulders with charming small cities. It has also been shaped by the mighty Mekong River, which rises in the Tibetan Plateau and flows through six countries on its journey to the South China Sea. More of its volume surges through Laos than anywhere else and the fast-flowing Upper Mekong is very different from the sedate and better-known stretch of the waterway running through neighbouring Vietnam and Cambodia.
Journeys begin in the so-called Golden Triangle where Laos, Thailand and Myanmar meet. Once an infamous drug trading zone, you can visit the Hall of Opium Museum, which charts the dark past in a large contemporary exhibition.
Away from big towns, most Laotians live in rural areas and around 80 per cent work in agriculture, mainly growing rice. In these regions village walks provide unforgettable snapshots of daily life. These visits are totally unscripted, and even your guide won’t know exactly what you’ll see. You might be invited to celebrate the birth of a baby or invited into an open-air classroom. One thing that is guaranteed is the warmth of the welcome extended by villagers who belong to some of the country’s 49 ethnic tribes. Expect to be offered shots of lao lao, a fiery drink made from distilled rice.