Is Laos worth visiting? I'm thinking of taking trip to South east asia for a month off work, and never been there before. The one person I know who has gone says its less touristy and pretty chilled and says Ill like it.
I want to know
>What are the actual sights and attractions?
> Attitudes towards drugs?
>Women like?
>Bar and nightlife culture?
>Food?
>Worth spending a whole month there or just a few days?
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>What are the actual sights and attractions?
Easy to find on google. The primary route is Luang Prabang-Vang Vieng-Vientiane but look into some of the 'off the beaten track' options away from these three. Primarily relaxed hide aways/nature tourism.
> Attitudes towards drugs?
Bad, do not take drugs there. Last year I was reading more than one account of westerners being illegally detained by militant vigilantes for suspicion of having weed.
>Women like?
Conservative.
>Bar and nightlife culture?
Better than you'd expect, but practically non-existent compared to neighbouring countries.
>Food?
Yeah, pretty good, but not life changing.
>Worth spending a whole month there or just a few days?
It depends on your interests. If you're really into Lao culture (you aren't) or love nature activities (you might?) you could easily spend a month there. Otherwise 1 or 2 weeks is more than enough. Less than a week would be ok as well if you're just tagging it onto a Thailand/Cambodia/Vietnam trip.
There are tons of prostitutes in the cities, even WAY more than in a small Thai city outside of tourist cities like Pattaya and Bangkok. They just aren't frequented by western tourists, they cater to Asian clientele.
Are there really that many Australians going to a country like laos to drink?
>Australians
See Now in Lao channel. Apparently there are quite a few geezers over there drinking, raising fly larvae and doing botox
Northern Laos is stunning, dont bother with anything south of Vientiane. Definitely go
>Northern Laos is stunning, dont bother with anything south of Vientiane. Definitely go
Terrible advice. North is beautiful but central and southern Laos have great waterfalls, caving, and loads of /out stuff to do.
Lmao tons of terrible and just plain wrong/misinformed advice on this board especially about an obscure country like Laos
I was there 12 years ago as a 20yo. I was vastly inexperienced so that alone should tell you it's easy to travel there.
>Sights
Luang Prabang -- a very beautiful and chill city/town
Vang Vieng -- caves and tubing.. not sure about tubing anymore. It was a tourist shithole when I was there. Aussies getting drunk, parties 24/7. I think they banned a lot of it. Explore some caves with the locals who skip school kek
Vientiane -- mostly boring, but the fortified banks of the Mekong are quite a sight
Pakse -- chill city by the Mekong
Si Phan Don -- don't skip this. It might be worth staying on some island that isn't a party island. I stayed on the biggest island, rented a bicycle and cycled through all the villages there.
>Attitudes towards drugs?
Don't. SEA is very strict on drugs.
>Women like?
Very different from Thailand in my experience. They're shy and reserved.
>Bar and nightlife culture?
Vang Vieng.. but not sure anymore. Otherwise Vientiane is your best bet.
>Food?
Very similar to Thai food. Rice/noodles with meat mostly. Try the bugs.
>Worth spending a whole month there or just a few days?
2-3 weeks is more than enough for Laos imo. I entered at Huay Xai and took a speedboat to Luang Prabang, then buses down all the way to Cambodia. I never stayed anywhere longer than 2 days and it still took me 2 weeks to get through the country. Expect floodings and/or mechanical problems to set you back a few hours/days.
Why did you choose to head south to Cambodia through Laos instead of through Vietnam?
i landed in Bangkok and had a return flight from Hanoi. And 3 months to kill. I did a big N-shaped trip through mainland SEA
Luang Prabang is the best. I almost don't want to post about it here in case you guys ruin it. It has that laid back, comfy vibe everyone wants in SE Asia but rarely actually achieves.
Lmao Luang Prabang was already overvisited when I was there 10 years ago. Do all northern laos except Luang Prabang. Luang NamTha and Muang Sing is where it is
Or try Khammouane/Thakkek loop and Siphandone/Don Det and the Plain of Jars.
If you want to cross the border into China make sure you get your visa at home. Jinghong is nearby and on the Lao-China railroad.
>What are the actual sights and attractions?
The attraction to Laos is being forgotten and off the beaten track for backpackers. It was heavily bombed during the Indochina Wars and is communist and poor so that's why it isn't as visited. There is Vang Vieng which you can go tubing on the Mekong. Very lovely scenery with dramatic misty hills and jungle. There are a few temples, but really the attraction is Laos being a mysterious rugged and authentic place in SEA that hardly is mentioned.
>Attitudes towards drugs
Weirdly they have shit like "happy omelette" which is laced with dope. It's a trap for hippie begpackers who get immediately arrested and extorted for bribes lest they be thrown in jail and forgotten about. Do not consume anything "happy".
>women like?
idk i'm gay
>bar and nightlife
Australians
>food?
SEA food
>worth spending a whole month there or just a few days
how about somewhere in between and do 2 weeks? it's very cheap.
>women like?
>idk i'm gay
for that very reason id be interested to hear about your experiences. the GAYS have an easier time all around. does this hold true in laos?
how much cheaper than Thailand though?
It's not cheaper than Thailand. Thailand has more capacity for everything, more products and more competition driving prices down.
Laos is smaller country with fewer hotel rooms, fewer housing and being landlocked everything, including petrol, has to be imported. A few things are cheaper but on the whole, you don't save money.
>They make 10x as much extorting
It's not really extorting if you commit the crime, you go to jail. You are being given a farang privilege of paying your way out of it. They are doing you a favor. If you don't want to be "extorted" then go to jail as prescribed by law.
That said you would be really dumb to go there and either use drugs or prostitution, because it will cost you at least a few hundred dollars to get out of it, possibly much more.
And Laotian prisons are not like the comfy hotels that are AMerican prisons. Yo would be locked in a cage with like a hundred other people and you sleep overlapping each other.
> Attitudes towards drugs?
mercenary. storefronts catering to tourists offer weed pizza and shroom shakes but work with cops to shakedown hapless tourists stumbling out and extort for big $$$.
>Women like?
it is illegal for locals and tourists to have sex.
>Bar and nightlife culture?
nothing like thailand
>Worth spending a whole month there or just a few days?
maybe it'll be worth it until you cross over into thailand and realize what you've been missing.
> Attitudes towards drugs?
>mercenary. storefronts catering to tourists offer weed pizza and shroom shakes but work with cops to shakedown hapless tourists stumbling out and extort for big $$$
So all that stuff about being able to do shrooms and smoke opium in tourist bars is just a scam?
no. its available. its just a trap. if you leave the store with drugs in your possession, then you'll get got.
and again we're talking like a $1-5k USD fine. its not peanuts.
Lmao it's only "illegal" in writing I've fricked tons of Lao girls
like?
Laos is not for coomers. You can get in big trouble over there. But the whole country borders Thailand so you can just cross the river to do your cooming over there and come back.
This is so bullshit
like?
>Laos is not for coomers. You can get in big trouble over there. But the whole country borders Thailand so you can just cross the river to do your cooming over there and come back.
This is so bullshit I've coomed there for years and never gotten in trouble
>I've coomed there for years and never gotten in trouble
How ugly are these girls tho?
They probably dont care if you are cooming the one-legged village rejects
Not ugly at all there is a shit ton of prostitution and sideline girls in Laos that westerners just don't know about because it's not catered to foreigners. I'd say that Laos actually has more prostitution than Thailand apart from places like Pattaya and Nana (A lot of questionable age too). You won't be able to find it if you don't hire a driver or speak the language a bit.
>westerners just don't know about because it's not catered to foreigners
that the problem. because its illegal, foreigners can be setup for extortion.
if you like temples then luang prabang is the place to go. temples temples temples. oh god so many fricking temples
So are they Chinese or Japanese?
>Ccchinese or Jjjapanese?
Don't try to get prostitutes in Laos. They make 10x as much extorting you than they do actually catering to you. Yes there is prostitution. If you are white their pimps will get the police while you are doing your business and then you are fricked.
Laos have zero respect or interest for the activities white foreigners want to engage in. You will be ruthlessly exploited and fricked over and they laugh about it.
I'm not saying this doesn't happen but I've literally been fricking hookers in Laos for like 10 yrs and I've never had an issue and neither have any of my friends that do it lol..and I have several friends that do it...so I'm wondering where you get this info
A very salty lao
I'm sure the prositutes in Laos are also kind of the worn-out diseased aging reject ones, because if they were any good they would be working in Pattaya or Bangkok and making ten times more money.
Not true at all. Not everyone can get into Thailand. Some girls in Laos are just teen "18" as well
But they are ugly though and they have huge HIV problem (because the communists suppress any information about it). If you are cooming don't even waste your time here, go to Cambodia or Thailand, even Vietnam is much better. Thank you enjoy your trip.
IMO, you're bettwr served by visiting the Thai side of the Mekong river bordering Laos,
I can't speak for Northern Lais, but the Southern Laos is worse version of the Thai side of the river.
I recommend checking out the sculpture garden https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sala_Keoku
Also the birthplace of Naga. Nong Khai is a much better city than Vientiane.
Laos is my favourite country in all of SEA. Most people come to Laos as part of a longer SEA trip- the standard route is slow boat from chiang rai to LP to van vieng to vientiane to pakse to thakhek to Don det onwards to Cambodia. Most people miss out on the North (luang namtha, nong khiaw) but it’s a gorgeous region too. LP is touristic but a good way to begin your Laos journey. Vang vieng is just a bunch of drunk Ozzie’s and brits taking drugs and floating down the river. Vientiane is very boring. Pakse has the bolaven loop which is cool. Thakhek has the thakhek loop which is gorgeous. Don det is a sleepy island and a good way to end off the trip. Still, I think that painting Laos as this undiscovered, off the beaten track country is a bit disingenuous. The major route that I am describing is absolutely filled with backpackers, although most of the drunks just stay to LP and VV. Overall, it’s a beautiful country, and you can easily enjoy a month there as long as you get a bike and explore
>Vientiane is very boring.
Vientiane has the best restaurants though. If you have money to spend on food, this is where you're going to get a lot of bang for the buck.
How well can you do this route with English only? What about the towns on the north, do they speak english to some degree as well?
completely good/expected to do it knowing only english. yes, the north would be the place which sees the least amount of tourists/i.e. english is the least useful there, but laos people are so incredibly helpful kind welcoming that knowing only english is no problem. just download laos on google translate for "emergencies", but in reality you will end up using it to show locals where you are from, your family, where you are going, etc.
seriously, dont let language hold you back from going (no one learns thai/lao anyways)
I saw a thread on Twitter last week about a guy that just came back from Laos, and he had a great experience, plus he paid with crypto using crypto card, so I'm also considering it
Which card did he use?
He used CryptMi card and also paid with Bitcoin lightning network
Avoid drugs and AVOID WOMEN
You can and will get fricked over.
Just go to Thailand for culture and actual things to do and Cambodia if you want to do drugs and other degenerate things. There's a reason nobody visits this place aside from a couple of drunk Bogans
It has a nice landscape and the most scenic stretch of the Mekong River. The beer is also the best in SEA.
with those questions you should go to Vietnam
dont do drugs tho i think you get shit qual and jail is hell there