Laos - in brief (by Joe)

After a pleasant (and very easy) time in north Thailand, we headed across the Mekong river border crossing into Laos (see above - the crossing, looking from Laos to Thailand and the small boat we came over on).

Little thought of by pretty much anyone in the West (other than S.E. Asian backpackers), the Lao People's Democratic Republic (see flag - below and left) is just about the region's poorest country (with some 15% of GDP coming from foreign aid, apparently).

Home to about 5.5 million, the country is landlocked between Thailand to the West and Vietnam to the East (and also sharing borders with Cambodia to the south and China to the north).

Laos became a socialist state in the late 1970's (immediately after the US quit Vietnam) when communist forces took the country's capital, Vientiane. The new communist Government is believed to have murdered the king, queen and crown prince and sent some 50,000 royalists to 're-education' camps.

In 1986, after a decade of strong socialist policies including collectivisation of farming , nationalisation of industry and heavy isolation from the international community, the country took steps to become a market economy and, more recently (only in the last decade) opened up to foreign travellers and tourism.

Laos also had a significant role in the Vietnam war. North East Laos was deemed as strategically crucial in the battle for Vietnam and was fought for heavily in a 'secret' war. According to our guide book, it holds the tragic record of being the most bombed country per capita in the history of warfare: the US, between 1964 and 1973 dropped 2,093,100 tons of bombs - unexploded ordnance remains a major problem with many tragedies taking place every year.

With tourism only a decade old in the country, we have found it an interesting experience so far. Bordering Thailand, it is inevitably becoming an ever more popular stop on the backpacker trail and services - backpacker-friendly accommodation, restaurant and tours - are increasing in number and improving in quality. The people are extremely friendly and appear optimistic about the future.

That said, it is still a 'step on the wild side'. The country remains highly impoverished, has unreliable electricity and water supply, and a poor road network.

More than occasionally, it has already proved a little bewildering for us western travellers - we are looking forward to exploring further.

Joe