Laos Vital Statistics

Most ubiquitous brand names: For anyone that has been to Laos or read about laos, one company stands above all as a national institution; BeerLao. Available everywhere, drunk by everyone (at least those that can afford it!). Each city is draped in the Beer Lao flags. Tourists love it, and realise that it seemingly high gas content can make you feel bloated after a big night out. The locals love it too, but most can only afford to drink it on special occasions. It's 8000kip (1$AU) price tag for 750ml exceeds the infinitely cheaper and more popular rice whisky, which is mostly home made. The only down side; the company is now owned by Carlsberg.

Sarongs: The sarong still find a prominent place in the Village life of Laos and the women wield them like expert. those guys hoping for a sneak peak while the ladies are bathing in the river or getting changed have scant hope against a woman's dexterity. this is ofcourse learnt form a young as as children from about 3 onwards are gifted the sarong and start their training. While it take some year to fully master even the kids are quite adept at adjusting the sarong for the given purpose.

The happiest people on Earth: this may be an exaggeration but they seem to be a happy bunch of people. Even with the average wage being around $2 a day, the people of Laos can always find an excuse for a party. I think that not a single day passed in Laos, where I didn't see some family or group holding a party. Maybe this also stems from the same character that allows the Laos people not to hold any grudges. Unlike Vietnam where Americans can still be treated suspiciously, in Laos there is no such animosity amongst the people. Be prepared to be invited to party with the locals if approaching small villages.

Locals vs. Tourists: Tourism always has a down side it seems and for the Laos people it mean being pushed out of the centre of the cities. In Laos, it seemed more apparent than other countries in South East Asia that the tourists live in one are and the locals in another. In the man tourist centres interaction between the two in minimal. This in part makes sense as the income gap is wider and the restaurants, hotels, shop that fill the tourists areas like Luang Prabang are totally unaccessible for the locals and so they keep their distance. In their place foreign investors setup restaurant chains in the major centres specialising in poor quality western food, premium prices (by local comparison) but make you feel like you are in a cafe in Sydney or Canberra. While just down the road you can get a beautiful noodle soup for 60 cents.

Change: The Laos government had made a commitment to turn Laos into a developing economy by 2020. The requires a lot of change and this is happening fast. Laos will open its first stock exchange later this year. It has now vowed to implement a national rice reserve. Investment is opening up and new deals to increase transport flow between China, Thailand, Vietnam and Laos are continuing to open up the borders and the country. Tourism inflows are growing by ten's of percentage points each year and their is still a large capacity for growth even though tourism is not a good industry to base an economy on. Investment in more hydroelectric dams, and other large infrastructure (mostly by China and Thailand) and mining contracts (mostly from Australian Mining Co's) is bringing more and more money into the country and greater access to amenities. I guess what I am trying to say is that if you want to enjoy Laos, I would go sooner rather than later before it becomes another Thailand.