What is your reason traveling to Laos?

I want to say thank you to all the tourists and travlers going from places to places. You all help out the economy of that country.

I was born in Laos, but i live and work in USA, also a USA citizinship. I go to Laos to visit my family.

What is your reason traveling to Laos?

What is my reason for traveling to Laos? Well, I like the papaya salad and Beerlao for starters...:-)

What is your reason traveling to Laos?

I%26#39;ll be travelling to Laos next year because I worked there as a volunteer from 1994- 1995. I want to take my children back to see the place where they spent a little of their childhood.

It%26#39;s a little sad to read this forum because it sounds as though so much has changed. However I hope the Lao people have benefited from the changes and I%26#39;m sure they won%26#39;t have lost their wonderful welcoming and gentle nature.

Peanuthead1

I would imagine Luang Prabang has probably been damaged by its tourism, but there are still quite a few places devoid of tourists. Hopefully you can take your kids to see those palces instead of the usual tourist route.

Thanks Maneki

We%26#39;ll probably try to do a little of both. I%26#39;ll have my husband and young son with me who have never been there so I think some touristy things would be in order.

When I read about gibbon experiences and tubing at Vang Vieng it%26#39;s a bit depressing, though.

And a Tesco at Nong Khai!?!

Forget about tubing, rent a mountainbike and go for a ride up to the caves. Bring a sturdy little flashlight and strong shoes as there are some serious caves to explore!

Thanks again, but we won%26#39;t be going to Vang Vieng at all. We%26#39;ll be spending a few days in Vientiane, hanging out trying to find where I used to live - not easy with no street names or numbers! - and a few days in Luang Prabang.

I%26#39;m really looking forward to it but am just preparing myself for the fact that a lot will have changed.

If only we could all go to places before they change

I still like to go to different places and connect with the locals. I will be going to Laos in December

Laos is a mystery to me and I think I will see more than just other tourists in Luang Prabang :-)

There are still quite a few places left in Laos that remain unchanged, where you can go connect with the locals. Unless you speak the language, however, that might be a hard thing to accomplish...

We%26#39;re planning a trip to Laos because we have heard so many good things about it. We love travelling in Asia, the people, the food, the culture, the history, and Laos is about the only Asian country we have not yet visited, so it%26#39;s about time. We tried to fit it in on a Vietnam/Cambodia trip about 3 years ago but just too much to do.

Yeah it%26#39;s great to visit these places and over time they change, it%26#39;s inevitable, it%26#39;s the way of the world. Whether or not they change for the better or worse, I%26#39;m not sure. I think as long as the locals benefit, then that%26#39;s probably the main thing.

One aspect that saddens me a little is the inevitable lack of planning that goes with development, tourism and the opening up of a country. I use the Thai beach resorts as an example. Ko Samui was pristine 25 years ago with only a handful of people and a few billion coconuts. I haven%26#39;t been back since (we are spending a week there at the end of the Laos trip) but I have heard a lot about it and I think that kind of develpoment is a shame. But as I%26#39;ve said before everyone%26#39;s out to make a $ and that kind of thing also happens in places like Australia to some extent. (I%26#39;m sure Pattaya was pristine about 40 years ago as well).

My first trip to Laos in %26#39;02 had to do with my wanting to learn about this mysterious country that reletively few people visit. Based on a wonderful trip to Thailand the year before, I figured that I would like Laos just as much.

I was wrong.

I ended up liking Laos much more. Those two weeks there were incredible...to this day, I still tell people that that Laos trip was my best vacation ever.

My reason for returning to Vientiane last year was not just to use it as a convenient stop-off on my way to China but as a good excuse to revisit and appreciate even more the dusty little capital city with so much to offer. It%26#39;s about the ease and convenience of being able to rent a motorbike and take myself anywhere in town and nearby attractions. It was about enjoying a great meal at the bank of the Mekong and watching the sun go down while sucking down a couple Beer Lao. It was about walking around the different temples and markets and speaking broken Thai (and even less Lao) with the locals. And of course it%26#39;s about reaquainting myself with some of the warmest, kindest people on the face of the Earth.

I don%26#39;t know when I%26#39;ll be back again - but I will be back.

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