Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
TOP FIVE PLACES TO STAY
The River Resort,
near Champasak
Settha Palace Hotel,
Vientiane
The Last Resort,
Don Det
Luang Say Residence,
Luang Prabang
Muang La Resort,
Muang La
Staying in villages
Should you find yourself stuck in a small town for the night, a victim of the tired machinery
of Laos's infrastructure or the yawning distances between villages, villagers are usually kind
enough to find space for you in the absence of a local guesthouse. Don't expect much in the
way of luxuries: you'll most likely find yourself bathing at the local well or in the river and
going to the bathroom under the stars. Many small towns don't have so much as a noodle
shop, so you'll also need to prepare yourself for some very authentic cooking. Before leaving,
you should offer to remunerate your host with a sum of cash equivalent to what you would
have paid in a budget guesthouse.
If there's a local
policestation
, you should make yourself known to them, otherwise ask for
permission to stay from the
village headman
; the government doesn't encourage foreigners
to spend the night at a villager's house.
FOOD AND DRINK
Fieryandfragrant,withatouchofsour,Laofoodowesitsdistinctivetastetofermented
fish sauce, lemongrass, coriander leaves, chillies and lime juice. Eaten with the hands
along with the staple, sticky rice, much of Lao cuisine is roasted over an open fire and
served with fresh herbs and vegetables. Pork, chicken, duck and water buffalo all end
upinthekitchen,butfreshwaterfishisthemainsourceofproteinintheLaodiet.Many
in rural Laos, especially in the more remote mountainous regions, prefer animals of a
wilder sort - mouse deer, wild pigs, rats, birds or whatever else can be caught. Though
you may not encounter them on menus, you're likely to see them being sold by the side
of the road when travelling in these parts.
Closely related to Thai cuisine, Lao food is, in fact, more widely consumed than you might
think: in addition to the more than two million ethnic Lao in Laos, Lao cuisine is the daily
sustenance for roughly a third of the Thai population, while more than a few
Lao dishes
are commonplace on the menus of Thai restaurants in the West. Although Lao cuisine isn't
