LAOS

Laos is truly a Mekong country, the river runs its full length. The population of the country amounts to 4.1 million people. Landlocked between China, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, Laos has long remained isolated. The Lao's People Democratic Republic (as the country is officially called)  is located in Indochina, between latitude 14-23 degrees North and longitude 100-108 degrees East. It has common borders with China (505km), Cambodia (435km), and Vietnam (2,069km). Lao PDR is 236,800 square km, the major part being mountainous and forested. The country is divided into three geographical areas: the Northern, the Central, and the Southern areas. Despite the fact that it was heavily bombed in the '60s and early '70, its culture and scenery remain intact, from the lush green mountains of its North to the ancient archeaological treasures of its South.

In 1893, Laos became a French colony. The Lao people of different ethnic groups under the leadership of the Communist Party of Indochina, founded in 1930, continued to struggle for the self determination and independence of Laos as well as that of Vietnam and Cambodia. Lao independence was recognized by the Geneva Agreement on Indochina in 1954. In 1975 the communist Pathet Lao took control of the government, ending a six-century-old monarchy. Initial closer ties to Vietnam and socialization were replaced with a gradual return to private enterprise, an easing of foreign investment laws, and the admission into ASEAN in 1997.  

The Mekong river flows through 1,865 km of Lao PDR territory and forms the major portion of the border with Thailand (1,835 km). 60% of the water entering this major river system originates in Lao PDR. The three highest "phu" (mountains) are all located in Xieng Khuang province. The highest is Phu Bia (2,820 km), then Phu Xao (2,690 km), and Phu Xamxum with 2,620 m.

The capital of Laos is Vientiane . the city was born as Vieng Chan -- which means "City of the Moon" -- in 1563. Situated on the banks of the Mekong, it is a sleepy capital with few large buildings and practically no traffic. Vientiane was reconstructed by the French at the end of the 18th century with broad tree-lined boulevards, elegant colonial mansions and even a Lao version of the Arc de Triomphe.
Wat Phra Keo was built in 1563 to house the Emerald Buddha which was taken by the Thais to Bangkok. It now contains a superb collection of Khymer and Lao art. Wat Sisaket, across the road, is the oldest wat complex in Vientiane and contains more than 2 thousand Buddha statues. Behind it is a neighborhood of beautifully preserved colonial houses.

That Luang rests atop a hill just northeast of the city. The stupa reflects a mixture of styles, Khymer, Indian and Lao and is surrounded by 30 smaller stupas representing the 30 Buddhist perfections.

East of the capital near the Mekong and the Thai border lies Xieng Khonane, the Garden of the Buddhas. It is not actually a temple but a park filled with concrete statues built in the 1950s by a Luang Pu, a priest who combined Buddhist and Hindu philosophies.

Luang Prabang, by the banks of the Mekong, some 500 kilometres upriver from Vientiane and 300 metres above sea level, is Laos' oldest town still in existence. For the most part of her history the town was the seat of kings. In 1563 King Setthathirat moved his government to Vientiane; but by then, Luang Prabang had already been capital for some 800 years. True, the kingdoms ruled from Luang Prabang had not been large for the first 600 years of her history. Only Prince Fa Ngoum made Luang Prabang the capital of a kingdom of significant size.

The small town (about 20,000 inhabitants today) is beautifully located at the foot of a high, rocky mountain - Mount Phousi - by the banks of the Mekong river, and the town has a romantic atmosphere even though most buildings are not very old (despite the town's history of many centuries). The reason: surrounded by almost infinite forests the town's inhabitants always used as building material what they had, in abundance, at their disposal: wood.

In the course of its long history the town had often been conquered and burnt down. The last time this happened in the 80's of the 19th century at the hands of the Chinese. The town had also been a frequent target of hostile visits by Thais and Vietnamese. After invasions, many destroyed structures were rebuilt, some of them again and again, roughly the same as they have existed before an invasion. Though physically no longer present, architecture dating back many centuries shapes the town and contributes to Luang Prabang's unquestioned charm. To this, the numerous Wats in and around the town provide a spiritual component.