Is Laos the DLC of Thailand?
>>2885855Laos and Nepal are basically sister countries. Difficulties and perks of travel in both are similar. But Lao people are somewhat more trustworthy than Nepalese, even if their country's terrain is less noteworthy.
>>2886279This is now a Nepal thread. What is there to do in Kathmandu?
>>2886370I already have a Nepal blogposting thread going: >>2881436 Kathmandu is still a couple days out. Used to be a lot of drugs and street hookers to do there, but the new government has cracked down hard on degeneracy. So I've heard from locals who live and work there.
>>2885855Why would you go there instead of Thailand though
>>2886682Because you enjoy suffering.
>>2886682Apparently the Triads have taken over a region and turned it into a kind of Chinese-only Las Vegas with tad more human trafficking. Some traveltubers tried to sneak in and got stopped by the Triad's security guards.Outside of that, you're probably a Laotian-American refugee wanting to visit the motherland.
>using MUH VIDYA to describe southeast asian countries known for prostitutionyuck
>>2886960oh no i committed the icky. my post history is DOOMED after this!
>>2886682becuase it is one of the most chilled out places on Earth. La Region Sud on the map. Tat Lo, Paakse, Champasek, 10 000 Islands. Just fucking do it. Bicycle and a hammock.
>>2887029>La Region Sudthat's where all the savages are
>>2886702>Chinese-onlyWtf my money is as good as theirs
>>2886682I loved Laos, and other people's opinions on Laos can serve as a litmus test for whether or not their opinions on travel in general are worth my listening to. People who travel to be entertained and always need to have stuff happening everywhere they go would hate it but if you like mega chill then Laos is for you.
Laos is the DLC, Cambodia is that mission location you can never go back to, Burma is the obscure barely payable game that launched the franchise
Do not go here. Everything is trying to kill you, the bugs, the earth, the people, even the rocks are sharp as razors and there is UXO everywhere. This should be considered a NO MAN'S LAND.
>>2887621You are an ooga booga ape to the Chinese high rollers. Bet they won't refuse you if you show up in a proper car with a luxury hotel booking instead of all sweaty with a huge backpack saying "let me in to your kingdom of pleasures, mafiasan, and uhh, do you have a hotel for like ten dollars here?". Besides, what money are you going to play with? Chinese yuan? You don't even have any. No, they don't want your sweaty limp American dollars. Nor do they want Lao kip. Thai baht is the only acceptable currency a foreign visitor can play with.
>>2887624I never had a better time in my life there with a dollar bungalow and a fan on the river side with a hammock and a book. Wandering down to a tiny little bar/restaurant to drink beers and play cards with randoms. Wake up in the morning and rent a bike and peddle around the countryside amongst ruins of temples, the Khmer, and French colonial squalor. Maybe swim in a waterfall and play a game of pick up footy with some kids. Tuck in to some fresh laap while some lady kick a water buffalo around a field. Then peace and quiet. Back to my hammock and a book.
>>2888028they're passive aggressive incels with a microdick
Laotians are the most beautiful on earth
>>2886702Stop basing your opinion off reddìt comments and YouTube slop.
>>2888030Wintertime is so lovely in Laos, as long as you find someplace away from the dust and traffic. Bright sunshine, low humidity, and mild temperatures.
I want to take my meager retirement savings here and live the rest of my life chilling with a cute ladyboy while the rest of the modern world continues without me and leaves me behind.
>>2889081>ladyboy>LaosWrong country, pal. Consider Rayong, a Thai province full of ladyboys...but of course you can't afford to retire here.
>>2889279>...but of course you can't afford to retire hereWhat is it that makes a person like this? Anyway Laos is actually more expensive than most of Thailand. Quality housing is in short supply, consumer goods have to be imported because their domestic industry is shit, etc. Food and the best beer in SEA are dirt cheap but it would be easier to live on less in Thailand. >RayongHaven't been there but it looks like an industrial shithole with a center that wants to be modern. I'm not into any of that but do I have it wrong?
>>2889279Laos has the same culture as Isaan, anon.
>>2889329No it doesnt retard.
>>2888028You change money in the casino you silly fuck. Chinks love white gamblers because they can totally rape them with house advantage and bullshit. Only go there to mess around a bit and then enjoy some women.
>>2889330It's Isaan with less western consoomer goyslop.
>>2889081>>2889349>>2889330Most Lao Lbs live in Thailand
>>2889488not just them you will find Lao Lbs all over Thailand there are also some in the Lao Capital. At least 40 on some of the dating apps
>>2889472Most Lao people live in Thailand. Thailand has like five times more ethnic Lao than Laos does.
>>2889491lol good point but I meant those with Lao passport
>>2889329Isaan evolved differently from Laos, so even if it was a part of Laos it would be Isaan culture, an unrefined country bumpkin culture, very different from the culture of Laotian cities like Vientiane or Luang Prabang. It's a night and day difference.
>>2889631The Isan Plateau has no rivers for the most part. It's really eerie when you notice this as you ride the train across the plain. Water collects in random chalky spots. Some parts they can't plant any crops because plowing would turn it into a dust bowl; others become a lake after a heavy rainfall. OTOH Laos has plenty of rivers and streams thanks to its topography. Rivers fertilize the soil by washing organic waste down from the hills. Moisture allows crops to grow year-round instead of only after rains.
>>2891030Laos is a lot more fertile than Isan for sure, with more rain (while Laos itself gets less rain than Vietnam, which has more productive agriculture right across the mountains). but a lot of that organic waste you're talking about washes downstream all the way into the Mekong Delta and the Tonle Sap, which is why they were able to build large civilizations further downriver.
My gf is from Laos so I've visited more often than I'd like. Their infrastructure is shit. Food is shit. Weather is shit. Luang Prabang is OK. It's getting increasingly difficult for her to stay with me in Thailand but I'm completely opposed to the idea of moving to Vientiane. It looks worse than my parents' village in bumfuck Nigeria.
>>2892577Holy mother of filtered. I think I've seen you in the Thailand general before. >Their infrastructure is shit. This is a hylic complaint. Who's actually bothered by this?>Food is shit. You straight up have dogshit taste, bro, I'm sorry. Lao food is great and their beer is the best in SEA and the two things go great together. >Weather is shit. Okay fair but is it that different from Thailand? Didn't seem like it to me. >Luang Prabang is OK.Yeah it's beautiful and peaceful for sure and I liked it too but it's kind of a Reddit tourist bubble.Where's your gf from? Living in Laos seems like a dream to me, and I'm a first world pussy so I dunno why a Nigerian would hate it so much.
>>2888109>>2888030>>2887624>mega chill>peace and quietDoes this mean as long as I am away from main traffic roads that I will really have peace and quiet? No retarded barking dogs or people honking or blasting music type noises ? If true, I am really interested in visitingAny smaller towns worth mentioning ?Is motorbike purchase or rental easy?
>>2892678>Lao food is greatPapaya salad, sticky rice, grilled meats, and sausage with veggies/mushrooms are OK. You've probably never been offered weird (but normal to them) stuff like frogs, ant egg salad, soup with bile and/or half-processed buffalo shit, or cold noodles with smelly fish sauce (nam pla ra) and bamboo. All things I've open-mindedly tried but they're mostly objectively shit. Fucking tourist.>>2892678>Where's your gf from?Pakxan is the closest big city.
>>2892577>Nigeriaare you asserting the superiority of fufu over sticky rice?
>>2892691>No retarded barking dogs or people honking or blasting music type noisesalso loud motorcycles starting at about 5 or 6 am since they are early risers over there. when they do have parties (they party for funerals) it can go on all night long for days on end
>>2892698>bile and/or half-processed buffalo shitYeah this doesn't sound delicious but I've eaten everything else you said and I like it. Anyway good for you for trying it. My perception of you has shifted but I still don't understand you.
>>2892933>>2892698bile is common for a couple of things (a dipping sauce for meat or in lahp) but the other thing you're talking about is not common, if it's eaten. there is something called "keng khi lek," which looks like liquidy cud, but it's made from a leaf. the ant egg soup is actually good. even gordon ramsay gave it a thumbs up
>>2892577Vientiane has beautiful huge trees lining their wide streets, and a thriving riverfront with numerous bars and restaurants to spend the evening or take a morning walk. There's a bus station downtown with shuttles to the border and to the main terminals on the edge of town, where things rapidly deterioriate into a muddy mess. There were more black people than I expected in Vientiane. I agree that the food is gross, but the infrastructure is perfectly serviceable. The only good food in Laos is Thai food. >my parents' village in Nigeria>Black anon here,I'm calling bullshit. Vientiane weather is awesome, the fuck you have to complain about? >>2892739Dogs, roosters, loudspeakers. None of these can really be escaped. Go to Thailand if you want peace and quiet, though Thai roads are much busier with traffic.
>>2892986even thailand has their village loudspeaker. furthermore they blast the national anthem every day
>>2893019In Laos they have the government loudspeakers and also numerous party speakers which blare music for any occasion or no occasion at all. Going from Houayxay to Chiang Khong it was shocking how much quieter the Thai side was without all that amplified music marring the soundscape.
>>2893173Weddings in Thailand follow the Chinese model and don't involve anything other than the ceremony and a meal. And then everybody goes home. In Laos almost every kind of reception has a live band and lamvong dancing.
>>2885855That's a retarded Reddit question.
>>2893173There is a distinct wedding season in Laos, so that if you're there during that time, it may seem like wedding noise constantly. When the monks are in lent (rainy season), there are no weddings, so it is relatively quiet then. People in the countryside, especially the minorities, still have a lot of children (unlike Thailand), so many have to be married off.
>>2892577>there are black people in Laos nowIs there anywhere left?
Best places in Laos that aren't Luang Prabang and Vang Vieng?
>>2886702I want to go here unironically. It sounds kino.
Anyone in Laos right now?
>>2899773My cousin in law just got back>luang prabang is best>temples and caves are the best attractions>very humid (rainy season) and mosquitoes are a bitch>nicer hotels have AC but they tend to cluster in groups of hotels for tourists>food is good but no variety, you’re eating lao food every day>toilets are generally bad, plumbing either barely works or you’re pouring your shit down with water
>>2900113My 200K guesthouse rooms in Xayaboury all had minisplits.
>>2900113>>luang prabang is bestYour cousin in law is a normie.
>>2900148Yeah sorry they aren’t a sex pest looking for jungle pussy while being some broke fatass like everyone else here
>>2900205That's not what I meant you projecting coombrain.
>>2900205kekthis place is going to mint the next lolcow youtube channel isn't it
>>2900223Every travel youtuber should be crucified and burned.
For me its Paakse, Champusek, Tat Lo, 10 000 islands, bungalow for a dollar a night with a fan on the river, a hammock on the porch, a bicycle, temples, and chilling the fuck out. Laos is great.
>>2900350>bungalow for a dollar a nightSeriously? What's it like for a dollar? Can you sleep with just a fan? I think people who look for luxury in SEA are faggots but it's hot here.
>>2900650It was tough given the heat, but it was a small one room wooden place with an outdoor bathroom facility that you had to use a bailing bucket to flush. Bed was ok an had a mosquito net. The bonus was it had a balcony out over the Mekong with a hammock and a chair with a little table. Perfect for reading and having a take out dinner from one of the kitchens close by. The people running the place also had bicylces I could borrow for the day to get out an just go where ever. I felt more relaxed there then I have in infinity star hotel resorts.
>>2892691you might hear dogs.Don Det was the best place i went but that was 20 years ago. an island in the river. sleep and eat in a wooden hut. walk the island, maybe hire a bicycle. drink a few beers. do nothing. possibly quite a bit different, maybe it's the same. it was on the route from the capital to cambodia so wasn't a hassle to get there and was a standard stop for backpackers. maybe it's not talked about much (idk know if it is or not) because people just go to luang prabang and the capital and leave.
>>2901358The number of overland travelers wandering across the country and stopping at such points along the way has definitely gone down in the past 20 years. The cheap lodging resorts often charge high prices for food. I mentioned this to an English speaking guy and he laughingly agreed, that's how business catering to foreign backpackers is run. Spending 3x your accomodation budget in food and drink is not unheard of.>>2900650More like four or five dollars equivalent in Lao kip.
>>2886279Laos for if you like yellow girls salted with thai, Nepal for if you want to try spicy, masala brown mountain girls
>>2901394how come Laos is no good at Track and Field?They are always getting Laap-ed.
>>2900205>they