Laos is a small Asian country, not wealthy, but populated by extremely proud people. This state is extremely interesting from a tourist point of view, especially with regard to ecological tourism. In Laos there are still a lot of places where the foot of the Europeans did not go.
In the XIV century, when Laos had just appeared on the world map, it was called Lang Sang Hom Khao, which translates as “The Land of a Million Elephants and a White Umbrella”.
In the north of Laos there is a unique territory called “Valley of Jugs” – thousands of giant stone pots are scattered across several sites, the diameter of which is 3 meters and the weight is 6 tons. Scientists believe that huge vessels were used 1500-2000 years ago by people whose culture is not known. Local residents believe that the pots were left by giants who once inhabited the valley. Unfortunately, during the “Secret War” this area was heavily bombed by American aviation, and much of the valley is still closed to visitors due to unexploded ordnance still lying in the ground.
Vientiane, with an area of approximately 3,920 square kilometers, is the smallest capital in South-East Asia.
Not far from Vientiane is located the Buddha Park, on the territory of which there are over two hundred Buddhist and Hindu statues. It may seem that these works of art are very ancient, but in fact they are just over 50 years old. In addition, through the mouth in the three-meter head of the demon, you can get into the complex, the tiers of which symbolize heaven, earth and hell, and are set with appropriate sculptures.
In May the Lao people celebrate their most ancient holiday – the Rain Festival. The meaning of the celebration is to remind the deities of the need for moisture for the earth.
Every male Buddhist in Laos must undergo a three-month obedience in a monastery. It is customary to go to the monastery walls on the day of the summer holiday of Khao Panza, when thousands of burning lanterns are launched along the waters of Laotian rivers.
The alphabet of the Lao language consists of 30 consonants and 15 vowel sounds, and also from 6 signs of tone – depending on the key, one word can have up to eight different values. A little simplification of the situation is that all words consist of only one syllable.
Laos is still a communist country. There is also a kind of pioneer movement in the country.
Cascade Khon, located near the border with Cambodia in the Mekong River valley, is the widest waterfall in the world. Its width is almost 10 kilometers.
In early 2001, the American city of Los Angeles bought from the leadership of Laos the right to a national top-level domain (.la).
On the bridge between Thailand and Laos, traffic jams were constantly occurring, as in one country the movement is left-sided, and in the second – right-hand traffic. Between the drivers there were constant skirmishes due to the fact that they could not agree on where exactly the strip change should take place. As a result, it was decided that the cars would have to be rebuilt one week on the Thai side, and the other – in Lao.
In Laos, about 20 tons of coffee are produced every year.
To carry heavy things Lao people use special bags that are worn on the head.
Residents of Laos may well add a few spoons of sugar to the meat soup. In addition, local cuisine includes dishes from bats.
