Laos is a country that almost nobody has in mind when planning his next Southeastasia Vacation. To be honest, most travelers are interested in beaches, boobs and booze. And many places - mostly tourist traps in Thailand cater to this kind of holiday cravings. First, there are no beaches, as the country is landlocked, bordering the Norther Thai region of Isan in the West, Cambodia in the South, Vietnam in the East and China in the North. Next to cross out is boobs. Luang Prabang, the UNESCO World Heritage is the former Royal and still religious capital of the country, as oposed to Vientiane, the administrative captial further South the Mekong River. There are hundreds of Buddhist tempels and shrines all over and even above the city. And while there is no problem getting and consuming booze, it is no party place like Phuket. One of the main attractions is to get up at 4:30 in the moring and watch the daily procession of Buddhist monks lining up for rice donations.

So at the beginning, Laos is just a rumor, more experienced travelers tell about. So Laos is not for everybody. There seem to be 3 kinds of travelers: The young backpackers traveling extensively in the whole region seeking adventure and older travelers and love immersing theirselves in Asian cultures and traditions instead. And then there are the spiritual travelers, who seek out their personal path to Nirvana. In any case, the visitors mix well with the locals and the whole country is still pretty chill and relaxed. You may notice the big difference, when you come from places in Vietnam or Thailand.