Laos is the least developed and most enigmatic of the three former French Indochinese states. A ruinous sequence of colonial domination, internecine conflict and dogmatic socialism finally brought the country to its knees in the 1970s. From the fertile lowlands of the Mekong River valley to the rugged Annamite highlands, travellers who have made it to Laos tend to agree that this country is the highlight of South-East Asia.
Laos is generally very rural areas, and most of the people support themselves by agriculture, with rice being the most important crop.. As inhabitants of river valleys and lowlands that have been long-settled, ethnic Lao do not practise swidden agriculture like upland peoples
One of Asia’s smallest and most unusual capital cities is Vientiane, the potholed administrative and political centre of communist Laos. Sleepy and slightly dishevelled, Vientiane lies along the northern banks of the mighty Mekong River, directly across from Thailand. This is the first stop for most visitors to Laos, and although the capital may come across as somewhat bewildering, there are more than a few surprises in this dusty city worth exploring.