About Laos

The people’s Democratic Republic of Lao is located in the center of Indochina, sharing borders with China to the north, Myanmar to northwest, Thailand to the west, Cambodia to the south, and Vietnam to the east. With a total area of 236,800 square km, the country is divided into three parts: the Northern, the Central, and the Southern areas, around 70% of its terrain are mountainous, reaching a maximum elevation of 2,820 meters in Xiengkhuang Province. The landscapes of northern Laos and the regions adjacent to Vietnam, in particular, are dominated by hills. The Mekong is the main geographical feature in the west and, in fact, forms a natural order with Thailand somewhere. The Mekong flows through nearly 1,900 kilometers of Lao territory and shapes much of the lifestyle of the people of Laos. In the south the Mekong reaches a breadth of 20 km, creating an area with thousands of islands.

Lao PDR has a population of 5.5 million consisting of over 49 different ethnic groups, Hmong, Khmer, Yao, A'kha, Ikoh, Lu etc. These minorities can be classified into three groups: 56% in Lao Lum (Lowlanders), 34% in Lao Theung (uplanders), and 9% Lao Soung (hill tribes), or four linguistic families: the Lao-Thai Family, which includes 8 ethnic groups, the Mone-Khmer Family that includes 32 ethnic groups, the Tibetan-Burmese Family including 7 ethnic groups and the Homong-Ioumien category including 2 ethnic groups. Multi-ethnic tribes are scattered across the country and each has their own distinctive customs, languages and costumes.

The cultural history of Lao PDR has been shaped by a blend of three religions. The early Lao were animists, believed in spirits, and many of these traditions still prevail in some regions; then Brahmanism spread eastward from the Indian subcontinent, and finally Buddhism, which has the most obvious influence on Lao culture today. Buddhism first appeared in Laos during the eighth century AD as shown by both the Buddha image and the stone inscription found at Ban Talat near Vientiane. After foundation of the unified Kingdom of Lane Xang in 1353 AD, King FaNgum declared Buddhism as the state religion and urged the people to abandon animism or other beliefs such as the cult of spirits. His policy meant to develop the Lao culture based on a common faith: the Theravada Buddhism. Today, Theravada Buddhism is the professed religion of about 90% of Lao people. Buddhism is an inherent feature of daily life and casts a strong influence on Lao society. Lao woman can be seen each morning giving alms to monks, earning merit to lessen the number of their rebirths. It is expected that every Lao man will become a monk for at least a short time in his life. Traditionally, men spent three months during the rainy season in a wat (Buddhism Temple), today however; most men curtail their stay to one or two weeks.

The generally accepted form of greeting among Lao people is the Nop, placing one's palms together in a position of praying, at chest level, but not touching the body. The higher the hand, the greater the respect is, although they should never be held above the level of the nose. This is accompanied by a slight bow to show respect to persons of higher status or age. The Nop is not only an expression of greeting, but also thanks, regret or goodbye. However, it is appropriate to shake hands with westerners.

As in many Asian cultures, the head is considered the most sacred part of the body, and the soles of feet are the lowliest. One should not touch a person's head nor use one's foot to point at a person or any object. It is strictly forbidden for a woman to touch a Buddhist monk.

It is customary to take off shoes or sandals when entering a Buddhist temple or private family house. In Laos, dwelling houses are normally raised off the ground, shoes or sandals suppose to be left at the stairs. In a traditional family house, one sits on low seats or cushions on the floor. Men may sit with legs crossed or folded to one side, women sit with legs gracefully folded to the side. Guest may be served tea or fruit, which should not be refused, to take a taste would make host family very happy even you don't quite need.