How Now Laos (don't pronounce the 's')

The land of Laos: Situated snugly between Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. Throughout its history it has been the most heavily bombed country in the world. My own country financed the majority of those bombadiers over three presidential administrations. Though war was never formally declared here - in fact not even a skirmish was acknowledged in the press - America waged a secret conflict rooting out the Vietcong, Chinese commies and basically any civilian target that got in its way.

Today the country harbors no grudge and welcomes tourists from all nations equally. In fact they even accept the US dollar as one of three prevailing currencies (Thailand Baht and Laos Kip). I was told that the feeling of Laos is what Thailand was ten years ago. While it is indeed very nice, the tourist trail is still warn pretty deep. I have experienced "people movement" here of extreme precision. On the day you decide to set off from Thailand into Laos, you have just chosen your travel companions for the duration of your stay. You load onto a boat with 40 others and set off on a two day river journey down the Mekong. This boat, being somewhat cramped necessitates moving around and bumping into fellow passengers. By the time you get off that boat in Luang Prabang two days later: you've established a tight clique of 12 mates, 19 acquaintances, 2 enemies and 7 friendly faces. As the route runs North to South we will rub elbows with these same people at restaurants, bars, waterfalls, bookstores, and markets every night. In a way it's nice, almost like a makeshift family or tribe cutting through a foreign land. In reality its efficient travel at affordable prices. Whatever level you choose view: Laos is lovely.