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There are a plethora of tours available on Tripadvisor ranging from visiting beautiful waterfalls and historic temples to visiting elephant conservations and going cruising. Most - if not all - seem to be extremely well received by tourists who experienced them as seen by the overall 4+/5 ratings, many bookings and overwhelmingly positive comments.

Furthermore, the prices generally seem to be relatively affordable at just under £40 per adult, which is a great price for an even better experience.

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Laos is a landlocked country located in Southeast Asia; the Mekong River runs through it and is well known for its mountainous terrain. Laos has a tropical climate with a pronounced rainy season from May to October, a cool dry season from November to February, and a hot dry season in March and April.

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Population: 6.7 Million
Area: 236,800 sq km (91,400 sq miles)
Major languages: Lao, French
Life Expectancy: 65 years (Men), 68 years (Women), 67 years (Total)
Major Religion: Buddhism
Capital City: Vientiane
President: Bounnhang Vorachith

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Until 1953, Laos was a French colony, where afterwards, there was a power struggle between the royalists and communist group and the communists eventually overthrew the monarch resulting in years of isolation. Laos soon got caught up in the Vietnam War which would have hindered their ability to invest money into development as they had to spend most of it on the war as well as their own people.

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More recently in 1990, after the fall of the Soviet Union, Laos began opening up more to the world which would have opened up many more trade links, however it still remained poor even after the economic reforms such as the market-economy reform Chintanakhan Mai (translated as New Thinking or New Economic Mechanism) which encouraged private-sector economic activity and reversed its policy on the collectivization of agriculture; the lack of success forced Laos to still be heavily dependant on foreign aid.

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Since joining ASEAN (an economic partnership between South-East Asian countries) they have developed multiple trade ties between neighbouring countries. Laos have many major exports which as of 2018 helped it reach a surplus trade balance of $0.87bn. From then on they started a positive trend of having a surplus trade balance. There main exports are; Electricity, Copper, Radio-telephony transmission tools, electrical energy and gold. It’s major imports are oil, motor cars and machinery.

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Dominated by the Primary Sector and the Threat of Natural Hazards

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Dominated by the Primary Sector and the Threat of Natural Hazards

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Even today, many Laotians work in rural settlements, with 80% of the total labour force working in agriculture (mainly by growing rice). This means that the export revenue is liable to be volatile as the output and prices of the primary goods can easily fluctuate due to many reasons such as the result of natural hazards such as a cyclone, flood, drought or earthquake that Laos can experience which would drastically reduce their exports, weaken the economy, as well as threaten the lives of those at risk to these.

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Laos claim themselves to be the future “battery” of South East Asia. Meaning they are going to build multiple hydroelectric power plants across the country thanks to its mountainous land and several river valleys across the mountains in the country. They will use the energy itself and also export energy across Asia specifically countries that are apart of ASEAN.

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Currently they have a singular party system like there ASEAN partners however western liberal countries are trying to push Laos to create a multi party system. However Laos believed if they’re following the economic trends like there neighbours did, why would they change their political status and risk their economic growth by changing their political structure because it could cause some problems and instability.

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Colonialism/Colonisation:
the action or process of settling among and establishing control over the indigenous people of an area. In this case, Laos was previously part of the French Colony.

ASEAN Trade Block:
the Trade Bloc agreement made by the Association of South-East Asian Nations supporting local trade and manufacturing in all ASEAN countries, and facilitating economic integration with regional and international allies.

Exports/Imports:
send/bring (goods or services) to/into another country/from abroad for sale (economic profit).

Export Valorisation:
when the economy is driven by exports (usually from the secondary industry).

Trade Surplus:
an economic measure of a positive balance of trade, where a country's exports exceed its imports. Trade Balance = Total Value of Exports - Total Value of Imports A trade surplus occurs when the result of the above calculation is positive. A trade deficit is the opposite of this.

Foreign Aid:
money, food, or other resources given or lent by one country to another.

Renewable Energy Source:
any naturally occurring, theoretically inexhaustible source of energy, as biomass, solar, wind, tidal, wave, and hydroelectric power, that is not derived from fossil or nuclear fuel.

Natural Disaster:
a natural event such as a flood, earthquake, or hurricane that causes great damage or loss of life

Landlocked:
a country or region almost or entirely surrounded by land.

Agriculture:
the practice of farming, including cultivation of the soil for the growing of crops and the rearing of animals to provide food and other essential products.

Vietnam War:
a prolonged war (1954-1975) between the communist armies of North Vietnam who were supported by the Chinese and the armies of South Vietnam who were supported by the United States

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GDP: 17.95 Billion USD
GDP Per Capita: 2,542.49 USD
Interest Rate: 12.29%
Current Account Deficit: 349.83 Million USD
Public Debt: 9,528 Million USD
Currency Used: Kip (also known as Lao Kip) and sometimes the USD
USD ---> KIP Currency Exchange   $1 ---> 9,001.90 Kip

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Link to the Laos Kahoot quiz: https://create.kahoot.it/share/laos-kahoot-quiz/d0996bfc-e6ec-4a89-be0a-69e33b94a999

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Below is a picture of a street in Vientiane which seems quite peaceful in the snapshot, however the presence of many cars and motorbikes suggest that the area can become extremely busy at times. The vibrant building on the left highlights the cultural beauty of Laos but still blends in well with all the street stores and houses surrounding it. It definitely seems like a great place to visit, or even live in