Hello,

I have enjoyed reading this message board, and the information on the various websites listed. I am a US citizen considering a visit and possible extended stay in Laos. I am interested to meet any other westerners who live in Vientiane. I'm no stranger to travel and living abroad in Asia, but have not yet been to Laos. Most of my time has been in China, but I'm looking to get away from the big cities.  Any and all responses/contacts would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Matt

There are quite a number of westerners who live in Vientiane long term.

You should visit Laos when you have the opportunity, then you can decide if it's the right place to settle down.

Welcome to the land of a handful of elephants. Enjoy your stay, we love american dollars, I mean, americans. We accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express and cold hard cash, but if you're just looking for undisturbed natural scenery and a serene culture, then we also have that for sale on postcards for $1.99 plus tax (stamps sold seperately).

Buk Hoo Kee wrote on 29^th Jul, 2009 at 12:23am:

Welcome to the land of a handful of elephants. Enjoy your stay, we love american dollars, I mean, americans. We accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express and cold hard cash, but if you're just looking for undisturbed natural scenery and a serene culture, then we also have that for sale on postcards for $1.99 plus tax (stamps sold seperately).

Love the dripping sarcasm.  ;D  I'm very familiar with the tourist traps and pitfalls in many other countries. I don't mind spending my money when I can get the local price instead of the "westerner price". Funny post, and I hope you meant it in that manner.  ;) Take care.

haha.. thanks, at least you have a sense of humor, I think that's one of the most important things when travelling, that and an open mind. I have a friend that lives in Laos now, moved there from Canada and he's been telling me stories which makes me kind of hesitate to go live there in about 3 years time. Mostly it's just the mindset of people who have only lived there and no where else. I guess it's hard for them to understand how the rest of the world lives when they've been secluded for over 30 years. I sincerely hope you find what you are looking for in laos, despite all my sarcasm and criticism that I post about laos, I do think I will eventually go back and live there and actually enjoy my life there once I've become acustomed to using a banana leaf instead of toilet paper.

Buk Hoo Kee wrote on 29^th Jul, 2009 at 12:56am:

haha.. thanks, at least you have a sense of humor, I think that's one of the most important things when travelling, that and an open mind. I have a friend that lives in Laos now, moved there from Canada and he's been telling me stories which makes me kind of hesitate to go live there in about 3 years time. Mostly it's just the mindset of people who have only lived there and no where else. I guess it's hard for them to understand how the rest of the world lives when they've been secluded for over 30 years. I sincerely hope you find what you are looking for in laos, despite all my sarcasm and criticism that I post about laos, I do think I will eventually go back and live there and actually enjoy my life there once I've become acustomed to using a banana leaf instead of toilet paper.

No worries my friend. My sense of humor has got me through countless perilous situations in many places. I've spent alot of time in China and Korea. Looking to slow down a little in Lao. As for culture issues, the same goes for westerners that have never traveled there. It's hard to understand unless you've been there. I enjoy the rural villages and don't mind the outhouses...LOL I grew up on a farm. The one thing I have learned in my travels is that there are rednecks everywhere.  Guys that like to drink beer and blow stuff up...LOL. No USD required, just a good time and good people. Take care man.

Rednecks that blow stuff up, haha. You got to check out the rocket festival when you're in Laos, do a youtube search on that and you will see what I mean. They literally shoot rockets that are tied to bamboo into the sky with hundreds of people around watching. Sometimes it blows up in their face, but they continue to rocket on.

I'm not sure how this rocket festival started or why, maybe just another excuse to use gun powder, but it's pretty amazing to watch.

Admin, have you ever witnessed this or have any insight to this rocket festival and when or where it takes place?

The rocket festival takes place after the Lao New Year in many provinces around Laos, when the hot season ends and the rain season is about to begin.

The purpose of flying a rocket into the sky is to pray Buddha for rain on the rice fields.

The rocket that flies highest wins a prize.

How do they determine which rocket flew the highest? Also, where does the rocket go after it is done flying way up in the sky above the crowd of people below? Newtons law?

I remember making a small rocket in power mechanics class in high school. These rockets would go about 1km up and then a parachute will come out to guide the rocket back down to the ground.
I think I will be watching the rockets from underneath the tents in Laos. I guess Laos engineering has a ways to go still.

It depends on the mass and speed of the rocket. The rockets drop back down to Earth, sometimes on houses so it can be dangerous.

On a few rare occasions, the rockets won't take off and they blow up killing people.