By right-of-way, I meant to ask, do motorcycle taxis use the sidewalks, drive in opposite lanes, etc.? Drive like maniacs? Or are Laotians more sedate and law-abiding?

The photo below is normal in Laos. Only one passenger is wearing a helmet and smoking!

You can have four people on a motorbike, in all honesty you are allowed to have as many people as you like on a motorbike.

In Laos, we like to say "sabai, sabai" meaning just relax because everything is fine.

Four people riding a motorbike in Laos

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I don't really know the percentage of smokers in Laos but most people I know don't smoke.

Laotian women smoking isn't really acceptable in Laos. Rarely you will find a Lao woman who smoke.

Sometimes I see men smoking while riding a motorbike.

You can drive and ride a motorbike when you're 18 years old in Laos.

Usually the husbands drive the family.

Traffic on Lane Xang Avenue in Vientiane, Laos

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It tends to be more cleaner during the rainy season because the dust has been washed away from the rain.

Tourist numbers are low during this time of year. Most people come to Laos for the Boat Racing and Boun That Luang Festivals, as well as the Lao New Year period.

You don't really need to be 18 to drive in Laos, as I've seen even 10 year olds driving scooters. A lot of the laws are just written in the books but seldom ever enforced. Age isnt really a big deal in Laos and Vietnam, unlike in Thailand where it's morestrictly enforced