Interesting facts about Laos

25/12/2022

A study published in the Journal of Human Evolution, suggests that humans have been wearing bear skins for protection from the weather for at least 300,000 years. - HeritageDaily - Archaeology News

25/12/2022

24/12/2022

The toolkit was discovered in 1801—but until recently, researchers didn't understand its purpose

24/12/2022

A transparent solar panel can be used instead of regular windows to deliver aesthetics and sustainability in one go.

24/12/2022

The only more or less urbanized city in Laos is Vientiane, the capital. The rest of the cities here, like, for example, in the Philippines, are more like large villages.
Laos is a poor country, but quite safe. Unlike most countries in South America , it is really not dangerous here, even for foreign tourists, who always attract the attention of thieves and robbers anywhere in the world.
Two-thirds of Laotians live in rural areas. Subsistence farming plays a crucial role for survival here.
In total, representatives of 70 different local peoples live in fairly compact Laos. Most of all among them are the Lao, from whose name the country got its name.
The national domain of this state, .la, was sold by the authorities of the country to the city of Los Angeles . More precisely, leased out for a long time.

24/12/2022

The Lao language has 45 sounds and 6 keys. Depending on the tone, the same word can have up to 7-8 different meanings.
The vast majority of the population of Laos are Buddhists. According to local traditions, all men, more precisely, still young men, undergo a single obedience in the monastery for a period of three months.
The oldest holiday in this country, the rain festival, is celebrated in May. It is called “Bun Bang Fai” and many fireworks are set off here on this day.
Many houses in Laos, especially in rural areas, stand on stilts, as in some provinces of Thailand. This protects them from possible flooding.
Gasoline here is more expensive than in Russia. True, not much.

24/12/2022

There is a youthful social movement here like the Soviet pioneers. People who miss the times of the USSR can wipe away a mean nostalgic tear.
From 1893 to 1949, Laos was officially part of France as a colony. In 1949, after gaining independence, a kingdom arose here, but soon the king was overthrown by local communists.
In 1975, Laos had diplomatic relations with only 43 countries of the world. Since then, little has changed on this issue.
Located in Laos, the Khon Cascade, the same one near the border with Cambodia, is the widest waterfall in the world. Its width reaches 10 km, and it is he who is the main obstacle to navigation on the Mekong River.
One of the national Lao dishes is something like dumplings, which are boiled in fondue right on the table. In fact, this dish appeared here at the time of the Lao-Soviet friendship, when the locals began to prepare slightly modified “Slavic” food for Soviet specialists working in this country. Since then, a lot has changed, the Soviet specialists left, the friendship fell apart, the USSR collapsed, but the dumplings remained.

24/12/2022

The American invasion of Vietnam did not bypass this country either, since it was through it that part of the famous “Ho Chi Minh trail” passed. During the Vietnam War, about a quarter of a million bombs were dropped on Laos, and many of them, without exploding when they fall, are still waiting in the jungle to this day.
In Laotian villages, residents actively exterminate snakes , especially poisonous ones, as they pose a threat. At the same time, snakes do not go to waste - they are willingly eaten, reasonably believing that meat is meat.
A typical house in Laos does not have a lot of furniture. They usually eat here, sitting on the floor, on a mat, and sleep in the same way. Moreover, this has nothing to do with prosperity, even fairly wealthy Laotians usually do not use what they think is unnecessary furniture.
Traffic on Lao roads is right-handed, while in neighboring Thailand it is left-handed. Because of this, traffic jams always arose at the border, so the authorities of both countries came to an interesting solution. Now one week the movement in the border area is right-handed, and the other is left-handed.
In Laos, there is a law according to which it is forbidden to take kip, the local currency, outside the state. Tourists who do not know about this can be in danger of getting into trouble up to and including imprisonment. By the way, it is also forbidden to bring national currency into the country.

24/12/2022

In Laos, the Communist Party has long been at the helm. Therefore, in some places you can still see the Soviet legacy, for example, cars made in the USSR flashing here and there.
The Lao alphabet, and the language in general, is very similar to the Thai and Khmer spoken in Cambodia. Both Lao and Thai once descended from Khmer.
In Lao villages, there are still many where there is no electricity, central water supply and other benefits of civilization.
Local cuisine is very similar to Thai. Almost all dishes here are very spicy, and sugar is put in most of them.
In all of Southeast Asia, Laos is the only landlocked country.