General travel information for Laos
Continent: Asia
Geographical location: South Asia, Vietnamese peninsula
Highest elevation: Phu Bia (2820 m above sea level)
Longest river: Mekong (1898 km)
Form of government: People’s Republic System of
Government: Socialist one-party system
Languages: Lao
Neighboring countries: Vietnam, China, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia
Capital: Vientiane
Area: Approx. 240,000 km²
Residents: Approx. 7 million people (2017)
Population density: 30 people per km²
Religions: Approx. 66.3% Buddhists, 30.7% followers of ethnic religions, 1.5% Christians, and 0.9% non-denominational
Currency: Kip (LAK); 1 euro is approximately 9.4 KIP. Travel
Climate: Tropical
Time zone: UTC + 7
Area code: +856
Country code: LA, LAO, 418
Electricity: In Laos, the type A, B, C, E and F sockets are used. The mains voltage is 230 V with a 50 Hz change interval. A travel plug adapter is an advantage.
- Check a2zdirectory for old history of Laos and agooddir for modern history of Laos.
Medical information for Laos
For legal reasons, we as a tour operator are not allowed to communicate any binding medical information for Laos and therefore refer to the information provided by the Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Robert Koch Institute and the German Society for Tropical Medicine and International Health
Streets in Laos
Laos has 13,000 kilometers of roads, but only 1,700 of them are paved. In addition, the road conditions leave a lot to be desired and fit into the Asian street scene. There is right-hand traffic throughout Laos. Most cities are connected by public buses. There are few private cars in the country, which is why many locals tend to take buses or hitchhike on trucks. In larger cities, Laotians mostly use mopeds and bicycles if they can afford it.
Public holidays
The official holidays in Laos include the New Year (January 1st). Pi Mai, the Lao New Year, which usually takes place in April and is calculated according to the lunar calendar. Labor Day (May 1st) and the national holiday (December 2nd) are celebrated with solemnity. If a public holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, it will be moved to the preceding or the following working day. A religious holiday is Boun Bang Fai, which celebrates the birth, enlightenment and death of the Buddha. Another holiday follows in July: Khao Phansa, which marks the beginning of Buddhist Lent and Ork Phansa, the end of Lent, usually at the end of October. These celebrations are extensively celebrated with offerings: food and rice wine. Another festival known as the so-called cord tying ceremony,
If you want to know more about the individual holidays, please contact us at any time, because Laos offers a huge variety of celebrations that have to be recalculated every year. because they are based on the lunar calendar.
