COMBINED TOUR TO MEKONG SUB REGIONLaos'
isolation from foreign influence offers travellers an unparalleled glimpse
of traditional southeast Asian life. From the fertile lowlands of the Mekong
River valley to the rugged Annamite highlands, Laos is the highlight of
southeast Asia. This is the least developed and most enigmatic of the three
former French Indochinese states. A ruinous sequence of colonial domination,
internecine conflict and dogmatic socialism finally brought the country to
its knees in the 1970s, and almost 10% of the population left the country.
Now, after two decades of isolation from the outside
world, this landlocked, sparsely populated country is enjoying peace,
stabilising its political and economic structures, and admitting foreign
visitors - albeit in limited numbers, owing to a general lack of
infrastructure.
Laos
is bordered by Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, China and Myanmar (Burma).
Rivers and mountains dominate the country's topography. The largest river,
the Mekong (Nam Khong), runs the entire length of the country, providing
fertile flood plains for agriculture and forming the country's border with
Thailand. It is also Laos' main transportation artery.
Despite large-scale bombing and the use of defoliants in
the eastern section of the country during the US war with Vietnam, Laos has
one of the most pristine ecologies in South-East Asia. Vegetation consists
primarily of varieties associated with monsoon forests such as teak, Asian
rosewood and bamboo. About 50 per cent of the country is covered with
primary forest and another 30 per cent with secondary growth. The forests
are endangered by illegal logging and slash-and-burn agriculture.
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