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

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).

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.

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?

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.