It's been quite pleasant so far, actually. I don't feel like everyone constantly trying to scam me like I did in China. It's very laid back and not especially modern. Very cheap. I'm paying 25 bucks for 4 nights at the guest house I'm staying at. They still wear coolie hats around here. Here's some fun Laos facts I picked up today:
The population was estimated to be about 5.5 million in 2001. It has a population density of 20 people per square kilometer, compared with 230 in Vietnam and 120 in Thailand.
In addition, Laos is the most bombed country (in bombs per capita) in history. (The U.S. did the bombing.) By 1973, bombs had been dropped on Laos at the rate of one payload every eight minutes, 24 hours a day, for nine years, which comes to a bit more than a half million tons of explosives for every man, woman, and child in Laos. 580,944 sorties were flown, mostly over eastern Laos. Part of this was from concerted strikes against communist targets in the country (who took over when Saigon fell), and part of it was return trips from bombing raids in Vietnam; they were under orders to drop their entire stock of bombs, and if they didn't (because of bad weather over Vietnam or whatever), then they just dropped it over civilian targets in Laos. Nice. Real nice.
HANK: So, are you Chinese or Japanese? KAHN: I live in California last twenty years, but first come from Laos. HANK: Huh? KAHN: Laos. We Laotian. BILL: The ocean? What ocean? KAHN: We are Laotian. From Laos, stupid! It's a landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It's between Vietnam and Thailand, okay? Population 4.7 million. HANK: So, are you Chinese or Japanese?
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2005-01-05 03:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-01-06 10:35 am (UTC)The population was estimated to be about 5.5 million in 2001. It has a population density of 20 people per square kilometer, compared with 230 in Vietnam and 120 in Thailand.
In addition, Laos is the most bombed country (in bombs per capita) in history. (The U.S. did the bombing.) By 1973, bombs had been dropped on Laos at the rate of one payload every eight minutes, 24 hours a day, for nine years, which comes to a bit more than a half million tons of explosives for every man, woman, and child in Laos. 580,944 sorties were flown, mostly over eastern Laos. Part of this was from concerted strikes against communist targets in the country (who took over when Saigon fell), and part of it was return trips from bombing raids in Vietnam; they were under orders to drop their entire stock of bombs, and if they didn't (because of bad weather over Vietnam or whatever), then they just dropped it over civilian targets in Laos. Nice. Real nice.
no subject
Date: 2005-01-05 08:11 pm (UTC)KAHN: I live in California last twenty years, but first come from Laos.
HANK: Huh?
KAHN: Laos. We Laotian.
BILL: The ocean? What ocean?
KAHN: We are Laotian. From Laos, stupid! It's a landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It's between Vietnam and Thailand, okay? Population 4.7 million.
HANK: So, are you Chinese or Japanese?
no subject
Date: 2005-01-06 10:35 am (UTC)