How to cook Laab Gai - traditional Lao cuisine

There is a distinct pleasure that comes with cooking and eating traditional Lao food. Fresh herbs, shockingly vibrant flavours, and the color of the various dishes all atest to the fact that cooking Lao food is indeed a work of art.

Part of the beauty of Lao food is that it is simple to prepare, but that its flavor is full of complexity and brightness. Despite the robust flavors, Lao food is actually quite easy to assemble. Most time involved in cooking traditional dishes lies in the actual preparation - chopping up the meat, vegetables and herbs. Once these are completed, the dish can invariably be assembled in a very short amount of time.

Art & Culture of Laos PDR.

One of the trademarks of Laos is the diversity of its people and cultures. There are a number of traditional arts and crafts that represent their way of life.
Lao has a rich cultural heritage with religious art and architecture forming the cornerstone of artistic traditions.There exists across the country a plethora of distinctive monuments   and architectural styles. One of the most notable structures is the That Luang, the great Sacred Stupa, in Vientiane. Its dome-like stupa and four-cornered superstructure is the model for similar monuments across Laos. Stupas serve to commemorate the life of the Buddha and many stupas are said to house sacred Buddha relics (parts of Buddha s body).Generally, Hinayana Buddhists cremate the dead body and then place the bones in the stupa, which are set around the grounds of temples, or wats. Different styles of architecture are evident in the numerous Buddhist Wats. Three architectural styles can be distinguished, corresponding to the geographical location of the temples and monasteries. Wats built in Vientiane are large rectangular structures constructed of brick and covered with stucco and high-peaked roofs. In Luang Prabang the roofs sweep very low and, unlike in Vientiane, almost reach the ground. These two styles are different from the wats of Xieng Khouang where the temple roofs are not tiered.

Laos Food An introduction to Lao Food

Lao food is distinct from other Asia cuisines, although it is somewhat similar to the food found in the northeastern part of Thailand in the area known as Isan.

Most Lao dishes contain vegetables and herbs, rice or noodles and fish, chicken, pork or beef. The freshness of the ingredients is very important to Lao people who like to prepare everything from scratch, rather than use pre-prepared ingredients, as they believe this makes their food more delicious. Herbs such as galangal and lemongrass are favourites and padaek (Lao fish sauce) is found on every table.

Laos Money

What Lao money looks like, what it's called ...

Laos uses the Lao Kip (LAK) as its currency.

The bank notes (see pictures on the right) currently in circulations are 500, 1,000, 2,000, 5,000, 10,000, 20,000, and 50,000 Kip. No coins are currently in use in Laos.

Many websites refer to the unit of Laos money as "New Kip". This maybe because the Lao Kip has been through some changes in recent times, see history of Lao Kip below.

Tourist Guide Champassak

Champassak is a small town situated in southern Laos, almost 40 km to the south of Pakxe. This town includes many guesthouses that caters to the tourists and are of cheap budget price where one can see a relaxing place along the beautiful river bank.

Tourist Guide Savannakhet

Savannakhet can be referred to as one of the provinces located in ‘Laos’. The name ‘Savannakhet’ has been derived from the following words: ‘Savanh Nakhone’; meaning ‘city of paradise’. This is, in fact, the original name of the province.

Tourist Guide Luang prabang

Tourist Guide Luang prabang

Luang Prabang can be referred to as one of the cities situated in north-central part of Laos, on Mekong River, at a distance of around 425 Km towards the northern side of Vientiane.