Regarded as Southeast Asia`s sleepy backwater for many years, Laos` communist government ensured that the country remained closed to the outside world. Unconcerned by neighbouring Thailand`s dash for modernity, Laos resolutely moved at its own pace. When the door was finally eased open for travellers in the early 90s, it revealed a beautiful country with a fascinating culture & an ethnically diverse population Today, Laos is well & truly awakening from its slumber. The capital, Vientiane, bustles with renewed energy, but many of Laos` attractions lie beyond the capital, where the rural population still ekes out an existence as subsistence farmers, fishermen, market traders & merchants. For many in the countryside, little has changed, & that is part of Laos` enduring appeal for visitors.