Between 1964 & 1973, during the war with the United States, the North Vietnamese used a network of supply lines, known as the Ho Chi Minh Trail, running from North Vietnam through the jungles & mountains of neighbouring Laos & Cambodia. In an effort to staunch the flow of troops & weapons the U.S. dropped more than 2 million tons of bombs on Laos, including more than 270 million cluster bomb submunitions. Kept secret from Congress & the American people, full details of the scale of the bombing sorties only becoming declassified in the 1990s. By the time the aerial campaign ended in 1973 more bombs had been dropped on Laos, since renamed Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), than the Allies dropped on Germany & Japan combined during World War II. Many failed to explode when they hit the ground, leaving the landscape littered with hundreds of thousands, perhaps even millions, of unexploded bombs, as lethal today as when they fell from the sky three decades ago. Dubbed 'bombies' by Laotian villagers, these often brightly coloured cluster bomb submunitions are still found in the clefts of bamboo branches, by children playing in shallow dirt, or in the fields where farmers till the soil by striking the earth with a hoe. Since 1974 more than 20, 000 people, many of them children, have been killed or injured by bombs or other unexploded ordnance in Lao PDR. Today, the lives of about 300 Laotian people are still devastated each year by the deadly remnants of this war. ...

Laos & Cambodia Insight Guide is dedicated to exploring the destination in detail with a selection of glossy illustrations. Extensive introductory sections explore the region’s history & culture & there are also short articles written by locals about distinctive local issues, whilst selective photo-features illustrate the variety of the place. The ‘ Places’ section is grouped geographically & provides details of the area including places to visit, suggestions for tours & other activities. Each section has its own listings of the best restaurants, bars & cafes. Essential practical information is provided in the Travel Tips chapter on accommodation, shopping & local activities. A useful location finder & travel tip index with relevant page numbers are given on the inside covers. Overview street plans are also provided for the main cities in the region or country. ...

Laos in Marshall Cavendish`s Culture Shock! Series; comprising a range of guides that inform visitors of the finer points & details relating to social etiquette, traditions & customs; bringing visitors to a sensitive yet substantial understanding of the country or city in question. The series targets those who are planning long stays in the destination or extended periods of residence. The guides are written by authors who have experienced the joys & pitfalls of cultural adaptation, & so are ideally placed to provide informative & relevant advice. Each title contains insights into local culture & traditions, guidance on adapting to the local environment, linguistic help & lots of general advice about local culture & idiosyncrasies to help prepare readers for their visit. Each title is structured similarly, beginning with the first impressions a visitor might expect to have. The guides aim to help readers understand the local culture through first appreciating the motivations, beliefs & attitudes of the local people. Practical advice on settling in is provided, with focused sections on accommodation, utilities, health, education & telecommunications. There is also extensive information on the destination’s culture, food & leisure, in addition to a specific section addressing the concerns of those travelling on business. ...

Laos in the Handbooks series from Footprint; comprehensive & leading guides designed & written for independent travellers who enjoy exploring off the beaten track. Footprint guides have an established reputation, built up since 1921, for catering for more adventurous & individual travellers. An unrestrictive editorial style also gives authors the freedom to capture & explore local cultures, sights & areas that are often not covered in other guides. Widely recognised for their reliability & independent writing style, Footprint guides all have the same layout. Introductory sections introduce the reader to the destination, with chapters on planning on your trip & essentials, including practical information & guidance on subjects such as when & where to go, itineraries, sport & activities, arts, getting there & around, eating & drinks, sleeping & a dedicated section on the anticipated carbon footprint involved in travelling to the destination. Each guide is organised geographically by region or country, with individual sections having a particular focus on an extensive range of sights & places of interest. Further, there are also details of accommodation, nightlife, restaurants & any notable local activities. Information boxes throughout the text give readers an insight into local customs, stories & sights of particular interest.A ...

Laos in the Handbooks series from Footprint; comprehensive & leading guides designed & written for independent travellers who enjoy exploring off the beaten track. Footprint guides have an established reputation, built up since 1921, for catering for more adventurous & individual travellers. An unrestrictive editorial style also gives authors the freedom to capture & explore local cultures, sights & areas that are often not covered in other guides. Widely recognised for their reliability & independent writing style, Footprint guides all have the same layout. Introductory sections introduce the reader to the destination, with chapters on planning on your trip & essentials, including practical information & guidance on subjects such as when & where to go, itineraries, sport & activities, arts, getting there & around, eating & drinks, sleeping & a dedicated section on the anticipated carbon footprint involved in travelling to the destination. Each guide is organised geographically by region or country, with individual sections having a particular focus on an extensive range of sights & places of interest. Further, there are also details of accommodation, nightlife, restaurants & any notable local activities. Information boxes throughout the text give readers an insight into local customs, stories & sights of particular interest.A ‘ Background’ section explores the history, economy, government, education, culture, people, land & environment of the destination in significant depth. There is also a ‘ Footnotes’ chapter with a basic language guide for travellers & information about the author. A useful distance chart tailored to the destination is also included in the inside back cover.* Please note:* the series is gradually being revised, reverting to its previous style of ” Handbooks”, published in a hardback format. ...

Laos at 1:600, 000 on an indexed, waterproof & tear-resistant road map from Reise Know-How with topographic & tourist information, plus plans of central Vientiane, Luang Prabang & Vang Vieng. The map, part of the publishers’ highly acclaimed World Mapping Project, is double-sided to show the area at the best possible scale on a convenient size sheet & presents the country in three sections: central Laos on one side, with the far north & the southern “tail” on the reverse. Road network is easy to see on a clear base which shows the country’s topography by altitude colouring with contours, spot heights & names of mountain ranges. National parks & protected areas are highlighted & internal administrative boundaries are shown with names of the provinces. Road network

Includes:: local tracks & indicates scenic routes. A wide range of symbols highlights various places of interest, temples & palaces, museums & archaeological remains, viewpoints, etc. The map has a latitude & longitude grid at intervals of 20’ & 30’respectively. The map is indexed & its legend

Includes:: English. Also included are street plans of central Vientiane, Luang Prabang, & Vang Vieng, highlighting various places of interest, accommodation, restaurants, banks, etc.



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Discover Laos
Weave your own path through the temple-lined streets of World Heritage-listed Luang Prabang.
Find out why Katang

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A Golden Buddha, a Plain of Jars & four thousand islands, Laos has them all. Footprint's fully revised & updated 5th edition provides all the essential information for all free-spirited travellers wanting to get off the beaten track in Southeast Asia's most enigmatic country. It

Includes:: objective recommendations of all the best places to stay, from elegant auberges to simple bamboo huts, where to find the best French bakeries, & tips for the adventurous traveller on everything from visiting hill tribe villages to exploring the Ho Chi Minh trail.

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Laos on a waterproof & tear resistant map from the Chiang Mai based Golden Triangle Rider combining an overview map of the country at 1:1, 650, 000 with numerous street plans full of tourist information, plus elevation profiles of recommended motorcycle routes. The general map of Laos provides an overview of the country ...

Laos on a map from the Thai publishers Thinknet with separate panels providing street plans of 16 towns, all annotated with selected hotels & restaurants, most interesting sights, etc. The main map covers Laos at 1:2, 850, 000 approx, providing a very generalized overview of its road network. A separate smaller panel shows the country’s air routes, including connections with Bangkok, Chiang Mai & Chiang Rai. The main value of the map lies in the accompanying panels which present the county’s most visited towns: downtown Vientiane, Luang Prabang, Houay Xay, Luang Namtha, Xay, Sing, Savannakhet, Vang Vieng, Xayaboury, Sam Nuea, Phone Savan, Thakhek, Si Phan, Don, Pakse, & Champasak. Several towns have an enlargement showing in more detail the downtown area. All the plans are annotated with symbols showing selected hotels & restaurants, shops, etc. Only main streets are named. In each town various locations are cross-referenced to small photos with brief descriptions. All place names are shown in the Latin alphabet & in their English versions. Some highlighted locations also have their names in Thai & Lao. Map legend

Includes:: English; descriptive notes are in Thai.

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