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Laos

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CAPITAL	Vientiane

AREA	236,000 sq km

POPULATION	5.5 million

LANGUAGE	Lao

CURRENCY	Kip

TIME	GMT +7

TELEPHONE CODES	00 856

ELECTRICITY	230V



Laos

Visas: 15-day visas are now available on arrival at Vientiane's Wattay International Airport and at the International Friendship Bridge at the Nong Khai border crossing between Laos and Thailand, though you'll need to meet a series of conditions to get one. 15-day and 30-day visas are generally issued through embassies, consulates and authorised travel agencies.

Public holidays: New Year's day (1 Jan); Pathet Lao Day (6 Jan); Army Day (20 Jan); Women's Day (8 March); Lao People's Party Day (22 March); Lao New Year (15-17 April); International Labour Day (1 May); Children's Day (1 June); Lao Issara (13 Aug); Liberation Day (23 Aug); Freedom from France Day (12 Oct); National Day (2 Dec).

Good reading: Contemporary Laos: Studies in the Politics & Society of the Lao People's Democratic Republic edited by Martin Stuart-Fox. Laos: Beyond the Revolution edited by Joseph Zasloff & Leonard Unger. History of Laos by Maha Sila Viravong. The Ravens: Pilots of the Secret War of Laos, by Christopher Robbins, details US involvement in Laos during the Vietnam War.

Local dishes: Fiery and fragrant, Lao food owes its distinctive taste to fermented fish sauces, lemon grass, coriander leaves, chillies and lime juice. Eaten with the hands along with the staple sticky rice, much of Lao cuisine is roasted over an open fire and served with fresh herbs and vegetables. Freshwater fish is the main source of protein in the Lao diet.