Smiling Albino

Culture

Lao people are perhaps the most welcoming in all of SE Asia. Quiet by nature and curious, they also love a good laugh. To make sure you get the most out of your experience with locals, here are a few easy guidelines to make sure you don't offend.

Heads and Feet: Like all Buddhists in SE Asia, Lao view the head as the highest spiritual part of the body and as a result you should never touch someone's. The opposite holds true of the feet, which are viewed as spiritually the lowest part of the body and you should not do anything except walk with them. This means refrain from holding doors open with them, indicating direction, getting someone's attention and definitely do not put them up on anything. Those feet are made for walking!

Body: - Take your shoes off before entering buildings, temples and homes. Don't sit on cushions. Despite sitting on floors being hard for westerners, these are not meant to be sat on and doing so will result in great offence. When calling someone over, motion with your hand down. If you motion with your hand up it can have sexual connotations. Lao are a conservative bunch and don't appreciate showing off skin. While you will be hot in Laos, it's important to keep covered up. Wearing a proper t-shirt (covered shoulders), longer shorts and pants when visiting temples will win you a lot of fans and ensure you don't offend.

Photos: - Always ask permission before taking photos, especially of rural communities. Some hilltribe groups are suspicious of photos and don't like them taken.

Holidays & Festivals

January
New Years - Like much of the rest of the world Lao like to celebrate ringing in the New Year. Expect a lot of partying and closed shops for up to three days.
Bun Khun Khao - Villagers have festivals to thank the spirits for a bountiful harvest.

February
Makha Busa, full moon day - A holy day that commemorates the spontaneous gathering of monks who went to listen to the Buddha's teachings in 1250. Locals partake in merit making and candle processions at temples across the country. The date varies each year depending on the lunar calendar.
Chinese New Year/Vietnamese Tet - A three-day celebration with fireworks, burning of paper models and many businesses close for three days.

March
Bun Pha Wet - A festival rooted in temples, which also sees a lot of males ordained into the monkhood. The date varies from village to village.

April
Bun Pi Mai - One of the biggest festivals of the year with locals washing their Buddhist images then dousing each other with water. A slightly calmer version of Thailand's 'Songkran' festival which occurs at the same time. Bring your raincoat!

May
Visakha Busa - 15th day of the sixth lunar month. This celebration of the Buddha's birthday sees temples lit with hundreds (sometimes thousands) of candles.
Bun Bang Fai - along with Visakha Busa. A truly wild festival where locals sing, dance and fire large rockets into the sky beckoning the rains to come. Bring a helmet and lots of alcohol.

July
Bun Khao Phansa, full moon - This begins a three-month period where monks are to stay in their temples and the rice growing season begins.

August/September
Haw Khao Padap Din, full moon - An eerie celebration honouring the dead with bones being exhumed and cremated.

October/November
Bun Awk Phansa, full moon - A celebration of the end of the rainy season during which time laymen give monks new robes and supplies before they once again roam the land. The night before people float handmade boats on waterways in a beautiful display.

November
Bun Pha That Luang, full moon - A week-long festival incorporating music, fireworks and drinking centered around Vientiane's Pha That Luang.

December
Lao National Day, 2 - A mandatory holiday to celebrate the downfall of the monarchy and beginning of communist rule.

Religion

Sixty percent of Lao are Theravada Buddhists, the same form that is practiced in neighbouring Cambodia and Thailand. This religion came to the country between the 13th-14th centuries and quickly took root. Today you can see the influence of Buddhism in daily life as monks walk the streets and peoples' calmness is often a direct result of their beliefs.

The next most dominate non-Buddhist belief system is 'Phi' (spirit worship), which is also occasionally called animism. Certain tribes along the Mekong river valley, particularly the 'Thai Dam', are the largest group of believers with Hmong-Mien tribes and other hilltribe communities worshipping spirits which they believe reside in natural objects.

There are also some Christians who tend to be made up of the French-educated elite and a smattering of Muslims, many of whom fled persecution in neighbouring Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge's reign.