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Travel and Indigenous Peoples in The Lao PDR (Laos)Landlocked and covering less than 1/4 million square kilometers, The Lao People's Democratic Republic (Laos) is home to 5.5 million people. Traveling in the Lao PDR is a remarkable experience. The Lao are extremely friendly, helpful and welcoming. Outside of the capital, Vientiane, the visitor will find one of the most rural, unurbanized countries in Southeast Asia. The population is divided into lowlanders, uplanders and highlanders, who respectively comprise 68%, 22% and 10% of the population. Only around half the population attends school: the literacy rate is slightly less than 50%, with about a 2:1 male:female ratio in literacy. While the lowlanders live in the better of economic and educational conditions, the Lao are considered a very poor people. The average income per person is around US$350 per year. Traveling in The Lao PDR can be challenging! Although roads between major cities are now paved for the most part, conditions make for tough going, especially in the wet season. Most of Laos' 67 indigenous, ethnolinguistic (ethnic) minorities are situated in the far North, around the borders with Thailand, Burma, China and Vietnam. (The present day Lao PDR government uses a different classification method and therefore officially recognizes 46 indigenous, minority groups in addition to the Lao majority.) Here there are few paved roads at all. Laos no longer has a rail system and air travel should be carefully planned, since the national airline has a fleet of only three aircraft! I had a very interesting experience buying a ticket for a short-haul flight: The Lao Aviation travel agent sold me the ticket, which had no departure time printed on it. When I asked what time the plane would leave he answered, "In the afternoon .... I think." Asking if he could be any more specific, I was told to be at the airport by 8:00 a.m. At 4 o'clock that afternoon the airport staff announced that the flight would be delayed until the following day. The explanations they offered ranged from "the pilot being too afraid to fly the plane" to "the airport at the flight's origin not having enough electricity to charge the battery to start the engine!" Boat travel along the Mekong is by far the most pleasant option for those who have the time.The official government list of indigenous, ethnic groups in The Lao PDR is: Alak, Bit, Chere, Hmong, Haw, Ha-nhi, Jri, Kaw, Katang, Khmu, Katu, Kui, Khmer, Kri, Lao, Lue, Laven, Lavae, Lamet, Lolo, Lavi, Makong, Museu, Mon, Nhuon, Ngae, Nhaheun, Nguon, Oi, Phu Thai, Phu-Noi, Phong, Pakoh, Souei, Samtao, Singmun, Sila, Sadang, Saek, Ta-oi, Taliang, Thin, Tum, Yao, Yae, Yang and Yumbri. BooksUnger, A. H., & Unger, W., (1999) Laos: A Country Between Yesterday and Tomorrow. Munich: Hirmer Verlag. Mansfield, S., (2000) Lao Hill Tribes: Traditions and Patterns of Existence (Images of Asia). New York: Oxford University Press. Chazee, L., (1999) The Peoples of Laos Rural and Ethnic Diversities. Bangkok: White Lotus.Burma (Myanmar) |