Top 5 Things You Should NEVER Do in Laos
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 พ.ค. 2024
- We have been living in Laos for nearly 2 years and even though it's not well known it has become one of our favourite places in the world. If you're looking for the best place or country to live in SE Asia, look no further! However, there are some things you should know before you visit... From our experience here, these are the top 5 things (we think) you should NEVER do in Laos. We talk about what it is like to live here, the Lao lifestyle and why you shouldn't do these certain things when visiting or living in Laos (or even in some of the other neighbouring countries in SE Asia)
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#toptravelmistakes #laos #top5travel
Have you got any funny travel stories where you didn't know about the local customs in that country? Share them below 😜
k lol
Lao refugees and their families living in the United States still take their shoes off and ask their guests to do so before entering their home.
I heard that Lao gov prohibits sexual relationships between Lao nationals and foreigners, is that true?
@@jimmystar6730 If you are not married. It used to be a $300 fine, but I don't know what it is now. The law is till in effect.
Before I married my wife [a Lao national] I went to visit her at her apartment. That night the police came looking for me. A neighbor likely ratted me out. I wasn't there, but they harassed my in laws for a while.
The best part is that my sister-in-law's boyfriend was in the apartment. He is Thai, so they told the police that he was an uncle. Apparently he was really scared.
When my wife [a Lao national] and I moved to Korea I took her to the beach. She saw a flock of gulls sitting on the beach and lots of people walking on the boardwalk. She looked for a while and then asked me "How come the people are not hunting those birds?"
Another time about 8 or 10 magpies had flown into the windows of the building where I worked. We were walking into the building when she saw this. I had to [100 % true] drag her away by the arm all the while she is saying "They are fresh ! It's a waste of good meat !". She wanted to take them home and cook them. I was on a very good salary and told her I would take her to the grocery store. She comes from a very poor family. Poor hungry people do not make good conservationists. They eat everything. I have eaten MANY things I didn't even know were on the menu prior to living in Asia.
1) don't honk your horn
2) don't wear shoes in someone's house
3) don't argue with local police
4) no PDA
5) don't hike w/o guide
Funny Story - Born in the rural (jungle) of Laos, my dad was used to hunting for food straight off the jungle! I remember eating snakes, rats, lizards, Komodo dragon, opossums, birds, cicadas, grasshoppers, crickets, cow dung beetles, ant eggs, squirrels, raccoons, and more. Our 1st month arriving in the US (California), another family (who’s been in the US longer) took us out fishing! During midday my dad came back to camp area with an animal in his hand and excitedly said “hey, everyone, I caught us a raccoon, we will have a nice raccoon larb tonight since no fish caught so far!” The Asian-American friend yelled “OMG! Let it go right now, that’s a skunk! Cannot eat that! You will stink!” My dad thought it was an American raccoon due to its darker color with white stripe. Back in Laos (maybe still now) don’t think skunk exist in Laos, so we had no idea! Sure enough, after letting the skunk go, my dad had skunk smell on him for 1 whole week despite many showers, shampoos, and soaps LOL!
Hilarious 😂😂 thanks for sharing!
So funny! That is classic! 😅😂🤣❤️
There are quite a few Lao refugees and families where we live. Once we took a young couple to the zoo. At almost every animal they asked us if we had ever eaten that. If they had in Laos they tried to tell us what it tasted like.
tomatoe sauce bath and it will remove the skunk odor.
That's hilarious! Thanks for sharing!
I've lived here for 8 years, great place, these guys give really good advice. Be respectful, be prepared to wait sometimes, don't walk around shirt off, and most importantly if you visit a temple, make a donation even if it's small. Enjoy !!
Two more "not-to-do" important things in Laos:
Never touch the head of somebody. Only do it for "deknoï"= children.
Never point at something with your shoes (foot) at the "dtalat"=market.
And normally, when having to cross on front of some people, you have to bend down your upper body.
Tanmo Breton.
These are very important!
I don’t get the last point. Could you explain it?
@@Nico-bu8uv it's only refer to the elders , it's consider disrespectful if we don't bend down our body
It's sounds more like a manner than a rule
I noticed it on the slow boat when the locals were walking up the middle of the boat. Now you know. Thank you.
At the border check point in Poi Pet Cambodia I was taken out of line and into a room with 2 border patrol. They said I needed to pay them $20 or so. I asked why, they said so they could buy beer. I paid and went on my way. True story.
Lao people are highly respectable people. Honking is rude here in America. I hate it when someone honks and give me the middle finger. Road rage is very high on American roads.
LOL… I can relate! Even though I grew up in the US, I don’t honk at people because I don’t want to be rude. So, when people honk at me, I get mad….
I'm laos
God bless lao!
@@_x_Nezuko_Kamado_x You are not a country. You are Lao not Laos
Nice to hear that. I really want to go to Laos
This is a very sensible and definitely helpful to those who haven’t yet been to Laos. Well done guys. 👍👍👍❤️❤️
Awesome! Great topic... Stay well!
Nice to see y’all on the move again n more videos
Thank you for your presenting about Laos, from this video both of you really know about Lao, i'm very impress on you, God bless both of you. Please keep go on to travel more in Laos and present more about Laos, i'll always follow you.
Thank you🙏
We appreciate so much you understand our culture.
Thank you for sharing 🙏🏼
Thank you for the helpful tips
love your couple, love your consistancy of uploading contents. wish you guys all happy.
Thanks so much 🙂
Nowadays, there are changes due to impacts of western cultures. However, what you both said are true and always be traditionally in the fact of Lao Culture for 1-4th and the 5th, of course if you're new comers to your jungle destinations in adventures. Stay safe Mario and Olivia.
Hey guys, great information. My hardest no no is PDA.
I love to show affection to the one I love, but you are right, it is very conservative country.
But that also is why I love it so much.
Great tips. Thanks for sharing.
Great info, thanks for sharing 👍 😁
Sveiki from Laos! It was interesting and funny to hear your own story while learning things you should never do in Lao!
So glad to hear you have some wonderful supporters ❤️ ❗️
This is the first time viewing your videos. Seems 👍 like they will be outstanding❗️
Thanks 👍 🙂
Nice video guys ☺️👍
What you guys are sharing are exactly true 👍 and definitely useful
i agree with all of these!! fun fact my parents were born there and my mom was a military their as well i may or may have not been to laos like a few times but it’s a great place
Thanks for sharing information
I didn't expect number 1 at all but is very true 👏👏
Great to know.... 😊
GREAT ADVISER & INFORMATION …
hi you 2 very good thank you .see you next video
Nice collection
Thank you 🙏 🙏 🙏🙏🙏
Honking! Beeping not allowed??? 😂 This is my place!! I lived in Hunan province in China for a year and I ended up in hospital after 2 months because the noise made me sick..People were honking past my window in the middle of the night.
Hi guys … 👋 keep up the good work 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Thank you.
You guys are very positive
All the things you mentioned except the 5th one are also valid for Japan.
This show was a great show because my family lives in 🇱🇦 The best country I love❤
Awesome. Hope next will be Don'ts.
As a Laotian American , you guys "hit the nail on the head" because the older Laotian generations are still correcting me when I act too "Americanize". Hope you guys are thriving and enjoying the place. Makes me want to visit.
The high school I attended had Asian gangs mostly viet and a lottt of laos kids they all were VERY Americanized and all had blonde dyed hair and long bangs and dressed the style of the time. They would all stay out really late smoke cigarettes and cut school and we all wondered what their parents thought about their lifestyle? 🤔 are you saying that most likely their parents didn’t approve?
if you're in america what were you suppose to do?
I have Lao descent My father is Champasak and my mother is Laotian. I suggest that If you are in Laos, Khuan acts like a Laotian.
You do good job Thank You
I so agree with you guys, I've been to Lao several times and my wife told me RULE #1 no public affection, no hugging, kissing, holding hands or NOTHING at all when it comes to public affection.
That's a mumble jumble story.
We took a couple from Laos to get married at the municipal court in Wisconsin. The judge not understanding their culture tried to get them to hold hands. They were so embarrassed. We tried to explain but the judge didn't understand.
@@susanhuber1932 True story
Very useful Olivia
Hello teacher Olivia, i'm Jieb who was an assistant teacher at Pingu . I'm really proud of you and your boyfriend to make many videos about Laos, and all of the informations that you gave us is absolutely true and i'm really happy to see that. And to be honest both of you make me see the places in Laos that i never been to and know the foreigner opinion about Laos. 😊
Hey Jieb! Hope you're well 🙂 glad you like the videos, thank you so much 😁
Love you guys
Hi Mario/Olivia,
I would like to see you guys video on train ride from Vientiane to some other destinations in Laos…!
Good job! guys.
In Cairo it's just the opposite, I saw a van driving down a residential street just honking all the way, and he was the only vehicle driving on the street. Near Tahrir square I saw 2 cars side swipe each other and neither vehicle stopped, they just put their hands out the window as if to say what the hell and then they just drove off. LOL!
One more thing I think could be important to mention here, Laos is a socialist country so be careful what you photograph. Anything military or strgically sensitive is usually a no no. I used to photograph trains in Eastern Europe pre 1990 & know only too well just how hazderdous this can be. Just my two pennyworth. 👍
thank you for let peoples known good job bro
Very good information.I go to Laos in September first week.
Have a good trip!
Thank video
I agree always highly respect when you are in other countries. It's okay to hold your girlfriend or boyfriend hand in Laos👍👍you guys have fun and be safe
Oh perfect
Mario new shirt 👔 look cool 😎 yea angry with all you ve mentioned! Nice video
Saw that beer Lao, and instantly got thirsty 😂😂. Good times in Laos. Hope to be back soon!
good on ya guys
1) Hanoi is a city of 5 million. Vientiane is a city of less that 1 million. Of course the traffic in Vientiane is better. I drive bumper to bumper for 40 minutes every morning and 1 1/2 hours in the afternoon on my daily commute into Vientiane. I'm grateful that after 10 years they finally paved the road that takes me from the city to my house.
2) My wife [a Lao national] argues with the police regularly. It is SO entertaining. I always want to say to the cop "She's gonna win" because she always has - so far. I've NEVER been asked for my driver's license. I usually just tell them I have to go to the bathroom and they just let me go. The police here do very little unless you make a problem. Very unlike the thugs in my home country.
It is true that people here [other than my wife] do not argue. Every time we need documents from government offices, we have to pay bribes, sometimes a substantial bribe. If you don't, your documents do not get processed. If you argue with a clerk, you will never get your documents. Please understand that people who speak out against the government disappear. True.
3) It is a traditional culture. My wife wears a sarong whenever she has to go to anyone's office. She is very shy about affection. In addition, as a married woman, my wife is expected [by her parents] to stay home [my wife is 40 years old] and they strongly disapprove of gambling.
It is "a Buddhist country", but most people know virtually nothing about the religion and are actually animist.
Please support MAG and UXO. I asked my wife's aunt, who lives in the far northeast, if she ever thinks about the UXO. Her reply: "Every time I put a shovel in the ground". So sad. The rate of injuries and deaths due to UXO has been halved in the last 20 years due to education. Still one person killed or maimed every week [if my memory of the stats is correct] from UXO [on average] is till too high.
Regarding an older video: 5 Reasons we love Lao
I really don't want to be the dick in the mayonnaise here ..... just wanna put things in perspective. Every place has its positive and negatives. I chose to live here. I've been living in Asia [China, Thailand, South Korea, and now Laos] for 20 years. My wife of 18 years is Lao.
1) Nature in Laos - no doubt, beautiful and often stunning. A buffalo in a rice field with the sun setting behind the mountains is blissful. Waterfalls - many. However, many of the rivers are badly polluted with human and animal waste if not plastics. Not unique to Laos and there are many wonderful and beautiful places here. In the cities there are virtually no parks. A few [mostly underutilized], but by comparison, Bangkok has several large shady parks.
2) Weather - if you like a subtropical climate you'll be fine. To suggest that it doesn't rain during the day is plain false. I'm sitting here on my front porch wondering when my laundry will dry after almost a week, contrary to your observations, of constant rain. Part of the package and I roll with it. I love thunderstorms, but my dogs do not. 10 degrees at night ? When? where ? During the winter - sure. In the mountains, sure. Cool nights are not a year round experience.
3) Food - Pineapples and all the other fruit are amazing. Tasty vegetables that I cannot name. Anywhere you live you can walk to a restaurant. True. Is it good ? Well, like any place there are good restaurants and bad. To suggest that all Lao food is good is false. And let's not forget the delicious coffee !
Freshness is the key ingredient. Every plant in our yard is edible. What look like ornamental plants are all edible. This is because refrigeration of food [think fruits, vegetables, and meat] is virtually unheard of in markets. When we go shopping for meat we go very early, otherwise it sits out in the heat and gets covered in flies. I'm used to the flies, so it doesn't bother me too much, but it is part of life here. Chain restaurants exist here, but are pretty rare.
To suggest that the food in supermarkets is local is absurd. Some products are, certainly, but few from what I see. Most processed products come from Thailand, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, or other southeast Asian countries. All you have to do is read the label.
Lao people are quite accommodating and friendly. True. Always some rotten apples, but I'll take my neighbors here over my neighbors in my home country.
4) Laos is cheap - Compared to other places, yes. But inflation is currently very high. BTW I don't pay that much for a barbecued chicken ! Live on 500 dollars a month ? My wife [keeper of the money] just said to me that if you live in a very small room and have a crappy motorbike, you can live on 500 a month. I don't think most expats are willing to do that. I live in a house that is quite substandard compared to a western lifestyle. It is challenging to live like this. For example, we don't have access to trash removal which means we, as well as all of our neighbors, burn our trash. That's where the no worries attitude is critical. I hang my laundry to dry and my neighbor decides it's a good time to burn his trash in a slow smokey fire. We sometimes go for days without water [municipal supply]. Our electricity is much better now than in the past. Power outages usually don't las too long.
5) You better adopt the bo pen yang attitude quickly or you will go crazy. It is true about honking your horn.
I would not agree at all that "things get done". Look around. Maybe a little too much bo pen yang.
I understand that you want to present things in a positive way. I humbly suggest a bit more of a balanced approach..... Peace and Love. Be well.
This was very informative thank you. Just a bit worried about the fact everyone burns their trash, that’s extremely toxic and increases their air pollution
what you say is absolutely correct and you describe it very well, I'm just curious where is your home country as you mentioned it a few time
I lived/worked in Laos for a year when I was in my early 20s - 1992-3 - when foreigners were an oddity. I loved it. I was walking to work one day when I stopped off at a roadside shack for a coffee. I visited it a few times and then, out of nowhere, I was invited to come to the garden to join the family (or what I thought was the family) for dinner. Turns out it was a restaurant but the entrance was on the opposite side to the 'entrance' I had been using. It turned out that I had been getting my coffee from the staff restroom, much to the hilarity of the staff who had been pocketing my cash. It was only when an older lady found out and chastised the people who had been 'serving' me that I was let in on the joke. And it was a pretty funny joke because, if nothing else, the Lao people do like a good laugh. I still used the staff entrance, though, whenever I dined there, which was frequently.
😂😂 thanks for sharing man
Video good Thank you Top 5 Things Should NEVER Do in Laos
Expected the same as in Cambodia but turns out it's totally opposite although both are Buddhist countries.
Greetings from Latvia.
Should we get international driving permit or local licence in English is sufficient.
Good job
That's great you mentioned the lack of 'beeping'- of course! I've been here a few weeks. and yes that's one reason it's so peaceful and sweet! And yes, even the corner store here you have to enter shoeless...
And I wish you'd mentioned.. please don't walk around semi naked! So gross to see backpackers with shortie shorts, and bikini tops on the street, topless guys.. FFS. A bit of respect for self and others!
I would definitely say don't argue with anyone just except it is what it is and you are in their country not your own! Also the police are very respectful so show them the same respect 👍
Great video, now it's time for "Top 5 Things You Shoudl Do In Laos"
Took the thought right off my head.
Hey i just wondering if you guys have any plans for the train trip 😉 in laos 🇱🇦
we would love to once it opens if we can, will see!
“Give him a little fine”=bribe
They will leave you alone if you bribe them lol. You can get the bribe price down in most situations in SEA by saying “I think I’ll just pay the fine directly at a station instead of paying you now” they hate that because they can’t pocket it all.
Thank you
How long you there?
Love you both flightingw
Wow
When Mario drinking beer Lao i’m be like bro can i have one ! Your video so positive ❤️ and Olivia so cute !
i was visiting Luang namtha Bokeo Viantiene luang prabang thats place city so nice using laos train is better for traveling iao . ouw dont forget to buy beer lao 😅
I am already in Lao but not yet get to go no where
Still try to find way to get to know the city of Vientaine
Nice video guys 👍👍👍and I would want people to take off there shoes too if they come in my house
Never liked Vietnam but Laos is more what I like.
Care to ask you guys, when the High Speed Rail starting to operate from Vientiane to China?
Opens for freight on December 3rd 2021. No word yet as to when the boarders will open for tourists. I personally think (and this is purely conjecture ) they may open for tourists in January or February of 2022.
The deaths from COVID-19 in Laos are overwhelmed climbing to 132 deaths and right now is kind a cold season stay warm drink a lot hot tea w/honey/ginger a lot vitamin-c intake stay away from the cold beer for a minute.Wishing you both have a nice thanksgiving.
Zinc mineral will help too and vitamin D
The only thing that caught my attention....... The bottle of Beer Lao on the table.... LOL ..... Nice... Stay safe people. Cheerio!
I just came back from Laos Korea and Thailand my father is Lao 3 days ago
Awesome! Hope you had a good trip 🙂
I live in Laos look
ສະບາຍດີ
I'm from Laos🇱🇦
Fc from laos too!
Welcome to Laos 🇱🇦
Didn’t you go making any video of Thatluang festival? Or you are already go to Thai?
We filmed it last year, this year it was much smaller because of Covid
🙏
Using a car horn is absolutely not considered rude when adequate. Where did you get that from?
I've been living in Laos since 2006 and some of your advice is a little dated. Honking your horn at other motorists is quite normal now. Usually it is a short respectful honk to let others know you are close and passing by. Public displays of affection are normal, especially with the younger kids who are completely hooked into western culture and live on their smart phones. When I first moved here a woman couldn't bare her shoulders, now the new fashion is they have shirts in shops with the shoulders cut out. I'm not talking about heavy necking, but holding hands and such is normal. Hiking is fine. Stay on the paths and there are unlimited jungle paths to hike.
ຂອບໃຈເຈົ້າທັງສອງ
ສຸດຍອດອິຫຼີຢາກດື່ມເບຍລາວ
But am Laos my family is Laos too
Hi, I'm planning to visit Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand, start date is flexible, maybe 5th August or 7th September
I am looking for a travel companion, host, or free local guide. In return, I will be a free guide in southern Saudi Arabia and host all friends so they can see closely the Saudi culture and heritage.
Wishing everyone a happy and joyful new day
ຂອບໃຈຫຼາຍໆ ສຳລັບຂໍ້ມູນດີໆ ໃຫ້ຄົນເຂົ້າມາລາວ
I love you Laos🙏🙏🙏🇱🇦🌹
👍👍👍👍my friend’s
Lao people very welcome all of you to visit Laos.
👍👍
👍❤️
Got used to riding in Vietnam and Phillipines. Been riding in Laos for 5 minutes and already had to bribe the police for running red light 😂 asked for 300,000 kip thought that was a rip off only gave him 500 kip and he accepted it
Has Laos open its doors to foreigners? If so, does it require quarantine?
Not yet, possibly by next year