Vientiane In 1563 King Setthathirat made the riverside city of Vientiane the capital of Laos. In those days it was a small, fortified city on the banks of the Mekong with a palace and two wats, That Luang and Wat Phra Kaeo. The city became prosperous from the surrounding fertile plains and taxes levied on trade going upriver. Today, Vientiane is a spacious and charming city. It is South-East Asia's smallest capital and has only about 500,000 citizens - which makes it the most tranquil and laid-back capital of Asia. It lacks the usual hustle and bustle and amazes the traveller with its serene temples and gracious colonial villas. Countless temples and pagodas with important Thai and Khmer shrines and relics are a mirror of the countries chequered past. There are numerous good restaurants and excellent shopping opportunities for Lao handicrafts at the Morning Market and a variety of specialist shops. Luang Prabang This is the best place to discover Lao history and culture. For more than eight centuries Luang Prabang was the royal residence and the political and cultural centre of Laos. According to legend two resident hermits chose the site of the city. Today Luang Prabang is a picturesque small town (with approximately 30,000 inhabitants) on the Mekong River. Mount Phousi, right in the town centre, affords a magnificent view of the town and its surroundings. Especially worth seeing are the former Royal Palace containing the National Museum and the Wat Xieng Thong temple. Luang Prabang's surroundings have a lot to offer as well: the Pak Ou Caves that contain thousands of Buddha images can be explored on boat trip up the Mekong River. Other attractive one-day excursions include visits to the weavers' village, Ban Phanom, and the Kuang Si waterfalls.

Phonesavanh One of the last mysteries of Asia lies here. Despite many theories about the ‘Plain of Jars’, archaeologists have still not discovered the real meaning and function of the countless earthenware jars that are up to eight feet high and lie scattered over the plateau. Local legend relates that King Khoon Chuong and his troops from South China had a huge party after their victory over the wicked Chao Angka and had the jars made to brew enormous quantities of Lao rice whisky (lau-lao). Although American bombing destroyed many jars, a trip to this area is still worthwhile and is enhanced by visits to the local ethnic minority villages of the Hmong. A trip to the Tham Piew caves and the hot springs nearby are worth an extra day. Pakse and the South Pakse is synonymous with Wat Phou in the same way as Siem Reap is with Angkor in Cambodia and there are many parallels. The founder of the first Khmer Empire, Jayavarman II, who built Angkor also built Wat Phou. It is much smaller than Angkor, but about 30 years older and at times was the Khmer capital. After Angkor, Wat Phou is one of the cultural highlights of Laos and South-East Asia. Pakse is a busy commercial town built by the French early this century as an administrative centre for the South. The town has seen better days but the many colonial buildings lend an air of old world charm. Pakse is known locally for its large market. An excursion from Pakse leads to the Bolaven plateau and to villages of minorities who belong to the native populations of South-East Asia. Here coffee, tea and moderate-climate fruits are grown. The Mekong Islands on the Cambodian border area can also be reached from Pakse. The Mekong River at this point is about 8.5 miles wide and encompasses about 4,000 islands during the dry season and about half of that during the rainy season. This unique landscape forms one of the most impressive sights of this region. One of the highlights is South-East Asia's largest waterfall, Khon Phapheng.