How To Be In Harmony With Laos’s Nature?

If you choose Laos for your next trip, what should you take to be of concern? This article may help you with some useful tips to be in line with Laos's nature and to fully enjoy your trip.

Photo by jondeeley

From Threeland Travel Indochina's Blog - May 2012

Laos Tropical Climate

Laos is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia. Its thickly forested landscape consists mostly of rugged mountains, the highest of which is Phou Bia at 2,818 metres, with some plains and plateaus. The Mekong River forms a large part of the western boundary with Thailand, whereas the mountains of the Annamite Range form most of the eastern border with Vietnam and the Luang Prabang Range the northwestern border with the Thai highlands. There are two plateaus, the Xiangkhoang in the north and the Bolaven Plateau at the southern end. The climate is tropical and influenced by the monsoon pattern.

Due to the higher latitudes position of mountainous northern Laos, this country has three different seasons. The dry season from late November to mid-February, which probably has temperatures falling into the single digits at night, is the high season that attracts the most outbound to the country. During the hot season (from March to May), temperatures can reach the figure of 40°C. In this period, such Northern provinces as Phong Xali or Hua Phan are the best choice to avoid the heat. From May to October comes the time of wet season, when temperatures are around 30°C, and some provinces may receive rain from Vietnam and China during the northeastern monsoon.

Some advices for your trip

To have the best preparation for a Laos’s trip, for some time the weather here is really harsh, you should consider some useful tips as following:

1.     Use suitable clothing such as light-weight washable cotton clothes to be in line with the climate. You should also bring a sweater or coat for the winter and in upland areas. Besides, shoes or boots are also helpful in walking and avoiding insects.

2.   Organize comprehensive travel and medical insurance before traveling, especially to avoid risk of infectious diseases – typical illness of tropical climate areas. In buying travel insurance, you should consider to find the right product with an appropriate price than just travel without cover.

3.   Register with Laos Foreign Office. Due to the casualties and damage to infrastructure caused by annual disasters here (e.g.: Typhoon Ketsana, which passed Vietnam in central provinces such as Da Nang, Quang Ngai and surrounding areas, and moved across north of Cambodia and Laos), travelers should consider the destination to see if it is in the affected area or not, make a clear plan and continue to register with the Foreign Office to get better help.

These advices may help you take full use of a Laos’s trip without any hesitation about the tropical climate here. As the information can be improved daily, you can visit Threeland Travel Indochina and contact us to keep you up to date.