Food blogger visits a Lao restaurant gaining fame

Source:  Gary Butler - The Roaming Cook, February 12, 2025

Chef Ponpalin "Noi" Kaewduangdee, one of Laos' rising star in the culinary world, opened her own restaurant in Vientiane called Doi Ka Noi and also published a beautiful Lao cook book entitled "A Child of the Rice Fields".  Follow along as Butler visits her restaurant with his family, explores her kitchen and cooks a dish with the chef.

Laos included in a cultural and historical documentary on SE Asia

Source:  Christopher Clark, Cultural Itinerary, Get.factual, March 26, 2025
Beautifully filmed overview of some of Southeast Asia's most iconic locations with Luang Prabang, Laos included (starting at time marker 15:33).

Luang Prabang - A World Heritage Town at Risk

Source:  Asia Insight, NHK World-Japan, March 29, 2025

Follow along as Asia Insight focuses on Luang Prabang, its tourism industry, and its changing demographics.  This is juxtaposed with a feature on Ms. Phang Sangchansavang, a Luang Prabang native and grandmother, sharing how all these changes affect local life.  

If the video above doesn't load for you, please click on the link instead to view on Youtube.

Journal of Lao Studies 2024

Title:  Journal of Lao Studies 2024 Vol. 8
Edited by:  Center for Lao Studies

Publisher, Year:  Center for Lao Studies, 2024

Cost:  Free to download

After a 4 years break, the journal has returned, albeit in online only format for 2024.  For those who haven't checked it out, CLS has posted the research essays and book review on their website.  And it's all free to download and read - check out what they wrote about!

8th Lao Studies Conference 2025

Calling all scholars, students and fans of Lao studies.  This is your event!

When: 11-14 September 2025
Where: Centre of Asian and Transcultural Studies, Voßstr. 2, Building 4110, Universität Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany

Learn about the Lao tea industry

Title:  Tea Sector Development in Lao PDR - Understanding 20 Years of Opportunities and Challenges
By:  Andrew Wilson
Publisher, Year:  Helvetas Advisory Services, 2021
Funded by:  Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)
Cost:  Free download

If you're a tea lover like me, you'll definitely enjoy this deep dive into the tea industry and its history in Laos.

Meet a Lao textile historian and visit his Lao Textile Museum

Source:  P26 Media, 2021

Meet a Lao puppet master and artist

Source:  P26 Media, 2021

Learn Lao sign language basics - greetings

Episode 10 ການທັກທາຍ Greetings

Source: ຫ້ອງຮຽນພາສາມືລາວ Lao Sign Language Learning Room, 2023

Laos' Incredible Silk

Source:  Slice, April 7, 2024

Follow the story of Anou, a 30 year old grandson of an exiled aristocratic family, who moves back to Laos after having lived in France his entire life.  His family had specialized in textile weaving - something Anou continues with great interest.

Almost every mention of Laos in American movies

Source:  ScreenAnalysis, 2022

Satu - New Lao movie getting a lot of buzz

Source:  Jawbreaker Films

FREE BOOK - The Laotian Cook: Traditional Recipes From Northern Laos

Title:  The Laotian Cook:  Traditional Recipes From Northern Laos - With voices from the smallholder farmers supported by IFAD and GAFSP-funded projects
By:  Camilla Zanzanaini and Ritik Joshi
Lao translation by:  Vinata Sayavong
Publisher, Year:  International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), 2023
Cost:  FREE (download links below)

Image:  Book cover

This book truly does a great deal.  It beautifully encompasses promoting Lao food, the farmers, and IFAD's programs - all in one.

Blue Chair - the Luang Prabang film festival returned in 2024

In December 2-9, 2024, Luang Prabang saw the return of its film festival, which had been renamed Blue Chair Film Festival 2 years ago.  At the beginning of 2024, we wrote about our hopes that it would return and thankfully it did.

Explosion rocks Nami village in Oudomxay - see the explosion and the aftermath

The number of casualties are still to be fully confirmed but most sources are reporting at least one  person is dead and several injured.  The explosion took place in Ban Nami, Muang Xay, Oudomxay province.  Here's a video of the explosion.

Source:  ອ.ອ້າຍນຸ ຄົນໂຕດຳ via Facebook, February 14, 2025

A Lao tradition - the blessing of the home

Source:  Lao Heritage Trails, 2022

In Laos, there are many spiritual ceremonies for all sorts of life events and they often intertwine animism with Buddhism.  One of those rituals is the blessing of the home which is typically done when you move into a new home or are about to build a new one.  Have a look.

Lao Food Festival 2025 in Vientiane

Source:  PadupDin, January 23, 2025

From January 22-26, Vientiane again hosted the Lao Food Festival.  An exciting event for all the foodies out there.  And it was free to attend!

The Fascinating Cuisine of Laos: From Sticky Rice to Mekong Stingrays

Source:  OTR Food & History, January 29, 2025

Take a deep dive into Lao food intertwined with history, culture, and travel from this awesome Youtube channel, OTR Food & History.

The Race to Save Luang Prabang: A Battle Between Progress and Preservation

Source:  Robloak (August 3, 2024)

Luang Prabang became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995.  However, development, investors and an influx of tourists are reshaping the town.  It's now at risk of losing its title and being delisted.  Have a look to see why that is.

Beautiful performance by a Lao traditional orchestra

Source:  World Wood Day, 2018

Back in 2018, Laos hosted the World Wood Day - an annual event held in different cities around the world by the World Wood Day Foundation.  At the event, the Lao orchestra performed using many Lao traditional musical instruments, several of which are made from wood.  Have a look.

Chinese Support for Laos: Blessing or Curse?

Source:  Sebastian Glaab, DW News (2024)

In this documentary, DW News looks into how Chinese investment into Laos is changing both the physical and economic environment in the country.  Topics covered include dams, relocated villages, shopping malls, high speed trains, poverty alleviation vs. debt.  Have a look.

A Vientiane-Pakse bus crashed, leaving 1 dead and 43 Injured in Saravan

Original title:  Bus Crash Leaves One Dead, 43 Injured
By:  KPL News, January 26, 2025

Source:  KPL News, January 26, 2025

Creating golden Lao art work

The results surprised even me.  Take a look as I gilded this wood carving that I bought in Laos almost 20 years ago into a new piece of temple inspired art work.

Miss Grand Laos 2024 national costume

Image source:  Miss Grand, 2024

Several months ago in October 2024, in an incredible costume display during the national costume portion of the Miss Grand competition, Lao contestant and Pakse native, Souksavanh Vongsomphou, came out in not just a costume but practically an entire on-stage set piece.

Landlocked - The Railroad to Laos

Source:  Andy Boreham, Reports on China, September 14, 2023

In this short documentary (24 minutes) from 2023, follow along with Andy Boreham as he travels from Kunming in southern China's Yunnan Province to the Lao People's Democratic Republic, stopping off at Boten, Luang Prabang, and Vientiane.

AP News report from December 1975 - when everything changed in Laos

Source:  Associated Press (AP News)

In this Throwback Thursday post, we're sharing a video from Associated Press (AP News) produced on December 23, 1975 which was just 19 days after the official creation of the Lao People's Democratic Republic.

In 2023, the nak was accepted into the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage items

Source:  UNESCO

Back in 2023, the naga (or nak in Lao) motif was inscribed on to the UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.  This was the video submission presented to UNESCO for consideration.

Vientiane celebrates New Year 2025 with a bang

By: Laoconnection.com, January 1, 2025

This year's international New Year's celebrations went beyond anything the country of Laos and its humble capitol have ever seen.  A great way to cap off Visit Laos Year 2024.