Laos
Laos is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. After many years of war and isolation, this country with its most pristine environment, intact cultures is now fast developing. Vientiane - the capital, is still refreshingly simple, if not say a little languid. There is the historic royal city of Luang Prabang, where watching as hundreds of saffron-robed monks move silently among centuries-old monasteries is as romantic a scene as you’ll experience anywhere in Asia. Away from the cities, there is so much more to see- 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 plateau, the Xiangkhoang in the north and the Bolaven Plateau at the southern end.