There was a great sense of pride across the country after the European Council on Tourism and Trade (ECTT) presented Laos with the council’s award for ‘World’s Best Tourist Destination for 2013′ in Vientiane yesterday. The award demonstrates the great achievements Laos has made in terms of tourism development and all it has to offer in terms of its rich [...]

The US Embassy and the Luang Prabang Film Festival have joined forces to produce Laos’ first American Film Week, which will take place May 6-10, 2013.  In addition to nightly screenings on the Mekong Riverfront, several American experts will have travelled to Laos to lead discussions on different aspects of the film industry.  These discussions are free and open to the public, and will be [...]

The Lao government is defining its national dress (formal wear) for use instead of normal suits on important domestic and international occasions in order to promote Lao traditions and culture and showcase the characteristics of the nation. A seminar to define the national formal dress for men and women took place on Tuesday in Vientiane and was presided over by [...]

VIENTIANE MAI: Many road accidents occur in Laos because drivers are careless and do not follow traffic regulations. Take the accident pictured above, for example; it arose on the morning of the 29th of April at 7am in Nonkhor Neua Village during peak hour when most people were travelling to work. The accident involved a 10-wheeler hitting a motorbike. The truck’s [...]

Mahosot Hospital is undertaking a ‘keep smiling’ initiative to encourage all nurses and medical staff at the hospital to maintain a friendly and pleasant demeanour whilst providing medical services to their patients. Deputy Director General of the hospital, Ms Aphone Visathep, told Vientiane Times that this is one of many activities aiming to upgrade the hospital to become a more modern facility [...]

Many people in Vientiane feel they don’t have time to cook for themselves, or they prefer the convenience of street stalls and restaurants. Pho shops, ‘khao piak’ noodle stands and roadside stalls are nearly always full of patrons. But do customers really know exactly what is in their food? MSG is widely used throughout the world, particularly in Asian cooking, [...]

This hot season could see a rise in the potential for outbreaks of Rabies in Laos, as the disease is most active in infected animals during warmer weather. A severe disease for both animals and humans, Rabies is virtually untreatable and can be fatal within a number of days, so extreme caution must be exercised around any untreated animals. Rabies, which [...]

Entertainment venues in Vientiane have again been issued warnings after continued flouting of regulations. Out of 56 registered entertainment venues, 55% are fully compliant with all regulations, 35% have failed to meet some criteria and 8% have  failed to meet regulations. Vientiane nightclubs that mange to meet all criteria and follow all regulations until the end of the year will be rewarded [...]

Students can now use their identity cards to withdraw money from ATMs thanks to cooperation between Banque pour le Commerce Exterieur Lao Public (BCEL) and the National University of Laos (NUOL). An official ceremony to unveil the new cards was held at the university in Vientiane on Wednesday, presided over by the Deputy Minister of Education and Sports, Associate Prof. Dr Kongsy Sengmany and the Vice Governor of the Bank of the Lao PDR, Mr [...]

Trello is the project manager’s panacea. It’s a free, web-based task management application that allows for collaborative project management and can be applied to almost any cooperative effort. Whether you’re working together on a joint project, business, film, club or social group: use Trello! Trello is based upon the Kanban method for production, a Japanese idea that was popularized by Toyota in the [...]