Vientiane, Laos
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Adita Kittycoon has learned to anticipate questions.
No, it’s not Thailand, but it’s next to Thailand. No, it’s not China, but it’s next to China. No, it’s not Vietnam, but it’s next to Vietnam.
Kittykoon, who is Laotian but grew up primarily in the United States, is used to people not knowing where she’s from.
His father worked at the United Nations Diplomatic Mission to Laos in New York City. As a result, he spoke fluent English, which became an asset when he returned to his birthplace.
Today, Kittykoon runs a media and creative marketing company in Vientiane, a city of about 850,000 people.
“It’s very comfortable and fun. People are generally kind to each other,” said Kittykoon, who is raising three children in Vientiane. “I like the atmosphere of this place, so I want to continue living here.”
Vientiane has existed along the Mekong River for centuries, but December marks its 50th anniversary as the center of the Lao Democratic People’s Republic. It is the youngest communist capital in the world after Beijing, Havana, Hanoi and Pyongyang.
This is not Bangkok on the Mekong River. As a landlocked country, Laos receives far fewer tourists than its beach-bound neighbors. There are no skyscrapers. Public transportation is minimal. Vientiane’s small airport has only six gates and only supports short-haul flights from around the region.
Global brands are rare. Most chains are Thai or Chinese, but a few Starbucks have opened in recent years. Starbucks’ Vientiane branded cups have become an unexpected collector’s item online. A DoubleTree by Hilton opened in the city in 2024. It was one of the first Western hotel brands to expand here.
Try poop tea in Laos
Silk cannot be made without silkworms. They are 3-inch long insects that eat and poop a lot. CNN Travel Editor Lilit Marcus visited a shop in Laos to drink tea infused with roasted silkworm dung.
What about tourism? The most popular attractions are the Patuxay Victory Monument, dedicated to the Lao people who fought for independence from France, and Wat Si Saket, a temple known for its thousands of Buddha statues and paintings.
The first thing most people notice about Vientiane is the heat. Like other capitals in Southeast Asia, it is a hot and humid country with long summers and rainy seasons.
Here in Vienna, as the locals call their city, motorbikes whiz past Buddhist temples and low-slung Brutalist government buildings. In parks and public squares, friends gather on chairs and eat barbecued meats along with the ubiquitous bottle of Beer Lao. Laos’ national flag, red and dark blue with a bright white circle in the middle, is hung between trees or affixed to the sides of food stalls.
Vientiane and beyond
Although Lao’s economy has grown over the past decade, the World Bank notes that “high inflation, a weak currency, and declining real wages are pushing workers away from paid or unpaid family work and into self-employment.” The country has been hit hard by the pandemic, and its fragile tourism sector suffered further damage last year when six tourists died from contaminated alcohol at a hostel in Vang Vieng, the country’s main party destination.
Many young Laotians are leaving the country to find work in Thailand, where the economy is booming, especially in the hospitality sector. Most Lao speakers can understand and speak Thai because the two languages are similar and many local TV channels show Thai movies and TV shows.
“Many of the manual workers are going overseas,” Kittykoon said. “There’s still a really educated demographic here, and they’re very popular.”
According to the World Bank, Laos’ economy is expected to grow by about 3.5% this year. Salaries have risen slightly, but inflationary pressures such as rising property prices have put home ownership out of reach for many.
But Laotian film director Kie Simon Luang, who spent years in France before returning, says some Laotians of his generation have returned who thought they had to live abroad to pursue a career in the creative field.
Luan, who enjoys checking out the city’s vibrant independent music scene in her spare time, says she’s energized by young people in Laos who are pushing the culture forward and changing notions of success.
And he believes a rising tide lifts all ships.
“It’s normal for a country to develop,” he says. “The population is increasing. We see that the standard of living is improving and the level of health is improving as well as hygiene. There are benefits to development.”
Inbound tourism is a growing sector of Lao’s economy, but most tourists come as part of a larger trip around Southeast Asia.
And when travelers visit Laos, it’s not Vientiane that most people go directly to.
A UNESCO World Heritage Site and former royal capital in northern Laos, Luang Prabang has long been the country’s centerpiece thanks to its beautiful and well-preserved French colonial buildings.
These days, the largest and fastest growing market for tourists is Laos’ neighbor to the north, China.
The Chinese-backed high-speed rail project linking Luang Prabang with Vang Vieng and Vientiane has been a huge hit. Travelers can now travel between Vientiane and Luang Prabang in two hours. It’s an itinerary that easily takes a day by car on local roads.
The train departs from China’s Yunnan province. Chinese travelers need a visa to go to Laos, but they can be exempted if they book a package tour with a Laos travel agency. As a result, Mandarin-language travel guides are popping up in border areas to lure Chinese tourists south.
Luang Prabang may be the most famous place in Laos.
However, as expatriate Sophie Stellar points out, this historic city is small and does not have as large a year-round population as Vientiane.
Many foreigners have come to the Lao capital to work for NGOs, teach English or French (the latter is still officially used within the government), or establish themselves as digital nomads.
Mr Stellar, originally from Sydney, first came to Laos to work for UNICEF in 1999 and has been based in Vientiane ever since. She quickly fell in love with her hometown, but wished she had a good, reliable place to buy cocktails that was open on Sundays and had English-speaking staff.
To fill that gap, she and two friends opened a cafe called Sticky Fingers in downtown Vientiane 10 years ago. Mr. Stellar then bought them out and became the sole owner, remaining in the country on a business owner visa.
Stellar likes to spend his free time cycling and boating around Vientiane’s green areas. However, when friends from out of town come to visit, he always recommends that they visit COPE, an organization that supports landmine victims.
“For some people, this is a real eye-opener,” she says. “This is a little bit of history about the Vietnam War and how badly bombed this place was.”
From 1964 to 1973, the United States dropped approximately 2 million bombs on Laos in what was known as the “Secret War.”
The attack was aimed at cutting off supply lines to the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War, and gave Laos the dubious honor of being the most bombed country in history per capita. There are currently an estimated 80 million unexploded bombs across the country, and nonprofit organizations help find and safely remove them.
Approximately 3 million tourists visited the country in 2025, compared to 32 million tourists in Thailand. Laos has announced a target of 5 million tourists per year.
In a world where overtourism is a constant concern, locals told CNN they love Vientiane’s easy and manageable lifestyle. And for foreigners like Stellar, it still feels like a secret.
“I’ve never been bored here,” she says. “So far.”
