Okay, so you’re headed to Laos. Here are a few handy travel tips to keep in mind:

Don’t forget to pack a few extra: warm clothes, this may be the tropics but it can get surprisingly chilly in the hill country.
If you only have 24-48 hours in Laos, you must visit: a temple and sit by a river

If you’re going to haggle, keep this in mind: do it gently, this is not a hard bargaining country.

The one food I totally loved was: khao niaw – sticky rice

And the one food I will pass on in the future is: anything wild - Laotian wildlife has enough trouble surviving without us eating it.

I know it may sound weird, but you absolutely have to try: eating with your fingers - chopsticks are for the Chinese, knives and forks for westerners.

But as an independent traveler in Laos, the one thing I would avoid is: turning the monks into tourist attractions, they’re too polite to complain.

I was really surprised by: how mobile phones worked everywhere

The best way to fit in and not draw too much attention to yourself is to: slow down!

When it comes to getting around, I recommend: the riverboats

A good place to get basics (bottled water, toothpaste, a snack, stamps, phone cards) is: 7-Eleven, no seriously there are lots of what we’d call convenience stores.

And it’s always nice to say ‘please,’ ‘thank you,’ and ‘how much?’ in the native tongue. And that is:

Please – kalunaa
Thank you – khawp jai
How much – thao dai?