Ask WhoIam anything about living in Vientiane, Laos

[WhoIam]

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Yeah, could you expand on the internet situation in Laos?

I'm a low limit grinder so I would definitely want at least somewhat consistent access. Is this very hard to find? You mentioned it was very expensive. Do you know how much?


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If you have a laptop there are internet cafes everywhere. Connection speed varies depending on the place, time of day, day of the week, and how many people are there. Genreally you want as few packpackers as possible because they'll kill your bandwidth with skype, webcams, youtube, etc. Prices range from $.40-$.60/hr. There are a handful of places I've found that are consistently reliable. The Lao version of Starbucks has wifi that be accessed at roughly $2/hr and is the most reliable (and by far most expensive) option.

Your options for at-home broadband are ADSL, Planet, and your cell phone. From what I remember, a 156k DSL line is about $250/month with a $100 installation fee. 256k is $350/month. Prices vary depending on speed and whether you're willing to share the line with others. Planet is the most reliable option; it uses a satellite dish in your yard to send and receive the web via microwaves. Prices start at $30/ month for .5 GIG TOTAL UPLOAD AND DOWNLOAD, $50 for 1 gig, and so on. Somewhat reasonable plans with unlimited access are available but you have to buy the equipment which starts at $1k. Finally, if you have the right cell phone, you can use it as a modem for something like $.10/minute. I don't know much about this. Oddly you can do this and use your Blackberry, but none of the phone companies offer voicemail.

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How is the street food? Safe or is it better to stay away?

[/ QUOTE ] There isn't much street food, at least compared to Thailand. When it exists, it's usually connected to a small restaurant. I eat cheap local food all the time and have never had any serious problems.