Cicadas for dinner? When in Laos ...
Peter Alexander was one of the first Westerners to stay in Ban Ta Suang
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Tour a little-known Loa village
April 30: Peter Alexander was one of the first Westerners to stay over night in the village of Ban Ta Suang. He leads a web-exclusive tour of the Loa village.
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Reporter's notebook
LOAS - Laos may be among the most forgotten nations on Earth.

A little more than a decade after this Southeast Asian country first opened up to Western visitors, few people can place it on a map. As one tourist here told me: "My friends suggested a trip to Laos. I told them, 'Sure, but how do we get to Africa?'"

From the moment I landed, it felt like I had snuck into a dress rehearsal, as if this country was still getting ready for guests. Even the Lao people joke that Laos People's Democratic Republic (P.D.R.) stands for "Please Don't Rush." Vientiane is said to be one of the most laid-back capital cities in the world. Everything here moves slowly. The sun and humidity can do that to you. (As I type this, the temperature outside is 82 degrees and the humidity is hovering just below 70 percent, and that's a good day.) Still, in just two weeks here, I've found that this Buddhist country's tranquility, its slow pace