Back in 2008 I spent some time in Laos, I loved the place. The country only really opened up to tourists in the 1990s and at least when I visited, it was so far untouched by global corporations like McDonalds and Starbucks, which was nice.
I especially enjoyed my time in Luang Prabang. 
One of the things I was able to do in Luang Prabang in between sightseeing was to help local students with their English as part of a program called Big Brother Mouse. Si Phan Don (Four Thousand Islands), in the Mekong River was also an amazing place to explore, I still remember all the locals saying “sabaidee” (hello) as I wandered down the small paths around the islands. I’d love to go back and would be interested to see if much has changed.
clouds of white 
Laos is a very interesting country indeed and I have filmed there. As a journalist, you may be interested in an Australian film project that focuses on a true story that is worth following up on: https://www.facebook.com/thebodhitreemovie