In Luang Prabang I found the Lao people to be very nice, considerably more polite and softer-spoken than Thais. School children for example would walk past us and smile and say "Sabai Dee" - there was none of the annoying piss-taking - "Hey You!! Farang, where you go? - Ha Ha Ha!!!" - that you get in Thailand. Same goes for the groups of Lao schoolgirls or teenagers that we passed, usually they just weren't interested in us but if they did acknowledge us it was a smile and "Sabai Dee" - with none of that stupid "snicker-snicker-snicker, Hee, Hee, Hee, giggle-giggle-giggle" that Thai girls find so necessary to engage in. I've already heard all the excuses for Thai behavior uncountable times: "They're not used to seeing foreigners" (Oh yeah?) "They're just being friendly" (Oh yeah, since when was mocking somebody who doesn't understand your language friendly?) In this regard the difference between Thailand and Laos was vastly noticeable and due, I suspect to some extent, to Laos having being colonized and Thailand not. I also noticed that most Lao people spoke English far better than most Thais do. Admittedly I encountered some Lao who had virtually zero English skills but the ones I met who spoke English had close to total fluency with clearer pronunciation and better aural comprehension. This intrigued me, especially as I have been involved in English language training in Thailand for the past 20 plus years and have long been puzzled over the painfully slow progress of virtually all Thai students, except for nursery and kindy kids. Perhaps as Laos is a less affluent country than Thailand the Lao feel they need to try harder to succeed, and on the other hand perhaps they are just a tad brighter, which, if the case, would be ironic as I only recently found out that Thai history books, used in schools throughout the kingdom, teach Thai school children that Laotians are intellectually inferior to Thais. I also found the Lao have no trouble understanding me when I spoke to them in Thai (the 2 languages, Thai and Lao, are very similar). After living in Thailand for so many years I can speak and read the language pretty well, yet so many Thai just won't listen when I speak to them. It's as if they throw up a mental barrier - "He's a farang, farang can't speak Thai, I can't speak Farang, please go away from me" and just refuse to listen or tune in. I've often had to literally force people to listen to me - "Stop! Listen to me, I'm speaking Thai to you, listen to what I say." Then they get it - "Oh, khun poot Thai geng" (You speak Thai very well - Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!!!) But this ridiculous situation just never happened in Laos, not this trip, nor last trip, I spoke in Thai/Lao and people answered me in Thai/Lao, the whole communication process went smoothly and hiccup free. I was also treated as an individual and the Lao spoke directly to me and not about me through my Thai wife: one of several things that infuriates me in Thailand.
I read this and just had to coment. I also speak thai very well ( 20 ++ years in the country) but have moved to cambodia and notice the same thing. Khmers are much better at english including the kids and never laugh or snicker at you the way thai's will and many Khmers speak thai a bit and are more than happy to talk to you in the thai or english.
One of the reaons i left was the "thai" attitude which is cute at first but after a while just gets to ya.
Great description of Laos Thanks