And the relaxed attitude of the Lao people in general should help mitigate development greed.
Nature, which the Lao government has been careful to protect, seems to be enough on its own.
"They did what they know best, " another Lao aid worker said, on condition of anonymity.
Zhu's wife, Lao An, whom he met in secondary school, also studied engineering at Qinghua.
"Never had citizens here been consulted in that way before, " a member of the Lao aid community said.
In 1997, some 1m were in Thailand two-thirds from Myanmar, with smaller numbers of Chinese, Lao, Cambodians and Bangladeshis.
Seven of nine members of the Lao Politburo are generals - thick-headed veterans well past their sell-by date.
Like the spouses of most Chinese leaders, Lao keeps a low profile and seldom accompanies her husband to public functions.
En route, we also stopped at an open-air restaurant for grilled Mekong fish, one of the most pleasing staples of the Lao diet.
Ms Gindoz had just written an email to partners critical of the Lao government and the lack of freedom of speech.
The People's Forum was a chance for Lao grassroots organisations to meet and speak with activists and campaigners from around the world.
The North Vietnamese soldiers and the communist Pathet Lao soldiers could not and would not tell the difference: Hmong was only skin deep.
Lee Thorn, the head of the Jhai Foundation, an American-Lao organisation, has been working for nearly five years in the Hin Heup district.
Now prominent chains such as Lao Feng Xiang have ambitious plans to open standalone stores in next few years, especially in smaller cities.
Similarly, after his experience with the Lao newt, Bryan Stuart discovered a species of poison snake and decided to keep its location secret.
BBC: Should the location of newly discovered species be hidden?
When Lao-tzu said a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, implicitly he was telling you to take that first step.
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"We share views with Vietnam, but between friendly nations that is normal, " says Lao Foreign Minister Somsavat Lengsavad (Click here for the interview).
One Western diplomat in Vientiane said they believe Mr Sombath was now caught in a power struggle between conservatives and reformers within the Lao government.
The Lao government has plans to build a series of dams along the Nam Ou River, which would have a profound impact on the area.
Before the 1975 takeover, Laos was split not only between the Royal Lao government and the communist victors, the Pathet Lao, but also within provinces.
For some species, such as the Lao newt, smuggling can have a devastating effect, but most amphibians face the much greater threat of habitat destruction.
BBC: Should the location of newly discovered species be hidden?
The Lao Department of Education will organize teachers training workshops partnering with local teachers colleges for ethic teachers in primary education to ameliorate this situation.
National policy makers from developing countries in the region including Lao PDR, Viet Nam, Indonesia and China will be present to discuss common approaches to regional-level qualifications frameworks.
UNESCO: Detailview | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
As expat Canadian Sandra Yuck, who owns the exquisite Lao crafts store Caruso Lao, observes, big developments are coming to this little town, now the focus of so much world interest.
There are other problems: few Lao and Cambodian officials speak English, the working language of ASEAN, and Lao officials may not be able to afford plane tickets to attend meetings.
The Lao government claims that between 1964 and 1973, 260 million bombs fell on Laos making the country on a per capita basis the most heavily bombed civilian population ever.
From there a two-hour drive took me to the border, where I exited Thai immigration and wandered over to a wooden hut on the Lao side to obtain a visa and clear immigration.
True patriots, they wanted to celebrate the 25th anniversary of national day, the 45th anniversary of the Lao People's revolutionary Party and of course the 80th anniversary of Kaysone Phomvihane's birthday.
Most of these teachers are local villagers in the communities who have some knowledge of Lao language and have been familiarized with the curriculum that they have been taught previously at school.
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