The world's 10 best value destinations

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5. Laos

Opening its doors to tourism in the early 1990s, Laos has since changed rapidly, but not so fast that you've missed out. It retains its laid-back pace, and you're forced to relax because travel...is...slow. As with neighbouring Cambodia, the infrastructure is not yet there in the northern provinces; you'll be catching a boat, or winding over crazily rough roads on buses. In the towns and cities you can hire a scooter for less than US$8 a day. Ironically, most travellers here stick to a very well-trodden path, but if you can do without the niceties, you'll discover the potential of less-travelled terrain.

Pictured: Travelling down the Mekong River

Text reproduced with permission from Bluelist 2007, copyright 2006 Lonely Planet Publications. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced except with permission in writing from the publisher.