I have been with my wife 12 years now, who is a beautiful Lao lady. The people of Lao are friendly by nature, and are communal to a degree not found in many Western countries.
The LOVELY LADIES OF LAO could well be an advertising theme to attract tourists.
There are some beautiful places to visit in Lao, such as an area called Vang Vien, and other intriguing areas such as THE FIELD OF JARS, which is just a bus ride from the old capital of Luang Phrabang.
A lot , of the fruits here could well be termed exotic, such as mangosteen [locally known as munkhut] and turian, which smells not so good, and a lot of hotels have barred it from being in inside, but the flavour of which is very friendly to the taste-buds.
So if your intent is to visit South East Asia, I can recommend a trip to Lao PDR. Flying into the capital of Vientiane [Wattay Airport] is accessible from all SE Asia countries. If anybody manages to visit here, give me a yell and I will come have a Beer Lao with you.