The days in which most Lao people thought the internet was some sort of new-fangled fish­ing device are fast disappearing. Internet cafes are popping up fast, and you can get online in most, but not all, provincial capitals. Gener­ally speaking, if tourists go there in numbers, someone will have established a connection. In places where there's plenty of competi­tion - such as Vientiane and Luang Prabang -rates are usually very low, about US$0.50 to US$1 an hour. In towns where there are only one or two places offering such services, or where they need to call long-distance to reach the server, rates will be higher; between US$3 and US$6 an hour. Broadband is spreading across the country and speeds are usually pretty fast; though in the sticks they can be excruciatingly slow.

Computers in most internet cafes have messenger software such as Yahoo! and MSN Messenger loaded and increasingly Skype, though you might need to search around for a headset.

If you're travelling with a laptop, internet cafes usually allow you to plug into their bandwidth for the same cost as using a fixed computer. To get online in your hotel you'll probably need to be in a newer mid-range or top-end hotel. Some cafes in Vientiane, Luang Prabang and Vang Vieng have wi-fi. The other option is to buy a dial-up card from minimarts in Vientiane, or from some inter­net cafes in the provinces, and use it in your hotel room. The only problem with this is that outside of better midrange and top-end hotels, telephones in rooms are about as rare as rocking-horse shit.