Shopping in Laos is improving fast. The growth in tourist numbers has been matched, if not exceeded, by the number of stores flog­ging fabrics, handicrafts and regional favorites from Vietnam and Thailand. Vientiane and Luang Prabang are the main shopping central and in these cities it's easiest to com­pare quality and price. It is, however, always nice to buy direct from the producer, and in many villages that's possible.

There is a total ban on the export of an­tiques and Buddha images from Laos, though the enforcement of this ban is slack.

Bargaining

Bargaining is a tradition introduced by early Arab and Indian traders, however, in most places in Laos it's not nearly as aggressive as in other parts of Southeast Asia. Good bargain­ing, which takes practice, is one way to cut costs. Most things bought in a market should be bargained for and it can't hurt to try in a shop, though increasingly prices are fixed.

In general the Lao are gentle and very scrupulous in their bargaining practices. A fair price is usually arrived at quickly with little attempt to gouge the buyer (tour op-erectors may be an exception to this rule). The amount they come down is usually less than what you see in neighboring coun­tries. Laos definitely has a 'two-tier pricing system' when it comes to quoting prices to foreigners, but it's nowhere near as evident as in Vietnam.

What is really important here is to re­member that a good bargain is where both the buyer and the vendor end up happy. By all means try to get a fair price. But if you find yourself getting hot under the collar over 1000 kip (about US$0.10) it's time to take a reality check. In this instance both you and the seller lose face and everyone ends up unhappy. In a country as cheap as Laos, it's just not worth it.

Antiques

Vientiane, Luang Prabang and Savannakhet each have a sprinkling of antique shops. Anything that looks old could be up for sale in these shops, including Asian pot­tery (especially porcelain from the Ming dynasty of China), old jewellery, clothes, carved wood, musical instruments, coins and bronze statuettes. Because of the gov­ernment's lax enforcement of the ban on the export of antiques, due to an overall lack of funds and personnel, you might be tempted to buy these objects. However, bear in mind not only that it is illegal to take them out of the country but that if you do so you will be robbing the country of its precious and limited heritage. For more on the fight against antiquity theft in Southeast Asia, see www.heritagewatch.org.

Carvings

The Lao produce well-crafted carvings in wood, bone and stone. Subjects include anything from Hindu or Buddhist mythol­ogy to themes from everyday life. Authentic opium pipes can be found, especially in the north, and sometimes have intricately carved bone or bamboo shafts, along with engraved ceramic bowls. The selection, though, gets smaller every year.

To shop for carvings, look in antique or handicraft stores. Don't buy anything made from ivory; quite apart from the elephant slaughter caused by the ivory trade, many countries will confiscate any ivory items found in your luggage.

Fabric (Textiles)

Textiles are among the most beautiful, most recognizable and easiest items to buy while you're in Laos. Together with a hanger that was once part of a loom, these can look great on a wall at home and, unlike many handi­crafts that are ubiquitous throughout Indo­china, these are unmistakably Lao.

Silk and cotton fabrics are woven in many different styles according to the geographic provenance and ethnicity of the weavers. Al­though Lao textiles do have similarities with other Southeast Asian textiles, Lao weaving techniques are unique in both loom design and weaving styles, generating fabrics that are very recognizably Lao.

Generally speaking, the fabrics of the north feature a mix of solid colors with complex geometric patterns - stripes, diamonds, zig­zags, animal and plant shapes - usually in the form of a phda nung or sin (a women's wrapa­round skirt). Sometimes gold or silver thread is woven in along the borders. Another form the cloth takes is the phaa bjang, a narrow Lao-Thai shawl that men and women wear singly or in pairs over the shoulders during weddings and festivals.

The southern weaving styles are often marked by the mat-mii technique, which in­volves 'tie-dyeing' the threads before weaving. The result is a soft, spotted pattern similar to Indonesian ikat. Mat-mii cloth can be used for different types of clothing or for wall-hang­ings. Among Lao Thoeng and Mon-Khmer communities in the southern provinces there is a mat-mii weaving tradition which features pictographic story lines, sometimes with a few Khmer words, numerals or other non-representational symbols woven into the pattern. In Sekong and Attapeu Provinces some fabrics mix beadwork with weaving and embroidery.

Among the Hmong and Mien tribes, square pieces of cloth are embroidered and quilted to produce strikingly colorful fabrics in ap­parently abstract patterns that contain ritual meanings. In Hmong these are called fan-dau (flower cloth). Some larger quilts feature scenes that represent village life, including both animal and human figures.

Many tribes among the Lao Soung and Lao Thoeng groups produce woven shoulder bags in the Austro-Thai and Tibetan-Burmese tra­ditions, like those seen all across the moun­tains of South Asia and Southeast Asia. In Laos, these are called nyaam. Among the most popular nyaam nowadays are those made with older pieces of fabric from 'antique' phaa nung or from pieces of hill-tribe clothing. Vien­tiane's Talat Sao (Morning Market ) is one of the best places to shop for this kind of accessory.

The best place to buy fabric is in the weav­ing villages themselves, where you can watch how it's made and get 'wholesale' prices. Fail­ing this, you can find a decent selection and reasonable prices at open markets in provin­cial towns, including Vientiane's Talat Sao. Tailor shops and handicraft stores generally charge more and quality is variable. In Vien­tiane and Luang Prabang several stores are dedicated to high-quality textiles, with high prices to match.

Jewellery

Gold and silver jewellery are good buys in Laos, although you must search hard for well-made pieces. Some of the best silverwork is done by the hill tribes. Gems are also some­times available, but you can get better prices in Thailand.