i went there last march as a stopover between thailand and vietnam. the vast majority of tourists there were either mainland chinese families or australians/europeans in their teens/20s doing the usual sea backpacking route. the country itself didn't really have anything that would make me want to spend a long period of time there, but the bus ride from vientiane to hanoi was memorable. south asia in general is a really worthwhile region to visit, your money goes far there and it would be a nice departure from the usual canadian climate.   why? it's actually easier for autists/loners like me to travel since they tend to avoid the situations that usually lead to danger. (having an accident/pissing off someone while intoxicated or interacting with a suspicious person and getting robbed/kidnapped). no one will harm you as long as you don't go out of your way to bother people. travel while you still can because more and more places become gentrified, commercialized, or literally destroyed as time goes on
United States