Originally Posted by WhoIam

Lao Air is less safe than other airlines but obviously still very safe. I'd be a little concerned if I were constantly traveling around the country on business though. If you're concerned you can pay a bit more and go from BKK via Thai Airways. There's also the sleeper train and VIP busses from Bangkok. You can also fly to Udon and take a shuttle here.
You can buy a sim card for about $5 and refill cards are sold everywhere.
Would not be a problem
Bor Pen Nyang is good. Samlo has plenty of girls but they're almost all ugly. Everyone ends up at Don Chan Palace because it's the only place open after 1130 and there are tons of girls here, especially now in the off season. You can also meet girls at Music House which has live music and is kind of pricey.
It really depends on what you're eating/drinking. If you stick to beer you can easily spend less than $10/night. Prices range from a little under a dollar for a large beer to about $3 for a large Beerlao at Don Chan. There are no barfines because there are no beer bars or gogo bars, only freelancers.
Some places will not let you bring a girl back. Ones I know that are fine with it are Samsenthai Hotel and Chindamay hotel. Both of these are fairly inexpensive and are clean, have TVs, etc. If you want to spend $100/night you can stay at Don Chan itself which makes everything easier.
They have the same western brand as in Thailand (Durex?) and these will be at most minimarts. There are a couple asian brands out there but these tend to be smaller and probably of worse quality.

Originally Posted by WhoIam

There's a sleeper train to Nong Khai that's something like 600 baht for a 2nd class bed with air-con. You can get a VIP bus for about the same price and the seats are roughly equivalent to business class on an airplane. I actually prefered the bus because the ride was smoother and it was easier to sleep. From there it's something like $5 of tuk-tuks and busses to get to Vientane. Everyone else will be going there so just follow them. A step up from this would be flying domestic to Udan Thani and taking a shuttle to Vientiane.

I don't think the visa is less in bkk, it should be around $25 for you at the border.

Originally Posted by WhoIam

Much less polluted than bkk, but obviously this isn't true if you're walking next to a main rd or something. It can get smoggy when the humidity is really high.
Hot, maybe 32-42 C. About the same as Thailand.
You would have to google this.

There are moneychangers everywhere, both independent and connected to banks. You can find better exchange rates if you need to exchange large amounts of cash but I'm not sure why you would for a shorter trip. There are also plenty of ATMs to get cash at too. Kip are worthless outside Laos.

Originally Posted by WhoIam

I've been writing a bunch of stuff for a blog/travel website I have planned. Unfortunately my first choice, lifeinlaos.com, is already a website. Anyone have any ideas for a name? I want an independent website, not xxxxxxxxx.wordpress.com.

Originally Posted by rutang

how hard will it be to find an actual opium den? that's been one of my goals for some time, and when burma went to hell, i thought i'd lost my last chance to easily find one

Originally Posted by SomethingClever

i'd say northern thailand would be a better bet, but they'll kill your ass for drugs over there.

in cambodia i was offered all manner of drugs and i don't think their laws are as harsh.

Originally Posted by ofdabeat

Laws in Cambodia? lol