Laos

Best arrival window: November, in the cool dry season before the slash-and-burn haze season starts in March. Long-stay expats cluster in Vientiane (Sisattanak, Chanthaboury) and Luang Prabang's old town; Vang Vieng draws shorter-stay nomads off the Vientiane-Luang Prabang fast train. Tourist visa-on-arrival is 30 days for $30, extendable once at the immigration office for another 30; there is no formal digital-nomad route, so business or family-sponsored visas are the long-stay paths.