Vientiane - Post Report Question and Answers
How would you describe the availability and cost of groceries and household supplies relative to your home country?
Cost of living in Laos is VERY cheap; however, I have found that the quality of food isn't that great. It is also very difficult to shop as there are 5 supermarkets total, but even so you find yourself having to buy things in multiple places. There is an organic market on Saturdays where you can get fresh veggies and fruits, and fruit stands throughout the city, but in terms of getting other items, I rely on consumable shipments or Amazon. - Mar 2023
If you shop locally, it's very cheap. Imported goods are more expensive and are relatively easy to find. Rimping Supermarket has a wide variety of choices and there are other smaller shops that stock up on western goods. - Jun 2020
There are a lot of small stores with a random assortment of western goods which makes finding things difficult. Stuff is around, but when/where is a challenge. The cost of western goods is also a lot higher. If you're willing to buy local products, it can be very cheap. - Oct 2018
While we were there, we were given a consumables shipment. So we did take advantage of that. Household supplies were found, just not as adequate as one may like from the U.S. Groceries, especially European and American ones could be found at Phimphone, Simeung, and the small "twin peaks" market for a cost higher than in the US. With the Embassy, we had access to the Commissary in Bangkok and 3 or 4 times a year we would arrange shipments of orders from Bangkok that would arrive via train and customers could pick up their items. We could receive frozen/fresh items on dry ice, dry items, sodas, etc. It was a good benefit. - Jan 2014
