Laos

Laos is a land locked country and surrounded by neighbors whose own histories have been convoluted and often intrusive. Its history is one of termoil and extreme poverty. Its own culture has been eclipsed by the better positioned neighbors of Myanmar, Thailand, China, Vietnam and Cambodia. Laos was a french colony for a half century and was never taken seriously by its French overlords. As with other former french colonies in Asia, independence in the early 1950s descended the nation into decades of trauma.

The country is about the same size as Minnesota or Romania with a population of around 6 million people which are predominately Buddhist. Laos capital of Vientiane sits across the Mekong River from Thailand. In the north lies Luang Prabang, the royal capital of the country in the 14th. century and is today a part of the World Heritage sites.