A sunflower “smiles” in a field in Tokyo on August 7, 2014. Some 20,000 sunflowers were enjoyed by visitors to the area this week. (Photo by Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP Photo)

Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south, and Thailand to the west. Its population was estimated to be around 6.5 million in 2012. A third (33%) of the country's population lives below the international poverty line which means living on less than U.S. $1.25 per day.

The love padlocks, called cadenas d’amour, multiplied until there were thousands of love tokens on the bridge, each engraved with a message of love. (Photo by Charles Platiau/Reuters)

Participants compete during the Strong Race event near Tukums, Latvia, May 3, 2015. More than 4,000 people participated in this 9 km endurance race with 33 different obstacles. (Photo by Ints Kalnins/Reuters)

American actress Ariana DeBose attends The Hollywood Reporter Nominees Night presented by IHG Hotels and Resorts at Spago on March 07, 2022 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Sara Jaye/Getty Images for IHG Hotels and Resorts)

A model wears a creation during the Chanel Cruise 2021/2022 collection presentation in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Tuesday, November 2, 2021. (Photo by Kamran Jebreili/AP Photo)

American singer Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini, known professionally as Doja Cat attends the 63rd Annual GRAMMY Awards at Los Angeles Convention Center on March 14, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)

A Rajasthani man displays his moustache during the closing ceremony of annual Camel Fair in Pushkar, in India's desert state of Rajasthan, on November 8, 2022. (Photo by Himanshu Sharma/AFP Photo)