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)

The Bolenberg chapel sits on a rise overlooking vineyards where leaves change colors to mark a change in the season in Orschwihr in the Alsace region of France, October 12, 2015. (Photo by Jacky Naegelen/Reuters)

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)

A moon light illuminates the sky through the clouds over a large line of grass between some home houses in the small village of Tafalla, northern Spain, Tuesday, May 1, 2018. (Photo by Alvaro Barrientos/AP Photo)

“Game of Thrones” star, actress Sophie Turner attends the “X-Men Dark Phoenix” Photocall At Cafe de l'Homme on April 26, 2019 in Paris, France. (Photo by Splash News and Pictures)

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)