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.

A U.S. Army B-24 Liberator Bomber is hailed by a ground crewman as it takes off over a line of shark- nosed fighter planes at an advanced base in China on a mission on October 10, 1943, to bomb Japanese installations. (Photo by AP Photo)

Yanna Xian, 24, and her boyfriend Mitch Brown, 27, were swimming while on a boat tour off Honolulu, Hawaii last year, when a curious two-week-old humpback approached them. (Photo by South West News Service)

Thailand’s Sanctuary of Truth is an all-wood building filled with sculptures based on traditional Buddhist and Hindu motifs. It is covered in intricate wood carvings, meant to depict complex ideas about ancient thought, human responsibility, and the cycle of life. (Photo by Yury Taranik/Getty Inages)

A Thai devotee in a state of trance screams while holy water is sprayed as thousands race towards the edifice of the founder monk during the annual Tattoo fesitval at Wat Bang Phra on March 7, 2009 in Nakhom Pathom, Thailand. Some men take on the characteristics of sacred animals that have been carved onto their skin. Thousands of believers from all over Thailand come to take part in one of the country's most bizarre festivals about 50 miles outside Bangkok to pay respect to the temple's monks who are master tattooist. In Thai culture the tattoo or Thai word sak yant is worn as a symbol of spiritual and physical protection, many believe that the tattoo have mystical powers. Many tattoo fanatics choose to have monkeys and tigers as well as the Khmer/Cambodia ancient script on their bodies. (Photo Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)

Cast member Gina Hutton at SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium on December 02, 2022 in Sydney, Australia. King and Gentoo Penguins at SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium met their puppet counterparts ahead of Madagascar The Musical's Australian premiere in Sydney. (Photo by Wendell Teodoro/WireImage)

Myanmar punks walk in the downtown area as they take part in a punk gathering ahead of the Thingyan water festival in Yangon, Myanmar, 12 April 2017. Myanmar punks have been gathering in Yangon on the day ahead of Thingyan water festival to celebrate every year. The annual water festival is marked with large groups of people congregating to celebrate by splashing water and throwing powder at each others faces as a symbolic sign of cleansing and washing away the sins from the old year to mark the traditional New Year in countries such as Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. This year, the Myanmar Thingyan water festival falls on 13 April and ends on 16 April. (Photo by Lynn Bo Bo/EPA)

This picture taken on February 16, 2017 in Fangshan village in China's coastal province Fujians, shows a villager performing the “eating flowers” ritual. Villagers in eastern China have a unique way of washing away the taint of evil spirits – by bathing in a shower of scorching sparks. (Photo by Johannes Eisele/AFP Photo)