Remember, Laos is the most heavily bombed country in the world, over half the bombs dropped in Vietnam were actually done in Laos. The result; tons of unexploded ordinance, its very dangerous to veer off trails that have not been cleared, this still kills hundreds of locals every year over there. Look up "Plain of Jars" as an example.

Also, this gov't is poor, so corruption is common. Laos is still holding US serviceman captive from the Vietnam War (held by the Pathet Lao), the politicians in Washington never negotiated for them at the end of the Vietnam War since they denied operations in Laos for so many years.

Bottom line: Laos has two faces, one with beatiful scenery and encouraging growth, the other trying to recover from a brutal past and still clinging to communist ideals.

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