Laos, baby. Whoda thunk?

I was not sure they had electricity in Laos. Given their 40-year history of Marxist rule, I was pretty sure they didn't have internet. Nonetheless, I have my first visitor from Laos.

Laos, of course, is officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia. Laos shares borders with Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south, and Thailand to the west. It has been a Marxist nation since the Pathet Lao took over in 1975. The population is about 6.8 million. It used to be a French colony. But that ended a long time ago.

The country is considered one of the most corrupt in the world, and the place is poor, poor, poor. Other than that, I'm sure it's a great place. What Marxist nation isn't, right? So anyway, give a big Eff You welcome to Laos, or at least to the only person in Laos allowed to access the internet.

This is Pha That Luang in Vientiane, the national symbol of Laos.