VEINTIANE, LAOS

Laos is a Southeast Asian country traversed by the Mekong River and known for mountainous terrain, French colonial architecture, hill tribe settlements and Buddhist monasteries. Vientiane, the capital, is the site of the That Luang monument, where a reliquary reportedly houses the Buddha’s breastbone, plus the Patuxai war memorial and Talat Sao (Morning Market), a complex jammed with food, clothes and craft stalls. The word Laos was coined by the French, who united the three Lao kingdoms in French Indochina in 1893. Laos is a mountainous country with a rich history that stretches back 10000 years. With Buddhism as its main religion, there are hundreds of Buddhist.