Monday, June 21, 2010

Laos

Laos! (often spelled [incorrectly] without the exclamation point) is a country in southeast Asia where many of the people are Laotian and almost as many live in crippling poverty, which many human rights organizations have categorized as a Class 1 Bummer. Laotian heritage dates back to the Kingdom of a Million Elephants, established in the 14th century, but don't let that fool you - the average Laotian is actually rather unlikely to be crushed to death. So they've got that going for them, I guess. Along with neighboring Cambodia and Vietnam, Laos! was part of French Indochina until World War II, when the French reluctantly gave up on their benevolent efforts to teach southeast Asia a thing or two about wine. The capital is Vientiane, a city in the Mekong valley whose name means "City of Sandalwood." As such, the whole place smells just like one of those scented candles. It's pretty awesome.

Vientiane: Lao for "smells fuckin' great!"

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