Quaint Little Laos

Laos has roughly 7 million people, just about the same as Hong Kong.  In terms of population, it is a small country, ranked 105 in the world.  In terms of land area, it has !238, 000 square kilometers, more than 200 times that of Hong Kong, ranked 82 in the world.  If only we can purchase some of that land from them, both of us should be happy.  

Pakse, with ~80,000 people, has an international airport, from where you can fly to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, Bangkok  in Thailand, and Siem Reap in Cambodia.  You can actually purchase a picket, check in at the counter, and then pass immigration, all in one place. 

At the gate, you can watch your plane land, passengers walking out, and then walk out to board your plane.  

One thing they have a lot of is cows.  

There are also a lot of narrow, long boats on the nightly Mekong River.  Theoretically, if you jump into the Mekong, and survive the waterfalls and rapids along the way, you can pass through Cambodia, Vietnam, and reach the South China Sea.  

They also have a lot of monks, and their temples look like those in Cambodia and Thailand.  When the monks cross the street they also J-walk just like the rest of us. 

On one of the side walk shrines, there is something that look very like the famous 4-faced Buddha in Bangkok.  Could this also actually be a Brahma, like that one in Bangkok, instead of a Buddha?

They also worship a scared tree, other than Buddha. 

The sunset over the Mekong River can be so so beautiful.  

Apparently, both the young man and the young lady were using their mobile phones, instead of speaking with each other.  On this point, Laos is no different from other countries.