Smile Boys! The Monks of Attapeu
These guys were the smiliest, happiest monks we've met. It may not look like it from the picture but they really were. Attapeu doesn't see many foreigners passing through so they were as curious as I was and were actually the ones who produced the camera first! On his camera phone the monk second from the right tried to show me the picture he'd taken of me but kept accidentally bringing up pictures of pretty young women...! I thought you monks weren't supposed to have these thoughts or any possessions for that matter...? Still, very friendly chaps.
Laos was under the control of Siam (Thailand) from the late 18th century until the late 19th century when it became part of French Indochina. The Franco-Siamese Treaty of 1907 defined the current Lao border with Thailand. In 1975, the Communist Pathe... ... read more 
