LAOS

When one hears the name Laos, many people immediately think of two things, The Golden Triangle and the massive covert bombing Ops of the Vietnam war. Legend has it that the name refers to when gold was used by Chinese traders to pay for opium grown there.

The Golden Triangle is the area where the borders of Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar meet at the confluence of the Ruak and Mekong rivers. The name "Golden Triangle"—coined by the CIA is commonly used more broadly to refer to an area of approximately 950,000 square kilometres (367,000 sq mi) that overlaps the mountains of the three adjacent countries.
Along with Afghanistan in the Golden Crescent, it has been one of the largest opium-producing areas of the world since the 1950s. Most of the world's heroin came from the Golden Triangle until the early 21st century when Afghanistan took over and became the world's largest producer.The majority of the region's opium is now produced in Myanmar and, to a lesser extent, Laos.

The earliest known inhabitants of what is now Laos were the Mon-Khmer people, who lived in the area around 3,000 years ago. They were followed by the Tai people, who migrated from southern China into Southeast Asia around 2,000 years ago. The Tai people settled in what is now Laos and established a number of small city-states, which were ruled by local chieftains.

The first major kingdom to emerge in Laos was the Khmer Empire, which ruled the region from the 9th to the 13th centuries. The Khmer Empire was based in what is now Cambodia, but it extended its influence into Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam. During this period, the Khmer built a number of important temples and other structures in Laos, including the temple complex at Wat Phou, which is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

In the 14th century, the Khmer Empire began to decline, and a number of smaller kingdoms emerged in Laos. One of the most important of these kingdoms was the Kingdom of Lan Xang, which was founded in the 14th century by Fa Ngum. Fa Ngum was a prince from the Tai kingdom of Muang Sua, which was located near modern-day Luang Prabang. He conquered a number of neighboring city-states and established the Kingdom of Lan Xang, which became one of the most powerful states in Southeast Asia.

EDITED BY IAN TAMAWIDJAJA