Use the links above to see more photos.

Landlocked Laos - surrounded by Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar and China - is made up of at least 50 different ethnic groups.

Caught between the greater forces of surrounding Kingdoms, Laos has always been a battleground.

Villages like this one are scattered all over the hills of Northern Laos along Route 13. There's not much arable land up this way and people cull what they can, both flora and fauna, from the forests. But if deforestation isn't controlled their lifestyle will soon be untenable.