Health officials come out of Nana Backpackers Hostel after checking documents in Vang Vieng, Laos, on Friday. Anupam Nath/AP hide caption
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View of a collection of defused cluster bombs and grenades used by an international bomb disposal group for training in Savannakhet, Laos, on May 2, 2006. Jerry Redfern/LightRocket via Getty Images hide caption
Smokes and flames billow from burning narcotic drugs during a destruction ceremony of seized narcotic drugs in outskirts of Yangon, Myanmar on June 26, 2018. Thein Zaw/AP hide caption
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Ka Lo, a member of the Marathon County Board in Wausau, Wis., spoke about the Trump administration's immigration policies at a Feb. 13 rally in the city. Rob Mentzer/Wisconsin Public Radio hide caption
Hmong Leaders Rally Against Trump Administration Deportation Push
Handlers, known as mahouts, ride elephants along a mountain ridge at the Elephant Conservation Center in Xayaboury, Laos. The center has 29 elephants, most of which spent long careers hauling logs in Laos' logging industry. Ashley Westerman/NPR hide caption
Giant concrete pylons rise from the Mekong River north of Luang Prabang, where a bridge is under construction. Ashley Westerman/NPR hide caption
Children and a woman sit on a locally made vehicle in Laos as they travel during flooding caused by the collapse of a dam in the Xe Pian-Xe Namnoy hydroelectric project in Attapeu Province. Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters hide caption
People find temporary refuge on a rooftop in Attapeu Province in southeastern Laos on Tuesday. Floodwaters inundated their village after a dam collapsed. Attapeu Today/AP hide caption
Chef James Syhabout says that, as he was writing the Hawker Fare cookbook, certain recipes became time machines, reminding him of who was in the room when it was made, and the surrounding colors and smells in the atmosphere. Eric Wolfinger/HaperCollins Publishers hide caption
With 'Hawker Fare,' Chef James Syhabout Shares Laotian Food He Grew Up With
Rainbow trout on a grill. Yia Vang says that food played a central role in his home — his mother grew vegetables and his father cooked meat over a fire pit in the backyard. Courtesy of Mary Jo Horrman hide caption
Laotian Gen. Vang Pao, seen here calling in air strikes against suspected Communist positions from the Long Cheng Command Post in January 1972, led an army of Hmong tribesmen to fight against Communist insurgents backed by the North Vietnamese. A CIA-led effort that started in 1961 tried to help him in that fight. Bettmann/Bettmann Archive hide caption
North Korean restaurants, like this one in Vientiane, Laos, are run by the North Korean government as a way to earn hard currency. North Korea and Laos have had good relations for many years, but South Korea is trying to make inroads as well. Elise Hu/NPR hide caption
President Obama announced on Tuesday in Laos that the U.S. will provide additional assistance to help remove unexploded bombs dropped by the U.S. during the Vietnam War. "Given our history here, I believe the United States has a moral obligation to help Laos heal," Obama said. Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
Obama Pledges To Help 'Heal' Laos, Decades After U.S. Bombings
North Korean restaurants, like this one in Vientiane, Laos, don't just serve North Korean cuisine. They are run by the North Korean government as a way to earn hard currency to send back to an increasingly sanctioned Pyongyang. Elise Hu/NPR hide caption
A municipal worker sweeps along a pathway near the Mekong river, in the capital Vientiane, Laos. Manish Swarup/AP hide caption
Tiny Laos Readies For A Visit From Obama — And A Turn Under The Global Spotlight
Manophet climbs out of a crater in rural Xieng Khouang, Laos — a remnant of the U.S. bombing campaign during the Vietnam War. Jerry Redfern for NPR hide caption
Nearly everyone fishes for a living on Laos' Don Sadam Island, near the site of the controversial Don Sahang dam. Locals and environmentalists alike are worried about the dam's effects on fish migration. Michael Sullivan/NPR hide caption
Damming The Mekong River: Economic Boon Or Environmental Mistake?
Soldiers stand next to pieces of a Lao Airlines plane on Thursday after it crashed into the Mekong River near Pakse, Laos. Pornchai Kittiwongsakul/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
A Lao Airlines ATR similar to the one that crashed on Wednesday. Wikipedia Commons hide caption
Kongthaly works at Thanaleng station, the first and only railway station in Laos. He received his training in Thailand, as the Laos station adopted their operating system from Thailand railway. Ore Huiying hide caption
Former Hmong Gen. Vang Pao (right) in May 2000 during a wreath-laying ceremony at the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. Luke Frazza/AFP/Getty Images hide caption