Lane Xeing, the Land of a Million Elephants, is the historical name of modern day Laos. Laos is the only landlocked country in South East Asia, sharing its borders with China, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, and Viet Nam. It is a place that resonates deeply with the past, a land forgotten, due to its inaccessibility and its isolationist regime. The latter part of the twentieth century was a devastating period for Laos as it remained in an almost constant state of war. It began with the secret occupation of U.S. forces in the 1960’s and 70’s followed by the Communist takeover of 1973, and continues to this day with periodic guerilla attacks from the Hmong tribal group against the government and vice versa. The legacy of war is constant, as huge areas of the countryside still reel from the U.S. Army’s carpet-bombing campaigns, which left thousands of unexploded bombs buried in the hills and plains. An average of three thousand of these bombs still explode every year, often killing and maiming villagers as they plant their crops and perform their daily tasks. Victims of chemical warfare and Agent Orange still suffer as well. Despite this recent bloody history, the Lao people are overwhelmingly peaceful, polite, and gracious. Laos’s general lack of infrastructure has in many ways served to help preserve its timeless connection to the past; it has effectively kept the modern world at bay. Many traditional aspects of daily life that have largely disappeared from neighboring countries such as Thailand, and Viet Nam still exist in Laos today. Rivers have historically been the main conduits for transport as most roads have been too dangerous to travel because of poor conditions and banditry. Indeed, up until very recently almost all trade and travel was done by riverboat. The general Lao population resides mainly in larger towns but many of the ethnic hilltribes continue to live deep in the forests. Their villages remain very isolated, and are often accessible by footpath only; this has thankfully helped them keep their distinct traditions. While Laos is politically communist, its religious traditions remain strong. The predominant faith is Buddhism, although most tribal clans (twenty three of them) adhere to Animism, Taoism, or Ancestor Worship. The population of Laos is forty percent Lao, and sixty percent ethnic hilltribe groups. Many of Laos’s hilltribes are indigenous to South East Asia, though some have migrated from China, Tibet, and Mongolia. All in all, Laos has a dizzying array of cultures, living side by side, speaking different languages, obeying different customs, and wearing their traditional clothes. Laos remains a picture of the past, but like the rest of the world, it too is beginning to change. In 1999 the Lao government relaxed its visa requirements, and opened the country up to tourism. Larger cities are building hotels and bungalows as fast as they can. Western foods are becoming available, souvenir stands are popping up on street corners, backpackers and tour groups are trekking to remote villages. Foreign investment is increasing rapidly especially in the areas of mining, hydroelectricity and road construction. Chinese and Vietnamese laborers have been hired to build roads connecting places that were once unreachable by motor transport. Along with the new roads will come electricity and plumbing. As modernity spreads, many of the traditional chores of women and children, such as water fetching, and wood collecting may no longer be necessary. Daily life is changing and cultures are bound to change as well. Over the course of five years (2002-2007) I had the privilege of visiting Laos eight times. My purpose was to create, as best I could, an honest and thorough visual document describing the daily life of Laos. On each trip I visited new places, and addressed new ideas. It was helpful to come home, evaluate my experience, figure out what was missed, and plan for the next sojourn. Laos is a place so full of life and beauty, of pain and hardship, of tradition and culture, it would be impossible show it all. I believe that one could live there for years, and still be surprised at what happens every day. I first visited Laos in the spring of 2002, relatively early in the timeline of its transition from being a reclusive backwater, to its stated goal of becoming a fully industrialized state by 2020. I have worked on various themes for this project such as opium eradication, the legacies of the U.S. war (unexploded bombs), village life, Buddhism, Communism, dam construction/ water issues, wildlife concerns, women’s issues, health care systems, and more. My work continues, and is planned for completion by Fall of 2007.