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25th Anniversary of the People’s Democratic Republic of Laos Below are some photos Marc took of different signs we saw on our trip. We're both fascinated with language and writing systems, so Thai, Lao and Khmer writing was worthy of many photos!

Also, an election was imminent when we were in Thailand, and you'll see a few pictures of campaign posters.

Finally, the "revolutionary worker" signs in Laos were typical Communist era; not high quality art, but with a clear message. The dilapidated state of the signs is an accurate reflection of Communism in Laos, where grassroots capitalism is rampant!

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Hold your cursor over each picture to get a short description.



Offices of the Cambodian People’s Party, Siem Reap, led by Hun Sen.

Siem Reap Headquarters for the Coalition of the United Front for an Independent, Neutral & Free Cambodia (FUNCINPEC), led by Prince Norodom Ranariddh. It's certainly a catchy name.

Not sure what this sign implies! Chickens=$$, perhaps?

Be kind to trees, is how our guides translated this.

Don’t chop down trees; there’s a spirit inside. Another translation from our guides.

One of many bus companies in Laos.

Commemorating 50 years of Communism in the region.

Not sure what exactly children are being protected from in this sign. What do you think?

Doesn’t exactly inspire confidence, does it?

Open to interpretation. We think it means ISN'T LAOS BEAUTIFUL?

A sign commemorating the Lao Women’s Union.

From Laos: Road Safety.

Building a Better Laos

We weren’t especially comforted by the fact that they find it necessary to state that all flights are insured! And how does one apply for this insurance?

We like to think our clean tourism is helping these countries, but is it any better than drug tourism? Maybe...

Thai election posters

And ANOTHER Thai election poster...

And ANOTHER Thai election poster...

And ANOTHER Thai election poster...

And ANOTHER Thai election poster...

And ANOTHER Thai election poster...

We saw many female candidates running for office; here's a poster of one.

To quote P.J. O’Rourke: Half the fun of travelling in countries where they don’t speak English is making fun of the English they do speak.

Global Conquest Continues; 1 Gazillion Sold.

A great name for a CD: Drug Store by Chemist. I’ve heard Chemist is a pretty good band.

If you don’t recognize this guy when you arrive, you will after a day or two. His photo is ubiquitous.

All right, that's it!

By the way, in case you were wondering, the background image on this page is from a close-up of Thai writing, from--you guessed it!--a sign we saw somewhere there...




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