Officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Laos is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and People's Republic of China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west with a population estimated at 6.8 million.
The Hoan Kiem district, which is Hanoi's commercial nucleus, ripples out from the lake of the same name. The meaning of the name in English is Lake of the Restored Sword, according to a legend dating back to the mid-15th century.
Situated at the confluence of three great rivers - the Mekong, Tonle Sap and Bassac rivers - Phnom Penh the capital of Cambodia, is a bustling city of more than 2 million people and is the country's commercial, economic and political hub.
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