LAOS - Lao People's Democratic Republic/ ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ

Laos (Lao: ລາວ, Lāo), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ/Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxôn Lao; French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist state and the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. At the heart of the Indochinese peninsula, Laos is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast and Thailand to the west and southwest.  Present Laos traces its historic and cultural identity to Lan Xang, which existed from the 14th century to the 18th century as one of the largest kingdoms in Southeast Asia. 

Due to its central geographical location in Southeast Asia, the kingdom became a hub for overland trade, and became wealthy economically and culturally. After a period of internal conflict, Lan Xang broke into three separate kingdoms—Luang Phrabang, Vientiane, and Champasak. In 1893, the three territories came under a French protectorate and were united to form what is now known as Laos. It briefly gained independence in 1945 after Japanese occupation, but was recolonised by France until it won autonomy in 1949. Laos became independent in 1953, with a constitutional monarchy under Sisavang Vong. A post-independence civil war began, which saw the communist resistance, supported by the Soviet Union, fight against the monarchy that later came under influence of military regimes supported by the United States. After the Vietnam War ended in 1975, the communist Pathet Lao came to power, ending the civil war. Laos was then dependent on military and economic aid from the Soviet Union until its dissolution in 1991.

The English word Laos was coined by the French, who united the three Lao kingdoms in French Indochina in 1893 and named the country as the plural of the dominant and most common ethnic group, the Lao people. English-speakers often mispronounce "Laos", falsely believing that it should be pronounced with a silent "s", however the "s" in Laos should not be silent. In the Lao language, the country's name is Muang Lao (ເມືອງລາວ) or Pathet Lao (ປະເທດລາວ), both literally mean 'Lao Country'.

The first stamps of Laos, as an "associated state" within the French Union, were issued on 13 November 1951 . Before then stamps of French Indo-China were used. Laos gained full independence as a constitutional monarchy in 1953. On 2 December 1975, Pathet Lao government renamed the country as the Lao People's Democratic Republic.

These two  covers sent by  Yui, who is working in Lao Post.  The covers posted on July 11, 2013 and I received on July 17, 2013.