16 JUNE 2016 - PAKSE, CHAMPASAK, LAOS: The Communist hammer and sickle flag next to the Lao flag on a street in Pakse. Laos is still a one party Communist country. Pakse is the capital of Champasak province in southern Laos. It sits at the confluence of the Xe Don and Mekong Rivers. It's the gateway city to 4,000 Islands, near the border of Cambodia and the coffee growing highlands of southern Laos. PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ