LAO PEOPLE’S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC

Laos Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao CAPITAL: Vientiane (Viangchan) FLAG: The national flag, officially adopted in 1975, is the former flag of the Pathet Lao, consisting of three horizontal stripes of red, dark blue, and red, with a white disk, representing the full moon, at the center. ANTHEM: Pheng Sat Lao (Hymn of the Lao People). MONETARY UNIT: The new kip (K) is a paper currency of 100 at (cents). There are notes of 10, 20, 50, 200, and 500 new kip. K1 = $0.00009385 (or $1 = K10,655) as of May 2003. WEIGHTS AND MEASURES: The metric system is the legal standard, but older local units also are used. HOLIDAYS: Anniversary of the Founding of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, 2 December. The government generally reschedules on weekends such traditional festivals as the Lao New Year (April); Boun Bang-fai (Rocket Festival), the celebration of the birth, enlightenment, and death of the Buddha (May); Boun Khao Watsa, the beginning of a period of fasting and meditation lasting through the rainy season (July); Boun Ok Watsa (Water Holiday), a celebration of the end of the period of fasting and meditation (October); and That Luang, a pagoda pilgrimage holiday (November). TIME: 7 PM = noon GMT.