Chewing the mixture of areca nut and betel leaf is a tradition, custom or ritual which dates back thousands of years from South Asia to the Pacific. It constitutes an important and popular cultural activity in Laos. Regular paan chewing causes the lips and tongue to be stained orange/red, an ancient equivalent of modern lipstick. Napho, Laos, 2010.

Woman eating sticky rice on her way to work in the fields outside the mountain village of Naxao. Laos, 2010.