Happy Birthday to the countries!

Hainanese chicken rice, a dish adapted from early Chinese immigrants originally from Hainan province in southern China, is considered one of the national dishes of Singapore. *Photo from Wikipedia August 9 is National Day, celebrates the independence of Singapore from Malaysia in 1965. Evidence suggests that a significant trading settlement existed in Singapore during the 14th century. In the late 14th century, Singapura was under the rule of Parameswara (the last king of Singapura) until he was expelled by the Majapahit Empire or the Siamese (Thailand). It then came under the Malacca Sultanate and then the Johor Sultanate. Modern Singapore

People in the city center of La Paz, the de facto national capital of Bolivia. *Photo from Wikipedia August 6 is Independence Day of Bolivia, celebrates the independence of Bolivia from Spain in 1825. Before Spanish colonization, the Andean region of Bolivia was part of the Inca Empire, while the northern and eastern lowlands were inhabited by independent tribes. Spanish conquistadors arriving from Cuzco and Asunción took control of the region in the 16th century. During the Spanish colonial period Bolivia was administered by the Royal Audiencia of Charcas. Spain built its empire in great part upon the silver that

The Matterhorn, a mountain of the Alps straddling the border between Switzerland and Italy. *Photo from Wikipedia August 1 is National Day, commemorates Switzerland becoming a single unit in 1291. The date is inspired by the date of the Federal Charter of 1291, placed in “early August”, when “three Alpine cantons (*canton: a type of administrative division of a country) swore the oath of confederation” (Schwyz, Uri and Unterwalden), an action which later came to be regarded as the “foundation of Switzerland.” Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a federal republic in Europe. The country is situated in Western-Central Europe,