Laos – Vientiane

Vientiane. What is there to say about you? You're the capital city of Laos with a population of around 800,000 people. Technically, I suppose that’s bigger than the city of Seattle, but it doesn’t seem like such a big city. We walked around the first day and splurged on cocktails and a non-noodle dinner. The next day we walked around 10km, first to see That Luang, the country’s national symbol and yet another former resting place of the Emerald Buddha.  

We also walked past Patuxai, Laos’ version of the Arc d’ Triomphe that is also known as the “vertical runway”. After failing to conquer Laos’ communist ambitions, the US donated a bunch cement to the country so it could build itself an airstrip. Instead they used it to build their own victory gate. It’s said to be a “replica” of the Arc d’ Triomphe, but it doesn’t look at all like it. Used as inspiration might be accurate. 

Next we visited the COPE center, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping victims of unexploded ordnance (UXO) left from the US bombing. I can’t say I’m amazed anymore at new stories of the US’s interference in other countries around the world, though each new story does take away a bit more of my American pride. Back in the 60’s and 70’s, the US tried to strong-arm its way into the newly independent, formerly French-colonized Laos. But Laos was heavily influenced by the politics of its neighbors over in Vietnam and was beginning its transition to a Communist state. The US responded to the nationalist and communist upsurge by training the Hmong people up north and supplying them with weaponry to fight for the monarchy. The US wasn’t successful in this endeavor and ultimately Laos won its independence and became a communist country.  

But starting from the Vietnam War, when the Ho Chi Minh trail extended into Laos, and continuing well into the 70’s, the US bombed the shit out of Laos. The statistics say that bombs were dropped in Laos on average every 8 minutes for nearly 9 years. Of the millions of bombs dropped in Laos, many were cluster bombs—big containers with lots of small bomblets inside that scatter making a huge impact over a larger area. As if the numbers of bombs dropped aren’t bad enough, the fact is that many of the bomblets didn’t ignite and they now lie hidden, dormant, unexploded and still very lethal to those that may come across them. They’re sort of like land mines now, only they weren’t planted on a map. You have no idea where they might be.  

There are several NGOs that work to clear bombs away. They do so by creating grids on areas of land with twine, then staff go through the grids using metal detectors. Not exactly high tech, and you’d think that the US would be playing a more major role in clearing up their mess. But that doesn’t seem to be the case. One of my professors at UNSW worked in Laos for a while managing a UXO clearing project. As with all development projects, she spoke at length about the difficulties in moving the project forward, all the levels of bureaucracy that had to be worked through before any work could actually be done. When you watched the videos at COPE of people whose lives have been catastrophically altered because of this situation, you wonder what could possibly hold up these projects. Why would anyone delay the process of clearing these mines away and letting people get on with their lives? The Laos culture of not rushing, is what she had mentioned in class. Hmm. 

The COPE museum was the most informative museum we’ve come across in Laos and it seems like they’re doing good work. They provide physiotherapy and prosthetics to victims of UXOs. They also fundraise to help those who can’t pay for services. Despite the depressing subject, the center seems optimistic and positive (and the displays were all in very decent English, which makes me think they must be decently funded). 

We also visited the National Museum of Laos, a random collection of artifacts from Laos’ history from dinosaur fossils and ancient pottery to samples of ethnic clothing and communist guns all housed in a crumbling French colonial building. Though I suppose it’s not all that random considering it’s the country’s main history museum and those are the same kinds of artifacts you would find in a national history museum in any other country.  

Our last afternoon in Vientiane we headed to the French Institute (which is also part of the French Embassy) to take advantage of the free French film screenings. A lovely afternoon spent in a/c reading subtitles, transported to Europe for a short while.  

So Vientiane. There’s not really much to see or do there and I can’t say I would recommend it. A bit lackluster. Only two more days in Laos before crossing over into Vietnam. After another transit day, we’ll tour Konglor cave and leave Laos behind. One of my favorite Laos experiences so far? Getting a coffee before getting on the bus to Konglor this morning. A little old Laos man came up to me while I was waiting for my coffee and asked me where I’m from. We sat and chatted, him asking where I’m going and how old I am. He told me to guess his age, which I skirted. He told me 80 isn’t too old for 30. J He also spent 20 years in Philadelphia and said he’s American. After every sentence he laughed loudly. It was infectious. The nicest random stranger.