Vieng Xai, 'The Hidden City' and 'The Secret War'

I've learned a lot of stuff i really didnt know sice I've been in Laos, not just that you shouldn't jump into knee deep mud and expect to keep your flip flops.

Cave entrance, bottom right

Vieng Xai is the birthplace and former capital of the Pathet Lao, the communist faction that replaced the royalty in 1975. This was after a 9 year long war, which they where supported in by the likes of Vietnam, Cuba and Angola against the Royal Laos forces whom where entirely funded and armed by the USA.
The bombing started in 1964 and stopped in 73 after a cease fire was called. The war was known as the secret war as the CIA kept it under raps whilst they where taking all the flak for there failed and costly attempts in Vietnam. I was unawhere that Laos was ever really involved in a war after the French eventually left post WW2, so the revelation that it is the the most bombed country per capita on the planet and that more bombs have been dropped on it than where dropped in the entirity of WW2 came as something of a shock. More stats later kids!

Vieng Xai was special because of its geography. Beautiful jungle valleys and tall karst mountains with hundreds of natural caves where a great place for the comunist leadership to hide out. They built there underground city in 70 plus different caves which would support a collection of 20,000 people. Most of whom where fighters but local villagers and the leaders familys lived there too. They went about there daily lives at night (farming etc) whilst a rediculous amount of unnefective bombing went on throughout the day.

Entrance to the emergency room

7 of the caves are open to tourists, most of them the former leaders (and eventual presidents and prime ministers) caves. They all had bedrooms, studys and meeting halls and also included emergency rooms with air filters in case of chemical bombs (these where never used on this area of Laos).
2 of the other caves where different, one was used for artillery and a barracks, the other was huge and had a theatre built inside.
I toured 5 of them with a similarly interested American chap. Our guide was great and there was tons of info. He made the mistake of mentioning a cuban delegations visit and that they had sent over some doctors and opened up a hospital in a massive man made cave about 10 km away, he'd once taken some journalists there! We bugged him to let us go and see an untouristed (thats not a word but you get what I mean) cave and he relented after we agreed to pay the petrol.
Next morning he picked us up and we drove off to the cave. Declaring that he'd last come in the dry season and making lots of "oh!" sounds he took us towards the entrance whilst beating away the jungle that had regrown since his last visit.

Entrance to the "Laos Cuban Frindship hospital" (cave)

We got to the door and entered the first corridor. Most of the useful stuff (sinks etc) had been ripped out by the locals but you could still make out the wards and there where medicine bottles strewn on the floor. We tiptoed through using our torches, it was huge, spanning under 3 different peaks. The best bit was at the end where the tiled operating theatres could still be made out.
It felt like we where the first people there since it had been closed in 75, we probably wheren't that far off.

The rest of the day was spent enjoying thr scenery and swimming in the local pond. It was lovely and warm.
Next day I took another long bus journey to Phonsavan and more war relics.

nb: my pics are a bit crap, dark caves dont come out too well :(

written by

Dan on August 23, 2008 from Vieng Xai, Laos

from the travel blog: Been there, Dan that!

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