XIENG KHOUANG - This northern province, located 435 kms NE of Vientiane, offers the stunning beauty of high green mountains & rugged karst formations. The countryside is breathtakingly beautiful, relatively untouched, & not yet fully exploited by tourism. It is still pristine because of its isolation off the main tourist paths. However, this will change because the secret is out - it’s the home of the famous & mysterious ‘Plain of Jars’, a soon-to-be UNESCO heritage site, & the province has been attracting more & more visitors. So if you’ve been wanting to go, go NOW.
This province was heavily bombed during the Vietnam War during the American ‘Secret War’. (See later.) Today, 30 years after the war, there are still UXOs (unexploded ordnance such as mines, shells, grenades, bombs) all over the countryside that continue to kill & maim the inhabitants in this rural province.
Actually, much of Xieng Khouang’a history has been a battleground, mostly due to its location between the capitals of Laos & Vietnam. It was ruled at one time by Siam & Vietnam. In fact, when Vietnam annexed the province in 1830, the local inhabitants were forced to adopt Vietnamese dressing & customs. Sadly, any attempts by the proudly independent Xieng Khouang people to be independent have usually been thwarted by one of its many powerful neighbors.
PHONSAVAN: population of 60,000 & rapidly expanding, is the new (but bland) capital of Xieng Khouang province. The new town was created in 1970 after the former capital (renamed Muang Khoun), was wiped out during the Vietnam War. Because of its close proximity to the Plain of Jars, it is the most convenient entry point for visitors to the tourist attraction. The provincial airport, really just an airfield, is located nearby. The main attraction for us in town was the large central market that sold everything, edible & not edible in the western world - bats, birds, rodents & other ‘varmints’. It was also a good place to mingle with local tribal people. I will devote an entire photo journal to the 2 markets we visited here, especially the large central market.
"The Secret War & UXO" Did you know that Laos is the most heavily bombed country in the world? That 2 million tones of ordinance was dropped on Xieng Khouang province by the US on NE Laos during the Vietnam War, more than they dropped on Germany & Japan combined during WWII? All due to the area’s strategic location adjacent to north Vietnam? In fact, from 1963 to 1974, the equivalent of one bomb was dropped every eight minutes on Xieng Khouang province.
Most people are very aware of the war in Vietnam & America's involvement there, but few know that a very large part of the war was fought in Laos. Many call it 'The Secret War' because the US has denied any involvement there. The US got involved in Laos because Communist forces were building in Laos were building. The US was concerned by their ties with Vietnam, so they moved in to help protect the Lao royal family from falling to the communists. They enlisted the help of the Hmong people, a hilltribe group who lived high in the mountains of northern Laos. (It is now widely known that the CIA's 'Air America' air force was used to transport the Hmong people's prime crop, the poppy, from which both opium & heroin are derived. This was then sold overseas to raise funds to fight the war.)
This area of NE Laos was heavily bombed for two reasons: Firstly, it was part of the Ho Chi Minh Trail, where troops, supplies & artillery were smuggled out of northern Vietnam, through the mountains on the NE edge of Laos, & then into southern Vietnam. Secondly, American aircraft, flying out of their air bases in Thailand, were sometimes unable to launch their bombs at their 'primary target' due to bad weather or other circumstances; therefore, unwilling to land safely back at the base while still carrying bombs, they dropped them on NE Laos.
The most common bombs at this time were rocket shaped & filled with hundreds of small 'bombies' that were filled with ball bearings. The rocket casings split open when they fell, launching the smaller bomblets full of ball bearings. However, almost a third failed to explode on impact, leaving up to 30 million bombs lying on or beneath the ground to this day. These bombs lie under houses & roads, in school playgrounds, & in rice fields. These bombs were designed to kill, not to maim, so there is not an enormous amputee rate in the country. Instead, there is a disproportionately high death rate from the exploding bombs, as inquisitive young children find them lying around, & whole families work to hoe their land for farming. In 2001 alone there were more than 12,000 casualties.
De-mining teams can be seen working in fields & other locations around Phonsavan, including the Plain of Jar sites. Many day trippers stop by the side of the road to see the de-miners work. It is also possible to visit Mines Advisory Group (MAG) in the main street of Phonsavan if you have any questions or would like to donate money. http://www.magclearsmines.org
A couple links with more information & photos: http://www.asiaexplorers.com/laos/xiengkhouang.htm
http://www.asiaexplorers.com/laos/phonsavan_travel_guide.htm
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