Album Laos from different visits from Wolfgang

on the friendship bridge

nobody@ipernity.com (Wolfgang) — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 18:45:41 +0000

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Amphoe Tha Li, Loei province, half legal in Thailand and half illegal in Laos due not having a valid visa for Laos

Khaysone Phomvihane's cave entrance

nobody@ipernity.com (Wolfgang) — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 12:47:51 +0000

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For more than nine years the quiet tranquillity of Viengxay’s humble existence was totally
and brutally interrupted on a devastating scale. As the United States of America stepped up
its efforts to halt the spread of communism across Indochina, Laos became caught up in a
secret war that remains largely ignored in world history1. In 1962 events forced the Lao
Communist party – the Pathet Lao – to flee from the capital in Vientiane across the enigmatic
Plain of Jars (hundreds of 2,000 year old stone urns) and, in 1964, to take shelter and refuge
in the limestone caves and inaccessibility of Viengxay.

Khaysone Phomvihane's cave

nobody@ipernity.com (Wolfgang) — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 12:47:52 +0000

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Passage ways inside the army cave.

Khaysone Phomvihane's cave

nobody@ipernity.com (Wolfgang) — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 12:47:53 +0000

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Security door to the bunker rooms

Keysone Phomvihane's cave

nobody@ipernity.com (Wolfgang) — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 12:47:54 +0000

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Air pumps to supply the bunker rooms with fresh air.

Khaysone Phomvihane's bedroom

nobody@ipernity.com (Wolfgang) — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 12:47:55 +0000

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Khaysone Phomvihane's working room

nobody@ipernity.com (Wolfgang) — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 12:47:56 +0000

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Lenin bust and Che Guevera picture above Pathet Lao leader Keysone Phomvihane's work desk.

Tunnel to Lao leader Keysone Phomvihane's living area

nobody@ipernity.com (Wolfgang) — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 12:47:57 +0000

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Some parts of the sanctuary were completely underground, most room had doors and windows to outside.

Guard-room in the cave

nobody@ipernity.com (Wolfgang) — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 12:47:58 +0000

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Keysone Phomvihane's cave

nobody@ipernity.com (Wolfgang) — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 12:47:59 +0000

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Keysone Phomvihane's wooden house constructed outside his cave after signing of 1973 Paris Peace accords.
The Pathet Lao government in exile directed the resistance struggle from the “Hidden City”. Five caves were selected as the family homes and offices of the key leaders. Natural caves were enlarged, tunnels developed and artificial roofs built to keep out water. Airtight evacuation chambers with manual filter mechanisms to guard against gas attacks were constructed, along with five-feet thick blast walls to cover cave entrances and prevent rockets and guided missiles from entering. Government ministries were set up in caves in far flung locations. Printing presses, a fuel depot and light industry caves were established to support the war effort. A cave hospital complex was built to take care of the injured and dying, and an underground theatre constructed to entertain the population, with visiting theatre troupes from Vietnam. Fidel Castro visited the caves to lend his country's support.

Mountain range near Viengxay

nobody@ipernity.com (Wolfgang) — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 12:48:00 +0000

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Among this hills there were hidden the caves and the sanctuary from the Pathet Lao and its leader Khaysone Phomvihane.

Textile from Houaphan

nobody@ipernity.com (Wolfgang) — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 12:48:01 +0000

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Textiles from this region are recognised to be among the finest in Asia.

The morning mist is lifting in Laotian mountains

nobody@ipernity.com (Wolfgang) — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 12:48:02 +0000

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Morning mist on road from Xam Nuea to Viengxay.

On the way to Xiangkhoang

nobody@ipernity.com (Wolfgang) — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 12:48:03 +0000

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its just a small breakdown seen in the lifting morning mist

Khaysone Phomvihane's cave

nobody@ipernity.com (Wolfgang) — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 12:47:50 +0000

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Entrance to the meeting room of the Party's Central Committee, at Khaysone Phomvihane's cave.

Houamuang at the (river) Maenam Neun

nobody@ipernity.com (Wolfgang) — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 12:48:04 +0000

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Houaphan is a district in Laos, one of the poorest areas of Laos, but home to spectacular scenery and fine textile traditions.

Scrap dealers back yard in Xiangkhoang

nobody@ipernity.com (Wolfgang) — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 12:48:05 +0000

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The local people have a use with all this grenade shells and other remains of the senseless US war.

Laotian monks in a monastery beside the Mekong

nobody@ipernity.com (Wolfgang) — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 12:48:06 +0000

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Novices gets their first lessons in a monastery near Vientianne.

At the Mekong riverside

nobody@ipernity.com (Wolfgang) — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 12:48:07 +0000

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The Mekong river here is the border line Laos/Thailand

Viengxay village

nobody@ipernity.com (Wolfgang) — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 12:34:07 +0000

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Less well-known, nestled in this mountain range is the remote and picturesque small town of Viengxay. Many of its multi-ethnic people continue to eke out their living as their families have done for generations, building simple wooden homes, hunting with crossbows, weaving intricate textiles on elaborate looms and growing rice on steep hillsides and in lush green paddies. Their basic existence in this stunning and fertile setting becomes even more fascinating when the region's untold history is discovered.