The Secret War

Two things about Laos, a tiny, poor, communist country sandwiched between Thailand and Vietnam.

The first, some great advice, from Kfv's P:

P says that Laos is very beautiful and the people are incredibly kind and that all you have to do to win their friendship is to listen to their stories. Their stories would be about their colonization by the American and French governments - how their people were killed and their country devastated.

While you are there, you can walk to any temple and if you walk by the young monks, and they say "hello" to you and you say hello back to them, be warned, because then you might find yourself in a long and indepth conversation with them, in English :-) [true!] They are very curious and they will want to know all about you and your stories and your country. They will also tell you about themselves. They will want to be your friend. They will also tell you honest information about Laos and more practical information like where it is safe and not safe, which places to go to.

P also says (she is behind me talking and talking, she is clearly enchanted with the country) that if you take a tuktuk, the tuktuk driver will try to take advantage of you because either they are poor or on drugs.

If you are missing European type of food, there are very good French bakeries all over the place. In Vientiane, there is good American bakery which makes fantastic pizza, espresso and chocolate chip cookies.

But if you want local food, WALK AWAY from the tourist areas. But I guess you know that already.

The second you may not want to read, if you're american. I wrote it in shocked realisation of some historical facts I hadn't known before. I wrote it in anger. I know americans aren't all like that. I know the british have been historically worse. But.

I read today about the 'secret war' here. Those americans are fucking bastards, they are. The Geneva Convention prevented them from
invading or bombing Laos, so they kept it quiet, only rode foreign planes in cowboy civvies, to drop flares that showed where the locals should drop ordnance. They trained tribesmen to bomb, equipped them with B52s and american planes, and called the place 'The Other Theater' so nobody would know.

Because the bombing was illegal, and the war was illegal, they felt they could dispense with the rules of formal combat that forced a modicum of mercy in Vietnam and Cambodia, that prevented them from bombing temples and hospitals in Vietnam and Cambodia.
Never thought I'd see a day where what happened in Vietnam or Cambodia could be described as merciful.
They dropped half a bloody tonne of bombs for every man woman and child in the country, and pretended they'd done nothing.

Then they wiped the evidence by blanket spraying with Agent Orange. .
And their own people didn't know. Bastards.

To the americans whom I definitely love, I apologise. I hope you didn't know either.