Home of some of the hidden caves
ditto
A dining room no less
A Hoppen-esque inspired interior
End room was ours . . . damp!A very peaceful town nestled amongst limestone cliffs close to the Vietnam border. It wasn’t always peaceful though, from 1964 t0 1973 it was bombed relentlessly by the US – Laos was apparently on the receiving end of more bombs than all of Europe throughout WWII. The ‘secret’ war claimed 300,000 Laoatians. Vieng Xai’s caves housed 20,000 people during this period including the 7 Politburo members who planned their resistance strategy from here. Each had a cave, that was fitted out with a bedroom, and emergency room with an oxygen tank in case of gas attack, a dining area(!) and a meeting room. There was also a stage for theatre productions and a make-shift hospital. A telephone system was set up between the caves and 2 anti aircraft guns were mounted into an opening of one of the caves. Their accommodation was certainly better than a couple of rooms we have stayed in on this trip.
We spent an entertaining evening with Antony, a retired teacher from Crowborough who was very generous with his Laos-style Johnnie Walker. After a brief but violent altercation with an over familiar cockroach we slept like babies in a stilted guesthouse over the lake.
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