Caves

We took a day trip from Sam Neua to teh caves at Vieng Xay. This was where the Communist Pathet Lao had their hideout until the revolution was a success in 1975. They have a series of caves they used to keep themselves protected from American bombs.

Anyway...these were some cool caves. The first one was teh coolest by far.

Each cave was sewt aside for one member of teh leading crew and their family. They were all equipped wiuth bedrooms and meeting rooms and toilets and safer emeting rooms and rest houses (for whent he cave was icky and it was safe outside). They have big cement walls to prevent from rocket attacks adn safe rooms with metal doors and air machines (Russian made of course). The first cave was cool because of teh part called the Elephant cave. This place had room for klike 3000 soldiers to sleep and also had a number of huge theatre speaking platform things built into the cave. Very cool.

There are craters from bombs everywhere and one in front of the Red Prince's pad had been turned into a swimming pool. The Red Prince was a memeber of the Royal Fmaily who went commie...being educated in Frnace and all that he also had a tennis court installed once the war was over. When the guide said this guy had been the last member of the royal family alive, I had to ask.

I wanted to ask what happened to the royals. Touring their palace in Luang Prabang and seeing all their stuff, but no mention of where they were was odd. I have read after the commie victory they were sent north and never heard from again. SO I had to ask this guy.

UNfortunately my question wasn't understood (sop he said!) but he did say something else that was interesting. According to him the Laos revolution was not fought against the Royalist forces, it was fought against the Americans. There was no Laos opn LaOS fighting at all. He said at one point in the war, the AMericans were fightiong from an area controlled by the king, but they never fought the king. I find that interesting, expecially since I'm pretty sure the Americans weren't about to do more than bomb the country, having enough fun on teh ground in Vietnam.
Anyway, so in Laos, they claim a victory over the USA. Take that AMerica! You lost a war to a country of 5million...for shame.

I really want to get an answer about what Laos people think happened to the king though...oh well.