This morning went for breakfast and headed for Vientiane - out last stop in Laos!!! We stopped at a temple to take a picture outside and the Laotian version of the arc de triomphe.
We stopped at a place called cope- it was a rehabilitation centre for people affected by the Vietnam war. Very interesting place. We learnt about the secret war - while the Vietnam war was going on- Americans were bombing Laos every 9 minutes. There were more bombings in Laos than in all of world war 2. About 30% of the bombs disnt detonate and are still active today so in rural towns people find them and think its scrap metal to sell they end up setting the bombs off. The centre then informs people about this war and helps the people injured from it. So we watched a video about the war and a team training Lao people how to safely discard of the bombs so no more people are injured. There were a bunch of prosthetics to try on and to look at and a donation centre. $75 US dollars to buy someone a leg. Worth it!
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ReplyDeleteThat is good that you guys are picking up some recent American History. President Nixon ordered bombing of Laos circa 72 to slow down the infiltration of VC (Communists) into South Vietnam through Laos to the Ho Chi Minh Trail. At the time the Laos Government was receiving extensive American financial support etc. Laos had problems protecting their borders which prompted the bombing program. Your parents remember this war as it was on TV every night. There were constant postings of casualties and field video of conflict areas. The average age of the American sent there was 19. As you travel into Cambodia and Vietnam you will see more from this Cold War conflict.
ReplyDeleteWhen you get to Vietnam, keep us posted about current American presence, business activities, automobiles, religion (I expect there will still be RC followers in South Vietnam).
Keep the reports coming, good luck and have fun.