Where The Troops Were Hiding in Vieng Xai

Vieng Xai is a beautiful little village in the Hoahphanh province of Laos. Peppered with small fields and paddies it hides a dark history within the craggy limestone outcrops which wall the village. This is known as the birthplace of Lao PDR because during the Indochina war 20,000 Pathet Lao's (of the revolutionary movement) lived in a hidden city here. Dwelling in caves which riddle the cliffs they created a bomb-sheltered community hosting schools, markets and hospitals inside the depths of the caverns. The leaders of the Pathet Lao discovered and retreated to the safety of the caves from 1964-1973 while Laos was being subjected to 2 million tons of falling bombs. The US were targeting the Hoahphanh province as part of their efforts to stop the Ho Chi Minh trail and supplies getting into Vietnam. Meanwhile the Pathet Lao were fighting their own war with the government.
Some of the caves are now open to visitors and as i venture inside the cave of President Kaysone Phomvihane I am struck by the cold grey concrete-reinforced walls and damp stale air. I sense little comforts would have been afforded here. A few books from a personal library remain but but for a leaders quarters the outlook is bare. For the rest of the hidden city's inhabitants, in far more crowded conditions the darkness must have been suffocating, whilst at the same time the thick surrounding rock provided comfort by protection.
The tour leads us through some more leaders' caves, a barren hospital cave an artillery cave with an advantageous outlook and finally to Xanglot cave. This large open-ended cavern was the host to many weddings, festival celebrations and a weekly movie screening which surely helped enliven morale during some bleak times for those trapped here. Their shelter was almost a prison; daylight locking them inside, while under the cover of darkness they dared venture out to tend crops and gather supplies. It's a fascinating tour of a hidden past. Standing in th village i could never imagine such terror ravaged this landscape or that an entire community could have hidden in the tunnel ridden rocks surrounding me. But they did and they eventually won their war and their freedom.