Solitary Refinement 3

To Viếng Xai

I had 2 full days of resting. I was gonna have only one, but at the end of it I really felt like it wasn't enough, my legs were still pained whenever I did anything semi-strenuous like walk up lots of stairs or cycle up a small hill.

I'm trying to listen to and nurture my body more. After getting so run down in India at times I'm trying to make sure I'm filling myself up with plenty of fresh food, and resting when my body tells me to.

Eventually the time was right to move, and I cycled up and down the hills to Viếng Xai.

It's become foggy lately.

Not far from town I met Gautier (Frenchy), he's another crazy cyclist, and we chatted for ages on the side of the road. I thought my recent climbs and distances have been intense, but Gautier's a real cyclist, not a pretend one like me, and he's pushing altitudes of 2000m for days in succession sometimes, and distances consistently over 100km per day in these crazy steep hills.

I mean, he's not carrying much at all, but still. No panniers at all. They call it bikepacking. What I'm doing is called cycle touring. Apparently.

But I just call it going for a ride.

Gautier's riding from Bangkok, and doing a loop through Indochina for 3 months. He's loving it, he said. Sweet guy.

We sent each other pics later in the day.

The cold air and mist hung around for a lot of the day.

After crossing a pass the countryside suddenly became different, and I re-entered karst country.

Into another district. The Viếng Xai district is where the Lao ruling party was founded, it's the real heartland of the party around here. Well, it used to be. The whole party leadership and administrative machinery moved to Vientiane from here after the war ended in 1975.

Viếng Xai Caves

One of the reasons I stopped in Viếng Xai was to visit an incredible cave system that was used to protect the local villagers and the party and military leadership and administration during the war.

From 1964 the US began its massive bombing campaign of Laos, in its determination to try to stop the spread of communism in the region. Communist forces in the country were allied with the Viet Minh in North Vietnam, and part of the Ho Chi Minh Trail, the main supply line that enabled North Vietnamese troops and weaponry to be safely transported to the South, ran through this area.

But, of course, the local villagers had no idea what was going on when the bombings started. They didn't even know who was bombing them, or why.

As usual, the innocent suffer indiscriminately during war.

Cave country, with a huge bomb crater in the foreground

One of the many cave entrances

The leadership of the revolutionary forces set up their headquarters in Veing Xai caves, from where they directed their whole military and political operation during the war.

Politburo meeting room

Airtight bunker, for potential gas attacks.

Manual air purifier (you turn the handle and fresh filtered air pumps in from outside)

Over 450 caves were used in the area, to create what was basically an underground protected city, which housed up to 23,000 people. The saddest and most incredible thing is that the intense bombings continued every single day for nine whole years.

Kids were born in the caves, and lived almost their first decade in them. It was extremely dangerous to go outside, so there were only certain short times of the day when outside activities (eg. farming, cooking etc) could take place.

The US had spotter planes going over the whole time, searching for signs of life. Just a few puffs of fire smoke from the villagers inside or outside could lead to a deadly attack.

Many of the caves were connected by tunnels, which were blasted through the rock using dynamite, or mined by hand, or with mining equipment.

Dorm room

The army had huge barracks inside the caves. There were hospitals, schools, kitchens, eating areas, there was even an entertainment hall, where community events would be celebrated (eg. weddings, religious festivals). But of course it was low key, and fraught with danger.

Hospital beds. Cuban, Russian and Lao doctors worked in here.

Another bomb crater. Some of the bombs were so big (500 kg), that they could be felt 10km away from where they were detonated.

The US knew certain caves were being used, but the Lao army, if they could,  set up anti aircraft weaponry to protect some of the more important cave areas.

The army set up their anti-aircraft weaponry at this viewpiont

Pockmarked paddocks

Entertainment hall. They'd show movies on Friday nights, but there were only a few movies, so they'd just watch the same ones over and over.

These days this space is still used for community events.

Eventually the war ended, and people could come out to see the light.

But despite their complete joy that they'd won the war and the bombing had finally stopped, the whole region had been completely destroyed, and the land and forest was littered with unexploded ordnance.

About 30% of the bombs didn't explode when they hit the ground, so the whole area was a potential minefield. Many people left the region as a result. And of course, people continue to die or are injured by the UXO every day.

The US spent $2bn on its relentless bombing campaign in Laos. And that was in the 60s and 70s - in today's dollars it would be significantly more. Instead of killling innocent people, with that sort of money the US could have given every single Lao man woman and child $1000 each, propelled them out of poverty, and won their hearts and loyalty forever.

And the US public didn't even know the bombing was happening, because the US government kept it secret, as it contravened the Geneva Accords the US had signed in the 1950s. The whole operation was directed by the CIA through private contractors. Unconscionable.

Listening to the voices of local people who suffered there (on the audio tour recording) brought tears to my eyes many times.

It's incredible that humans can be so barbaric to each other, and that whole populations of people will support senseless decisions by their own leaders, or at the very least, refuse to condemn them, because they believe the fearful lies that politicians or military leaders concoct to justify the violence.

I mean, look at Gaza. According to the UN, over 30,000 people have been killed there by the Israeli armed forces since early October last year.

11,500 of the dead are children.

Another 100,000 people are injured or missing.

Right before our eyes.

How can anyone justify such a disproportionate response against innocent Palestinian civilians to Hamas' barbaric brutality against innocent Israelis?

And, btw, criticising the actions of Israeli military or political leaders has absolutely nothing to do with anti-Semitism. But it's a well used justification by Israeli leaders and right wing commentators to attempt to shut up their critics.

Anti-Semitism is criticising Jewry, the Jewish people as a whole, or their belief systems. That's absolutely not what I'm doing here. I love Jews.

I love Muslims.

I love everyone.

Violence never has, and never will be, sustainable.

Leaving Laos (Again)

And so, the road has taken me to the Vietnamese border.

It was a beautiful ride today. It was cold and foggy. And very hilly, as usual.

But the scenery's different here. It's greener, and the karst makes it more pretty.

Acting like a local

The sign says a 12% slope, which doesn't seem like much to a non-cyclist, but it is. And this road was nowhere near as steep as some of the others I've ridden up lately, so I shudder to think what their gradients were. My legs certainly shuddered going up them.

Last glimpses of this beautiful beautiful country.

For now at least.

The border at Namsoi was the quietest border I've ever crossed. In fact it was so quiet that when I arrived there was absolutely no one there.

I could have ridden straight across.

But that would've been dumb, as I wouldn't have an exit stamp.

So I waited, and eventually after an hour everyone returned from their lunch break.

I said goodbye and left Laos, rode across no woman's land, and then suddenly I was in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. The Vietnamese passport offical, who didn't speak a word of English, showed me a printed piece of paper that said "PASSPORT STAMPING FEE 50,000 Kip."

I said, "no, no fee." I knew it was a scam. I'd already paid for my Vietnamese visa online, and knew that remote border officials often try to make extra cash on the side. But I didn't wanna encourage that.

Eventually he just gave me my stamped passport back for free, as if it all hadn't happened.

It's been an incredible trip through northern Laos over the past three weeks. It's also actually been the most remote and hardest cycling of my whole trip so far. And, of course, it's been really incredible because of it.

Laos is a stunningly beautiful country, full of warm and culturally rich people. But unfortunately many are struggling, and not just the 62% of the population who live in rural areas and lead a very basic subsistence existence. People in the towns and small cities have also been hit hard by the economic downturn, wages are low, and prices have skyrocketed. The government has little money for services, and is trapped in debt.

But the people are gentle, respectful, warm and genuine, and generous, despite their struggles. I've met some beautiful people in the country, and made new friends.

And now I've had to say yet another goodbye.

Back In Vietnam

Yeah, suddenly  I'm in Vietnam, in a tiny run-down messy little village called Na Meo, right on the border. It's a real híck border settlement, lots of poor people, lots of mess, lots of dogs.

The people are somewhat guarded, but eventually become friendly.

I found a grand old hotel that's seen much better days, and looks way better than it is. It's rundown and dirty, sorta like the town.

But I'm ok with that. Well, I should say, I'm fine with that because I'm just used to it.

I couldn't find much food, but did find this, and some bánh mì. Fresh and delicious.

Downvillage

Seed drying

And from tomorrow, and over the next few days, I'll keep riding through these beautiful steep hills and will eventually hit the great plains of the Red River Delta.

Yes, Insha'allah, my next major destination is the amazing Cực Phương National Park, and then the stunning karst scenery around Tam Cốc.

And after that, well, to the big smoke I guess, to the amazing historic capital city of Hanoi. And I've gotta tell ya, I'm so looking forward to some new, diverse and delectable food options, to real coffee, and maybe to a pain au chocolat.

Or six❤️

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