After saying farewell to Tim and Tina this morning, we went for breakfast where we met another Laotian family who are living in America. Paul asked the father why they moved to America and he told us that the CIA moved his family there after the War was over. He was 15 then and we thought he is, perhaps, in his 50s now. He explained that there is a community of approximately 80,000 Hmong people in Minnesota, where they live and that in other states there could be as many as 500,000. He went on to say that he travels here every year for the Hmong New Year as his sister and other family members are still here and that he enters on a tourist visa. The brief conversation answered many of the questions that came up yesterday and left us with a few more.
(Tina and Tim heading off to Vietnam)
After breakfast we cycled through some of the surrounding countryside. It was turning out to be a beautiful day and one of the warmest we had felt in almost a week. On the outskirts of the town, we came across another signposted cave that we went to explore. It was used as a hospital during the War and with the electricity glowing inside, and the sun shining through intermittently, they almost seemed habitable, unlike the damp, dark, eerie places we had imagined them to be. During the wet season, it would likely be a very different experience.
(Statues and memorials around Vieng Xai are a reminder of what the town and country endured during the War)
(An entrance to the cave which used to contain a hospital)
(Parts of the cave were enlarged using dynamite to remove rock. Initially it was done by hand)
(Enjoying the unusually sunny day)
We sat in the sun reading for a while before returning to the town and then used the afternoon to pack our bags and organise ourselves for the crossing into Vietnam. Later in the day, we met Ally and Jo, an English couple from the UK who had just arrived from Vietnam where they travelled by motorbike. It was good to get more suggestions and information about what lies ahead and to be able to share with them some details that we thought might help them over the coming days and weeks.
Tomorrow we will head to the border crossing at Na Meo and make our way into Vietnam. We have met quite a few fellow travelers who have crossed at Na Meo and hope for a smooth crossing based on their accounts. Now, for one last dinner at the excellent Indian restaurant in Vieng Xai and a good night's sleep.
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