In October we are taking a group of 18 adventurous souls to Laos for two weeks. Most will be on motorbikes, with the non-riders travelling in 4x4 utilities. We have at least 3 days of offroad and will be going down parts of the Ho Chi Minh trail on the Laos side. We expect to see many remnants from the America/Vietnam conflict as Laos was bombed relentlessly by the Americans for 10 years.
Ian MacKinnon in The Guardian, described Laos as"..the most bombed nation on earth." And explains thus, "The scale of the contamination is mind-boggling. Laos was hit by an average of one B-52 bomb-load every eight minutes, 24 hours a day, between 1964 and 1973. US bombers dropped more ordnance on Laos in this period than was dropped during the whole of the second world war."
We will be covering a large chunk of Laos, starting in the capital, Ventiane. Evidence of the bombing is present all over the country, but particularly so in Phonsovan, and Savannakhet, and their surrounds. Need to remind everyone not to go wandering in the jungle at refreshment stops.
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