Laos .. Vientiane

It rained while we were in Vientiane the capital of Laos. Just makes it more fun to play in.

We thought we would try and find the main shopping mall because at least it would be dry. We got as far as this Stupa (the abode of a seven headed dragon) then decided we were to lost and had to get a Tuk Tuk.

The Tuk Tuk driver must have been laughing his head off when he dropped us off one street over.

To add insult to injury the mall was closed.

Nice cafe to spend some time

 The Patuxai standing in the distance. It is a memorial to those who fought in the struggle for independence from France.  The structure was built with concrete donated by America to build a new airport. For this reason it is known as the 'Vertical Runway"

View across the Mekong river

Apple pancake.

Alternately known as a pancake with some apple on top of it. Order the cheese pancake. You will get a pancake with a square piece of processed cheese on top.

We love Karma

We visited COPE which tries to ensure that people with physical disabilities have local free access to the support they need.

From 1964 to 1973, the U.S. dropped more than two million tons of ordnance on Laos during 580,000 bombing missions—equal to a planeload of bombs every 8 minutes, 24-hours a day, for 9 years – making Laos the most heavily bombed country per capita in history. The bombings were part of the U.S. Secret War in Laos to support the Royal Lao Government against the Pathet Lao and to interdict traffic along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The bombings destroyed many villages and displaced hundreds of thousands of Lao civilians during the nine-year period.

Up to a third of the bombs dropped did not explode, leaving Laos contaminated with vast quantities of unexploded ordnance (UXO). Over 20,000 people have been killed or injured by UXO in Laos since the bombing ceased.

• Over 270 million cluster bombs were dropped on Laos during the Vietnam War (210 million more bombs than were dropped on Iraq in 1991, 1998 and 2006 combined); up to 80 million did not detonate.
• Nearly 40 years on, less than 1% of these munitions have been destroyed.More than half of all confirmed cluster munitions casualties in the world have occurred in Laos.
• Each year there continue to be over 100 new casualties in Laos. Close to 60% of the accidents result in death, and 40% of the victims are children.
• Between 1995 and 2013, the U.S. contributed on average $3.2M per year for UXO clearance in Laos; the U.S. spent $13.3M per day (in 2013 dollars) for nine years bombing Laos.
• The U.S. spent as much in three days bombing Laos ($51M, in 2010 dollars) than it spent for clean up over 16 years ($51M). 

                   Soaked but happy. Our final night in Laos