Northern Exposure - Sam Neua

Way Up North

A weekend up north, when you live in Vientiane, is never a decision taken lightly. There are mountains, clouds, storms, small planes, minibuses and overnight sleeper buses - all of which can mean lateness, uncomfortableness, slowness, danger and possibly even death.

Still, it sounded like a good idea.

The mountains of the north

The Caves of Revolution

Communists in Caves - a simplified view of a revolution.

In the 1960s and 70s, the Lao revolution was coordinated by passionate, idealistic men and women living in caves in Northern Laos. They lived and worked and planned and dreamed in them for around 9 years. They were bombed, shot at, hated, demonised, vilified. They survived. They won. Their children now run the Laos Government.

Megaliths and Mystery

Standing for possibly thousands of years, the upright slabs of stone at Hin Tang, in Hua Phan Province, Northern Laos, are eerily silent about where they came from.