Lao National Museum

After brunch at Le Banetton on Sunday, Nick and I went by the Lao National Museum. Even though it is right next door to the Lao Plaza (the hotel we lived in for a month at the beginning of our stay here), I'd never seen it open, or never had time to go in. They close for lunch at noon, and we got there around 11:20am, so it was a quick tour. 

The museum had some interesting artifacts from across the country, and some posters about Lao/ Asian history, but the most interesting part of the museum was the rooms that talked about the "American Destruction" (what we would refer to as the Vietnam War). (Please note: I am no expert on the Vietnam War. Most of what I get is from the Internet and what I've read from these museums, then tried to research independently. I'm sure there are people reading this who would like to argue points of this blog entry with me, but again, this is from what I have seen and experienced while living here, and a lot of time spent clicking around Wikipedia) (and we all know what a reliable source Wikipedia is)

As an American, visiting these exhibits in the museum feels very weird. On one hand, every victory the talk about and take pride in was a loss for the Americans, so I am tempted to be angry, or sad. But on the other hand, Laos suffered immense losses from the Vietnam War, and arguably fared worse that Vietnam did in the long run.  From the "Legacies of War" website (and verified against other websites): Laos is the most heavily bombed country per capita in history. There are still millions of unexploded bombs littering the Lao countryside, and thousands of farmers and their children have been killed or injured by them since the war ended. The U.S. does donate money to the removal of these bombs, about $9 million/ year, but it's slow going.

I knew very little about the Vietnam War before I moved here (especially compared to how much I know about WWII). What I now know about the Vietnam War makes me incredibly sad for all those who were involved in it. 

(I hope this post isn't interpreted as un-patriotic, especially on Veteran's Day- the date is a coincidence. Very proud of the men and women who defend the U.S. of A., and feel so fortunate to call America my home)

This site talks about the "Secret War in Laos": http://legaciesofwar.org/about-laos/secret-war-laos/