Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
next door a year later. Fronted by a huge statue of the former leader, the museum has plenty
of the revolutionary photographs common to other Lao museums, but also features objects
from various stages of Kaysone's life: his desk from his Savannakhet school, the winnowing
tray on which he was placed during the first days of his life, and his mother's bed, along with
a model of Kaysone's Vieng Xai cave, his binoculars, revolver and other items from his time
with the resistance movement.
SIX KLICKS CITY
The former American compound, known during the Second Indochina War as
Six Klicks
City
, was named for its location, 6km from the centre of Vientiane. An oasis during the
years that the US embassy was the seat of power in Vientiane, Six Klicks City was a slice of
suburban Americana with nicely paved roads lined with ranch-style homes and swimming
pools out the back. One month after Saigon and Phnom Penh fell in April 1975, Pathet Lao
troops surrounded the barbed-wire-enclosed compound, and the American residents inside
had nowhere to run. Three days later, the first busload of Americans headed to Wattay Air-
port, beginning the end of an era.
In December 1975, 264 delegates gathered in the compound's gymnasium and proclaimed
the formation of the Lao People's Democratic Republic. Having just emerged from their
wartime hideout in the caves of Vieng Xai, the Lao communist party members promptly
moved into the American fortress, which was to become Kaysone's headquarters until his
death in 1992.
Dong Makai Market
Around 15km north of Vientiane along Route 10 ∙ Daily sunrise to around 7pm ∙ The market is best reached by
motorbike or with a private car: follow Route 13 north out of Vientiane, joining Route 10 after around 12km.
Route 10 runs straight past the market
Occupying a dusty plot of land just north of the point where routes 10 and 13 converge is
Dong Makai Market
. Well known among locals as the best place to buy fresh insects and
live animals (both for cooking and eating), it makes for an eye-opening stop on the road from
Vientiane to the Ang Nam Ngum Reservoir. Shaded from the sunlight by drooping lengths
of canvas and tarp, many of the stalls here sell dead crickets, grubs and beetles by the bowl,
which locals snap up to eat at home. Others have more exotic products on offer, including
live snakes that writhe around in polythene bags and little pots of yellow ant eggs, which are
used to make soup. A lot of the roots, plants and animals sold here are taken illegally from the
surrounding forests, including the Phou Khao Khouay protected area, which lies to the east.
Authorities know local people are poor and need food, so they often turn a blind eye to the
poaching, but market traders can still be cagey about outsiders taking photos, so be careful
where you point your camera.
