Things were obviously happening in Laos. Stories had been filtering through the closed border to Thailand about re education centres and big parades in the capital, Vientiane. The nervous General Manager of Royal Air Lao, a member of the Royal Family, had just swum across the Mekong to Thailand. A Thai police chief had added to Bankok Post' speculation by claiming that Vietnamese, under Hanoi control, were behind the border 'incidents'. His 'Catch 22' proof for this was that there was absolutely no evidence for this whatsoever, claiming that the Vietnamese agents were far too cunning to leave behind any signs of their involvement.

So the shooting exchange between a Thai gunboat and Lao soldiers indicated much more than just itchy trigger fingers and disputed river channels The Thai politicians obviously thought that the last chapter of the Indo-China war, unless they were careful, would include some pages on Thailand.

The newspapers in Thailand were preparing the public for a possible military response and so were making Laos sound as dangerous and turbulent as possible. Flights were still going from Bangkok to Vietinae and the Embassy was still issuing visa, so I was already sceptical of the hysteria. Besides, to go to Viet Nam, I had to go through Laos.

A Royal Air Lao flight was scheduled to fly to Vientiane on Saturday. The Air France issuing office warned me to expect a phone call on the Saturday morning to inform me whether the flight would be going. What were termed 'gasoline problems' had kept most previous flights from leaving. This was no exception, and instead I had to take a Thai Airways flight the following day.

Food and Beggars

I had a meal at a Lao restaurant. First I added the prices and then converted to dollars. It sounded quite reasonable for a dinner. Then it arrived. Cold vermacelli with a few slivers of pork, and dessert turned out to be a cold drink.

Every few minutes a beggar would come in, approach me, the only European present, get down on bended knees and just wait, often with eyes averted. The process would be repeated round three of four tables and then he would leave. All without a word being said.

I could see that the entry of the forces of the Lao Patriotic Front (the Pathet Lao) into Vientiane had not yet made any great difference to the people and society. There are expensive-looking villas in the old colonial style and still well kept. There were also an incredible number of Mercedes cars around the streets. It is quite probable that Vientiane has a greater number of Mercedes than has Wellington; they weave their way, chauffeur driven among the bikes and beggars.

So the question is, 'What is to done?'. The problems must appear intractable to many. If you confiscate the villas and put in the peasantry, all you have is urban peasants. If you confiscate the Mercedes you have Pathet Lao troops driving the Mercedes. You also can't get hold of the cash that is used to buy the Mercedes because that is all safely in Surich and only tapped when needed.

Solving the Problems

The problems may appear intractable but those who say they are, together with those who advocate minor reforms to solve the problems of poverty, are those who don't have to endure the poverty and degradation. They are the people, rather, who benefit from it. Even while I was in Vientiane the final stages of a process were being carried out whereby the old colonial order that had changed in name only since the French withdrawal, was being swept away. Since the ceasefire in Viet Nam in 1973, Laos has been under a joint administration of Pathet Lao and the old pro-American group based in Vientiane. Since the Vientiane rightists who had previously been dependent on U.S. military, economic aid and intrigue found their base being swept away and preferred to take their chances with currents of the Mekong instead.

During the three days that I was in Vientiane, the final step was taken. King Vathana abdicated the throne and his nephew, Prince Souphanouvong became president of a new Repulbic.

The writing had quite literally been on the wall for some time. The Pathet Lao troops were in control of Vientiane. Their uniforms are much like those of the Chinese PLA. Rubber-soled 'bata bullet' style shoes with green uppers. Loose-fitting green trousers and open necked shirts. The caps are 'soft' ones with tiny black peaks. The uniform is simple and utilitarian, quite a contrast to the hip-tight style of the Tai military, revolver swinging low at a jaunty angle. Some were armed with machine guns, a reminder that even at this stage the transition in Laos is not always a peaceful one. The only perceptible insignia of rank was the occasional red armband, suspended for the epaulette

The Pathet Lao have bases scattered through Vientiane, recognisably by the armed soldiers standing by swing-barriers over the gateways. From these depots rumbled the huge lorries that sped through the streets, each one with a quite large accompaniment of men. A vehicle here is quite a communal outing with many people inside or on the back braving the incredible output of diesel fumes and dust.

On my way back from the Viet Nam embassy I encountered a public meeting. There is an are de Triomphe on the outskirts of Vientiane, constructed from cement that the United States gave for the construction of the airport runway. The road had been closed off to one side of this are and the rally was in progress in the courtyard of a low white building facing the monument. Slogans had been hung and painted everywhere; all in Lao. The speeches boomed out in every direction for hundreds of yards. All over South East Asia the public address system substitutes for the transistor radio. I approached a guard and asked if I could take a photograph. He gathered my intention but was not quite sure whether it would be permitted.

I passed on to some others. They were more definite about it, but were quite happy for me to take some pictures of them. I didn't stay long. This is a country that has suffered, for total area, more bombardment than any other ever and is a country where the current issue of the 'Far Eastern Economic Review' speculated that the CIA was still active. This country belongs to the Lao people and their suspicion of foreigners is well justified. I moved on to find out later that I had witnessed a proclamation of a republic.

As I had feared, the staff at the embassy had not been notified that I would be arriving. The message that I was able to accept the invitation had been lost somewhere between Chiang Mai, Thailand Wellington and up to Hanoi again. I had suspected that I would be considered some itinerant hippy bent on some sightseeing after wearying of the grass in Katmandu.

This was not be be. The embassy staff sat me down at a small low table flanked by two other tables lower and smaller still and offered me tea. I was to become familiar with both table arrangement and the beverage in the next week. A cable would be sent to Hanoi that afternoon and when a reply was received they would contact me and issue a visa.

Thus assured I left to see more of the sights of Vientiane

Vientiane Irrelevant

Vientiane in many ways must be irrelevant to the surrounding countryside. If Vientiane was suddenly removed the countryside would be adversely affected, but not critically. Pushbikes and Hondas would be a problem but many of the former are of such an incredible vintage and would see through a few years yet. The external commodity causing the greatest dependence is gasoline. Change that and all the little 'Stanley Steamers' in town would come to a halt

I had my visa stamp safely in my passport the afternoon before I was due to fly to Hanoi. Though the Student Travel office in Bankok had booked reservations for me on Aeroflot, a Russian State airline, it is always wise to reconfirm. A woman visiting the embassy who was an agent for Japan Air Lines agreed to reconfirm for me as I had no idea where the Aeroflot office was. Late that afternoon, minutes before closing I happened to chance on the Aeroflot office. As I had guessed my name was not on the passenger manifest. Worse, the flight was leaving at 8.00a.m. instead of 10.50a.m. Luckily, there was still a seat available.

Just before eight the boarding bell sounds. Baggage already checked in has to be identified by the owner on the tarmac and checked directly into the cargo hold. The initial check-in evidently meant that the bags made it only as far as the tarmac; not the plane. On board and strapped in we waited for the takeoff, but the announcement comes that there will be a delay.

Fortunately the possibility of leaving the next day did not eventuate and we were away within the hour.

Conclusions

My lasting memories of this visit to Laos would be of the paradoxes of French and Lao, of the Revolution and the Royal Family, the Mercedes and the stinking rubbish heaps of Market Morning. Such contrasts could not last, they were contradictions and could only resolve themselves in a new order.

The United States had preserved the monarchy and now even though the incumbants of the institution were not impeding the new masters of Laos, the spirit of people's minds in building a Laos of democracy, unity, neutrality, peace, independence and prosperity required the old order to go. A monarch after all, is a feudal concept of servitude and served. By birth alone do you receive your curse or privilege.

The struggle of the Lao people had been a long and bitter one, one that the Pentagon and the CIA had attempted to hide from the world. Eventual military victory over the United States enable the people to then turn to the more subtle and yet no less dangerous forms of United States imperialism. The USAID personnel had been forced to leave earlier in the year and the U.S. Embassy in Vientiane now sits malevolently in a side street behind a high fence and hisses at the outside world through its barred, airconditioning vents in windowless walls.

The pious charity of the 'World Vision' organisation had also seen its day in Vientiane. The offices were deserted and the file lay strewn about the floor. No more would 'Uncle Frank and Auntie Shirley' write from Missouri to the orphan' child telling her about their two cars and Sunday school. The people of Laos would now be directing the future of their country on their terms.