Today we were awoken at five am by a women speaking Laotian and playing music through a loud speaker... I wasn't sure what it was but it was played throughout the village. This did not impress me especially as I had woken at two am and struggled to settle back down. I was so tired this morning that I physically couldn't open my eyes and required a big hit of caffeine before doing so. Steven had slept well and was on the hunt for coffee and soon returned with sachet of sweet coffee and two glasses. We drank our weird attempt at coffee and got up, Steven went to chill on the deck and I got dressed and freshened up. By the time we were done it was not even seven so we decided to pack our bags on the off chance we could actually get a bus this afternoon. We then set off for the day ahead that we were both very excited for, as today we would be visiting the Pathet Lao caves. The caves we were to visit are nestled in the huge limestone karats that surround the small town of Vieng Xai, where during the 'secret war' (1964-1973) American forces dropped over two million tonnes of ordnance during their nine year campaign. This equates to a plane load of bombs every eight minutes and was the largest aerial bombardment in history. The caves themselves proved to be the prefect location to use as a hidden base for the Pathet Lao and over twenty thousand local people. The caves were orginally sought out during the fifties by the Viet Minh forces who were fighting the French. They enlarged the caves by the use of manpower and later dynamite to ensure they were suitable for purpose. By the mid sixties the caves had become like a hidden city with over one hundred separate caves, some at ground level and others high up in the crevices and only accessible by bamboo ladders. The caves were used as the headquarters to the Pathet Lao as well as a safe haven for the local community. Within the caves schools were built, hospitals complete with operating theatres created and homes, printing mills, theatres and so on established.

We headed into the village and found a local place offering breakfast at a fairly reasonable price. Neither of us were hungry so ordered a portion of sticky rice each that we ate with Maggie and chilli sauce. What we didn't finish we put into a lunch bag and took with us for lunch, we then stopped at the market for some bananas. We got a huge bunch for about forty pence, which Steven suggested we took back to the guesthouse as they weighed a tonne. We walked back and dropped of the bananas taking a small bunch with us before setting off for the Vieng Xai visitors centre, which was about one and a half km away. It was already hot and were were perspiring greatly but couldn't moan as the view and surroundings were just stunning... They really were absolutely beautiful.

We arrived at the office and bought our tickets, we were then given a map of the caves and advised to hire a scooter otherwise we wouldn't be able to see everything. I was a bit miffed by this as they are meant to have bikes (all broken) and a scooter would cost sixty thousand kip for three hours as we wouldn't require a whole days use. I felt that it would surely make sense to provide a tuk tuk service if the caves are to spread out to walk?? Anyway we accepted we would either have to miss the hospital caves, which I wanted to see or the artillery cave that Steven wanted to see. I was not happy... Especially when we pay sixty thousand and the greater Mekong subregions of Vietnam, China, Thailand and Cambodia only pay twenty thousand. However my grumpiness was short lived as the young girl beckoned me back to the desk, it transpired that we were the only two people on the nine o'clock tour so one of us could travel on the guides scooter and one on a push bike (they had one that wasn't broken).

Steven offered to ride the bike as I was suffering with gut rot and we agreed to the extra kip to subsidise this option. Soon enough it was nine am and we were off.... The first stop was to President Kaysone Phomihanes house, who was the figure head of the Pathet Lao (Lao communist party) and served as Laos prime minister from 1975 to 1991 then president for a year before his death in 1992. It was himself who established the caves as the Pathet Lao headquarters during the nine years of bombing that blasted the area from 1964 to 1973. His cave was up a staircase high in the rock and on entering was surprisingly spacious and bright, this is mainly due to the walls now being a bright shade of white and the use of electricity... It was surprisingly large and this cave alone had a large dining room, kitchen, toilet, separate bedrooms for himself, his children and his bodyguard. It also had a large meeting room, resting area and reading area, it even had an airtight gas chamber incase of gas bombing complete with air filter. It was very deceiving when you enter and amazing to see. Outside stood his old home that was built directly outside the caves after the ceasefire in 1973, all the leaders who had their own respective caves built there subsequent homes on the land in front of their caves....

We then viewed several other leaders caves including Nouhak Phoumsavan, who was second in command under President Kaysone Phomihane. His home was also below his cave and you could still see his military jeep sitting in the driveway, also by his house was the first of many huge bomb craters that are sadly so prominent in this area of Lao. His home now sits empty but the gardens maintained... We headed up to his cave, which was similar to President Kaysone Phomihanes but open a smaller and more claustrophobic scale. Apparently he often came to stay at his house here until his death in 1998. After this we headed back on to our bikes and rode through the beautiful town to another set of caves located a few km away. Here we saw Prince Souphannouvongs cave and home, he was known as the 'red prince' and was a member of the Luang Prabang royal family. He was a prominent figure in the Lao communist movement and his cave also reflected this with meeting rooms and such. His home was situated in the most beautiful garden, which he created himself as a memorial to his son who was murdered aged 28 whilst learning how to farm in rural Lao. He had recently graduated from university and his father had then requested he return to Lao and learn the ways of the land... Unfortunately during this time he was brutally murdered by enemy forces and so within his garden is a stupa, which is a traditional Asian memorial.

We wandered up to his cave which was similar to the previous two... While here, we sat and listened to some local villagers accounts of the bombardments that took place here. One man explains how his home was bombed injuring most of his family and unfortunately killing his grandfather in front of him, its heartbreaking to listen to and you helps you to fully understand while people would make the decision to live for nine years in the dark and claustrophobic conditions of these caves. Apparently the villagers would sleep for short periods during the day and work through the night farming, to ensure they had food whilst avoiding the constant bombing throughout the day, they were only allowed to keep dark animals and all animals who would could potentially be a target were killed... This included any white ducks or even the red of a rooster. They also explain how a captured pilot confessed that they had no strict orders on what to bomb... Just anything that was coloured would be considered a target. This further enlightens me to the fact that the bombs were aimed to destroy innocent civilians.... Civilians who didn't even know what was going on. Eighty five percent of the million people in Lao at the time were farmers... They had no idea who America was or why they were at war. From here you could also see how the rock formation had changed through the bombings and had chunks missing as well as the big crater within the front garden (which had been transformed into a swimming pool).

We continued looking at these amazing caves for a while before we jumped on the bikes and headed over to the hospital cave... This was the one I wanted to see and it was crazy. The cave was huge and split into bays, they had one for women, one for men and one for intensive care. There's nothing left to help you to imagine it during this time but you can picture how the bays may have looked. The wards were staffed by Vietnamese and Cuban doctors and nurses and one women relives the moment she gave birth within the cave. It must have been terrifying... the whole place however was incredible... amazing how organised and prepared they were... There was even a mortuary.

Our last stop of the day was the military caves and these were located on the other side of town still... We passed through the beautiful countryside again before finding ourselves at a huge cave. This one is a natural cave with little enlargement made and you can tell because it is just stunning. We were led through the barracks down to a huge cave in the base that was amazing... It was covered in natural rock formations and when they caught the light they just shimmered. We followed through the vast space to a narrow corridor that led through to the back and towards several steep staircases. On climbing you are soon find yourself with a small area of several rooms with a beautiful 180 degree view of the farmland beyond. From here apparently you could once see the site of an old American fighter plane that had crashed but all we could see was small holdings and the college. We climbed back down and were led back through the cave where we found ourselves again in the large area of the cave we had previously seen. From here we were led through the natural formations to another large space that was full of tables and chairs and a huge projector screen. This was previously the entertainment room and was were movies were shown and performances held as well as weddings and celebrations. Now days it remains in use with regular meetings and conferences... We were asked to sing a song to see how it projects here and all I could think of was twinkle twinkle little star, so subjected the poor guide to a verse before he led us back outside. Apparently after the war ended the caves then became 're-education' camps and it was here that the then Lao royal family found themselves and perished. Here was the end of the tour and we were soon on our way back through the town and at at the visitors centre. There are hundreds more caves here but remain closed to the public... There is a large number of UXO still unexploded in the area and it wouldn't be safe to see them.

On returning to the visitor centre we refilled our bottle and bid farewell to our guide with a tip and a thank you, we then wandered back to town and into our guesthouse where we planned to pick up our bags. We arrived at the guesthouse and Steven went to settle the bill, while I went to collect our bags. I was just rechecking the room to ensure that nothing was left behind when Steven came bursting in saying there was a problem. It turned out that the guesthouse wasn't believing that we had paid for our beer yesterday and was trying to get Steven to pay for it. I came out and met the manager and insisted we had paid... He asked who to and I simply replied one of the women here, I don't know which. He didn't believe us so I was straight with him and said we never put things on our room bill as hotels tend to add items that you haven't consumed and hike your bill up and anyway I wasn't going to rip them off for the sake of a beer. Eventually he relented and we left although I don't think he fully believed us and it was a shame to leave on that note, especially as we had enjoyed such a fun night previously.

We walked back to the centre and sat at the bus station in the hope that a bus would eventually leave back to Sam Nuea, one tuk tuk came by at just after twelve and said he would take us for two hundred kip, I laughed and said I don't think so mate and sat back down. We sat in the shade on a wall opposite the market and prepared for the potentially long wait ahead. This is due to the fact that a tuk tuk won't leave Sam Nuea unless full and then if by some miracle it does and arrives here, it won't leave here till its full. Given the fact its low season and we seemed to be the only westerners in the town the chances were slim.

We munched on our bananas and watched the going ons before a young chap caught my eye. He appeared to have some kind of learning disability and was wandering around in smartish dark jeans and a thick military green shirt, on his shirt he had home made cardboard epaulettes with a taped black line on them as well as having the most awesome hat ever. It was a military generals hat made from a BeerLao cardboard box... It was so amazing and put even Blue Peter to shame. He was so sweet and kept coming over and giggling then saluting me (to which I of course saluted) then bowed before laughing again. This went on for quite a while with us saluting, bowing and giggling together. I then took a photo of him saluting and showed him, which he loved before giving him some of our bananas. He then stood with us trying to chat but kept giggling... Was such a sweetheart.

We sat for a while chatting before we decided to go and sit in the Indian close by mainly for comfort and so Steven can eat before we get the bus back... If we get the bus back. We sat for a while and Steven ordered some fried rice with egg, which looked very tasty while I sipped the free soup that accompanied it then we read our books for a while before our new military friend reappeared and started saluting me again and bowing. This lasted for a while before the Indian chap sent him on his was assuming he was annoying me lol. After a couple of hours sitting, no bus had arrived or left and we started getting a bit fed up. We asked the Indian chap if he thought anything would turn up now and he said he would see what he could do before disappearing on his phone. He came back a short time later and said that if we walked up to the T junction about two km away then there would be a bus passing from Vietnam at between four thirty and five pm. We thanked him and said we would hold out till four pm and if no luck then we would wander up there.

We felt a bit better now knowing we had an option but hoped something would pass anyway. We sat reading before the guesthouse owner turned up and sat down for lunch, it was a bit awkward at first but he soon smiled and said hello and it was a bit more comfortable. He even showed me a guy next door who was about to skin a dead snake for dinner... Yummy! Steven resisted the temptation to see and carried on reading before he suddenly realised my Union Jack scarf was missing. We tried to work out where he had lost it before we remembered the fuss at the guest house and had the realisation, he mentioned it to the guesthouse owner who sped of back to the guesthouse. By this point I reminded Steven about the whole beer charade and the fact I will now never see the scarf again especially with the guy now on route to the guesthouse. He followed him and returned a short while later with said scarf and I have to say I was amazed, what followed was a lecture on him losing everything... That isn't his!

We sat until four pm and no bus had materialised so we headed with our bags up to the T junction, it was still very hot and by the time we arrived we were feeling pretty sweaty and warm. Luckily there was a small bench sitting in the shade with a good view of the road so we went and took a perch waiting for the bus, after about forty minutes there was still no bus so we were considering hitch hiking but then a couple of locals appeared and we were reassured the bus would actually turn up. An old Lao man then appeared and was trying to talk to us in Lao so I offered him a banana and he smiled and accepted before munching into it. We sat for another good while before the elderly man gave up and walked off looking like jack Bauer from 24 as he wandered down the train track into the sunset with his satchel over his head... Was quite funny.

Literally five minutes later the bus came past and before we even had a chance to ask the price we were told to get on... What happened next was an hour of Vietnamese and Lao men leering and looking me up and down and laughing as they clearly made smutty comments.... I've never been so uncomfortable. About half way in the guy near us started asking for the money to which I relied how much? He kept saying forty thousand kip each and I just laughed and said no. He kept asking in a fairly aggressive manner and then speaking in either Lao or Vietnamese to the driver and the guy in front who kept staring at me and to be honest I felt very intimidated. I was trying to ignore them incase they threw us off for not paying but he kept asking... I kept saying no its an imaginary overpriced fare and we aren't paying. The rest of the journey was horrid and very tense, this wasn't helped by the fact I was tired and getting more paranoid as we were the only westerners with five or six Asian guys all speaking about us and we couldn't understand them. I think I was a bit over tired but I kept thinking of the worse case scenarios (especially given some of the stories recently in the news). I kept thinking they would pull a knife or not let us off or rob us.. Or worse. All a bit over dramatic but that's how frightened I was. We have been travelling in Asia for nearly seven months now and I can honestly say that is the first time I have felt so intimidated and frightened.

Soon enough we were passing the Sam Nuea bus station and heading to the town, at this point I said to Steven get fifty thousand out... That's a fair price and all they are getting. We arrived in town and people started getting off so we followed suit, I didn't want us being the last two on the bus with these guys. We got up and asked the driver the fare and he told Steven it was fifty thousand each... Steven laughed and said no mate. At this point I was attempting to offload our bags as quickly as possible as the aggressive guy neither helped or stopped staring aggressively at me. In the end the driver was fed up, realised he wasn't going to get his inflated fare and told Steven to get off... We grabbed our bags and jumped off.

We luckily weren't to far from the guesthouse we were returning to so walked on towards it with Steven laughing about the whole experience and the cheek of them. Maybe I was feeling a little emotional or hormonal but I hadn't found the experience funny or even a travel story... I genuinely felt afraid and wanted to cry... Sad I know. We reached the guesthouse and the family as welcoming as always waved us in and gave us the same room we had left for the same reduced price. We headed upstairs and settled in and I went to the bathroom and had a little cry (always makes me feel better). Steven must have thought I had fallen down the toilet and came in finding me sobbing with huge panda eyes. The whole thing was silly and I think I was being a bit sensitive and over thinking the worst case scenario thing, added with fatigue and hunger and it all came to a head. A large hug later and some soothing words and I was feeling much better, we showered and decided to head for some food and an early night. We wandered around town before eventually settling on a small restaurant next to our guesthouse, the menu was a little more than we normally pay but only by a few pence and the food was delicious and the portions good, we finished our meal and headed back to the guesthouse where we climbed in to bed and read our books before falling into a deep sleep.