older sister: ah, it s a long time ago. many generation, we start maybe on 6th century. anthony: uh oh, what are we doing? older sister: anthony: lao lao? both sisters: yes. lao lao. we re doing some lao lao. so made by the sticky rice, so anthony: yes. older sister: it taste good. [ laughter ] anthony: look, this is close! both of you born here? older sister: yeah, i m the older sister, and she s the younger. anthony: how has the country changed since you were little kids? older sister: wow. the country change a lot. we open the tourism scene so it s good for the local economy and local people they can earn money direct from the visitor and tourists. anthony: well, president obama was just here a few months ago. younger sister: he was here. a few months ago. yeah, he got off a lot of, ah, helpful, the education and for the anthony: unexploded ordinance removal. i 90 million dollars. it s both sisters: 90 million, yeah, that s a lot. that s a
former marine and cia officer. bill lair, a texan and world war ii vet, was an influential cia case officer. vint lawrence was recruited right out of princeton, even though he was an art history major. they succeeded, at first, in impeding the flow of communist north vietnamese arms and troops on the ho chi minh trail. but by the end, they were arming even children. what happened here, presumably in the cause of freedom, of democratic western values, resonates still. an estimated 30% of the bombs dropped on laos failed to detonate. these and other uxos remain in the ground and continue to take
lives and limbs. anthony: when you get off the plane james: yes. anthony: what s the first sort of recognizable smell that registers? james: wood smoke and grilling. river, as well. you know, it s just like the mekong. anthony: diesel, or whatever the fuel is here? a little bit of james: yeah, yeah. anthony: from the first time i heard of laos, i was hooked, and filled with a desire to see the place. once a storybook kingdom of misty mountains and opium.
french guy: you can only visit luang prabang. you want to go another province, you need to have a special permit to change, and uh, i had a friend. my friend say, noel, let s go to laos. it s more protected and more, more, more natural, more authentic. i say, okay, why not? the first time i arrived in luang prabang, i was feeling, like ah, indiana jones discovering a beautiful city. and the point is, i fell in love and i couldn t go back. anthony: what s your typical day here? like, what if you re not working, you re on a good day, you know, sunday. french guy: on a good day you have a party. you have a party with old friends, ah, that s before the again, there is nothing special to do. it s just a way of life. french guy: yeah. training. anthony: so how has it changed over the years? i mean, you go to saigon or hanoi? ah, money, money, money coming in, foreign ownership of everything. is that s not happening here? french guy: yes, i can see there is an accelerati
and in 1963, the americans came. they came here and they made the hmong fight against the hmong and the lao fight against the lao. they made these people fight. it was, like, if you see me, then i die. if i see you, then you die. anthony: how was he injured? translator: how did you get injured? mr. lee: the very first injury was caused by a bomb. translator: a bomb from an airplane? mr. lee: yes, one hit here, one here and one here three places. translator: the shrapnel from the bomb is still there, right? mr. lee: yes, the bomb shrapnel is still here. it couldn t be removed. anthony: in the end, when the last choppers hurriedly left vietnam, laos and many lao who fought with us were largely left behind too. what had been a kingdom, was now a communist regime. yeah. a few who d been most directly associated with the american effort, unwilling to face rehabilitation camps or worse,