Running with Cows and Living with Bugs

After a successful flight on a huge Air Force C-17 from Hawaii to Thailand, and a hop on a C-130 to Pakse, Laos, we all passed through the rigid communist Laotian gates and in effect took a step back in time. Laos has just recently begun to loosen its policy restricting tourism and acceptance of foreign aid. But who can blame them? A little over thirty years ago we were secretly bombing their countryside for years during the Vietnam conflict in an attempt to prevent the communist Pathet Lao group from taking over. We bombed the Ho Chi Minh trail for over 9 years and failed in our intent. From an aerial view the Lao land appears like a vast maze of bomb craters. Thousands of bombs, mines, and other unexploded ordnance are still littered all over the country. Hundreds of Lao people (including many children), are killed each year as a result of our “hidden war in Laos.”



We arrived around midday after a long helicopter flight to our base camp in the small town of Taoy. It was a sweltering day, and I was instantly drenched in my long pants and collared shirt. I was shown to my tent where I would be living for the next month, and upon entering realized how rugged we would be living. The inside of the tent was full of huge red ants. I asked one of the Lao officials if the ants bite. He replied “sometimes, but it only hurts a little bit. Welcome to Laos!”

I decided to put on my running shoes and go for a jog to explore. Running outside the base camp perimeter required a Lao escort, so I convinced a young kid (barefoot and smoking) to come along with me. We ran out the dirt road, through town, and soon had a few more runners join us. The only problem was they weren’t people. They were animals. We had pigs (and piglets) running after us for a while, then some chickens, and finally on the way back a herd of cattle charged behind us. I flinched upon their charge, but my barefooted buddy reassured me that things were ok. We arrived safely back at base camp, and I proceeded to the shower stalls for my first dirty shower. Imagine muddy, silty water (mixed with sodium hypochlorite) from a river coming out of the shower spout. All I have to say is thank goodness it rained sometimes.