About an hour by tuk tuk from Sam Neua is the small town of Vieng Xai. It is set among beautiful karst limestone mountains that rise out of the rice fields like hulking monoliths. During the Secret War this area was the seat of command for the most powerful members of the Pathet Lao, the nationalist party that won the war and now runs the country.

Tuk tuks generally depart the Sam Neua bus station every half an hour from early morning until about 15:00 or 16:00. The journey costs 7,000 kip per person, and takes about an hour. It is possible to rent a private tuk tuk to take you there and back. For 2 people this will costs around $15, with more people the price will increase. On arrival, descend down the main road to the bottom where the Sam Neua Tourism Agency is. It is not possible to see the caves without a government guide. Tours can be arranged on arrival at the Office, however, they will only depart tours before 11:00 and after lunch until 16:00. If you come slightly outside this time, it is possible to have a tour anyway, by paying the guide a further 10,000 kip. Guess that's their special overtime rate.

Done on foot, with a guide of good English-speaking ability, the tour takes you into the caves of the most important government leaders, including Prince Souvannaphoum and the venerated Kaysone. The dank, dark rooms are a stark reminder of the hardships these people were prepared to endure to fight for their country. Freestanding houses at the entrances to each cave, in use from when the bombing stopped in 1972-3 until the capital was established in Vientiane in 1979, merely reinforce how suffocating it must have been to live enclosed by concrete for all those years.

Admission for foreign tourists is 10,000 kip. Camera fee 5,000 kip, video camera fee 10,000 kip.