These pictures were taken on my trip to Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia about 10 years ago. This Russian SAM (surface-to-air missile) is a leftover from the Vietnam War and can be found in the small village of Pa-Am in Southern Laos, close to where the Ho Chi Minh trail used to run past. It's fenced in with some makeshift wooden poles and located close to the village proper (just a few houses really) inhabitated by an ethnic tribe, the Alak. As can be seen on the second photograph, the fully intact missile is stenciled in Russian and Vietnamese.
Getting to the site was half the fun, as we rented a minivan and rode the 30km from the closest town, Attapeu. For those not familiar with Laotian geography, this is all taking place in the deep south of Laos, going inland from the Mekong and the border with Thailand, towards the sparsely populated jungle areas towards the Vietnamese and Cambodian border. Consequently, the town's population (and especially the children) were having a great time watching and examining the funny white strangers, nearly dropping in the river while crossing it to get to the SAM, taking a bunch of pictures and then taking off after 15 minutes in the direction they came from.
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