Auberge Phouphadeng Phonsavan

... that focused more of this story than that of the Jars. Later that night we watched a good documentary movie at Kongs about the war and the clean up efforts that are ongoing today. The following morning we set off on the tour and were taken to sites where huge bomb craters are still there, to villages where shells of old bombs are used are stilts for houses and for flower beds, to sites where MAG ( Mines Advisory Group) are clearing areas of land ...

... and our guide played some lovely romantic music for us on his phone while we sipped water and talked about our boyfriends and how we couldn't go out to the 'discotheque' that night because we had the bus in the morning. There wasn't much putting them off though! We had lunch in a little shop/house/restaurant where the menu consisted off sticky rice or noodle soup. We had the soup but didn't eat much of it! Bought some nice popcorn there though.

After much ...

Dark clouds loom overhead as a plastic bag skips across the ground in the wind. On a street that resembles a scene from an old Western film. 2 cars and 7 mopeds make their way along the main street of Phonsavanh. This place seems like a ghost town. Luke and I have set out to find information on bus times and prices and hopefully find some information on a day trip out to the Plain of Jars tomorrow. We find a city map and as I study it I find that I’ve had my ...

After Luang Prabang we headed for the town of Phonsavan which was a days bus journey away. It was a nice enough journey tough as we made our way east in Laos crossing amongst the jungly hills and dramatic scenery. Phonsavan is on a plain and is actually quite cool, so it was really nice to arrive there and felt great to have to put on a jumper again. It's strange the things you miss.....
We got ourselves a room in Kong Keo's guesthouse and Mark, a swiss guy who was very quiet ...

... put my ipod on shuffle (trying to get the battery to last as long as possible) and ate oreo cookies and pringles in an attempt to not feel sick (it works for me).

When we got to Phonsavan were picked up and transfered to the Maly Hotel for free - we'd booked ahead. We got talking to two nice Englsh girls on the bus and they didn't know where to stay - it still surprises us that most people we meet find accomodation when they arrive, maybe ...

... was also on the break of having a civil war against two political groups in Laos. Without the US civilian knowledge, In 1961 President John F. Kennedy gave the order to recruit a force of 11,000 Hmong villagers to help fight this war. They were trained by several hundred US and Thai Special Forces and over the next 12 year the Hmong "secret army" fought to keep Plain of Jars non-communist from North Vietnam. As the war dragged on, so many Hmong were killed ...

As we got onto our bus at some ungodly hour (probably 8am), our big bags were chucked into the back of the bus, with all sorts of wood and building materials and we were pointed towards some food stalls. We were pretty hungry, so I got a tuna sandwich (bad choice, but chicken was out) which ended up stinking out the whole bus. Played hide and seek with the kid in the shop who was laughing his head off. Then Pete looks at me and mouths P-a-e-d-o. I quickly exited the shop.

The bus ...

Today was absolutely amazing. Just when I think the trip cant get any better we go and get to see something like this. We headed out around nine this morning in a group of 8 for site number one of three for the plain of jars. Site one contains the largest jar, or at least it used to be before site four opened up this year, and it is the most visited site because it is really close to the city. After perusing around taking all kinds of beautiful photos here we headed to a little ...

Have finaly found a have decent internet connection to update thee old blog. We left Luang prabang and went to phonsavan, can't remember what day it was. We got a mini bus there and the driver was a maniac as a lot of people are when it comes to driving. If you think its bad driving in england you should see it here! Had some great views and scenary on the way which was nice, made the time pass quicker. Got to phonsvan booked a tour for the next day and then we were ...

... farmers, children and so on everey year as a result of the unexploded mines and bombs. There is a company called MAG (Mines Advisory Group) who are helping to clear the bombs and train locals to do the same, they recon they will still be clearing Laos in 100 years. Due to the amount of bombs unexploded the land available to villagers for producing cash crops are small so alot of ...