Phonsavan, Plain of Jars

  Phonsavan, Lao Peoples Dem Rep
Thursday, May 24, 2007

I got meself a local bus down to Phonsavan this time complete with a guy up front with a bloody big machine gun. Tis kinda strange that they have these boys for the local buses but not for the "VIP" buses.

Any which way I got talking to another Irish guy Barry from Cork he was a good laugh so when we got to Phonsavan we decided to go halves on a room and book a tour for the next day.

02. Don't stray from the track

Phonsavan is famous for a number of things, one of which of course is the Plain of Jars, the second of which is the prize for been one of the worlds most bombed areas. In fact in some of the villages UXOs (Unexploded Ordinance) are still dotted around the ground. It seems to be a normal part of life and a program has been in place for a number of years to teach the local not to touch them when they come across one, lots of lives and limbs have been lost this way and also a major program to clear the areas.

The one thing I regret is not seeing the village made of bombs. Here the villagers have used bomb casings for everything, they put a bunch together to form fences, their used to as stilts for their houses as utensils etc.

I only stayed here for one night as there really isn't a huge amount to do. Phonsavan is a small town and the only main attraction is the Plain of Jars. So I booked a tour of the sites the next day and off I went.

The Plain of Jars refers to a number of different sites with huge stone jars dotted around each of the sites. And seeing as though the experts can't even agree on their purpose there's very little chance I'll be able to enlighten ye. Some believe they were used as funeral urns, others believe they were used to store food. Apparently the local believe that a race of giant used to live there and they were used to hold Lao Lao/ rice wine. I prefer the locals version myself.

06. Me and a big jar

Anyway our day comprised of going to 3 of the sites and a visit to a local village, where we were shown the process they use for making Lao Lao and also treated to a taste of it. The views around here are fabulous, with rolling green hills. It kinda reminded me a lot of home in some ways, the only major difference being that everywhere you looked the landscape was covered in huge holes, bomb craters.

Anyway our day finished and I booked myself a ticket back to Vang Vieng to meet up with Mini and his buddies who had made their way up.

29. Last of the Jars