Avoiding UXO's at the Plain of Jars

Trip Start Mar 11, 2008
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Trip End Ongoing


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Where I stayed
Dhoukhoun Guesthouse
(Phonsavan hotels)

Flag of Lao Peoples Dem Rep  , Phonsavan,
Saturday, May 10, 2008

After a little excitement on our final day in Luang Prabang (Clare being hauled off to the Labour Office by the Tourist Police who, having found her at the loom at Ock Pop Tok, accused her of carrying out illegal paid work without the appropriate visa!) we have moved on to Phonsavan in central Laos, which has been our base for the last couple of days while we've explored the Plain of Jars. The 8 hour bus ride to get here was slightly nauseous, winding round an endless succession of hairpin bends through the hills, but the views en route are breathtaking.

Phonsavan is very much a one horse town, with little to commend it or to do beyond the day trip out to the jar sites. It is however home to the MAG (Mines Advisory Group) HQ, a charitable organisation that trains up teams of local people as bomb squads to clear the unexploded ordnance (UXO's) that litters Xiang Khouang province following the Second Indochina War Collection of UXO's, Phonsovan
Collection of UXO's, Phonsovan
 . Their office has a large collection of shrapnel and bomb casings and shows a daily documentary on their work- it's absolutely fascinating. I had no idea how heavily Laos was bombed by the US during the 60's and 70's- it's estimated that 177 sorties were carried out every day for 10 years dropping the equivalent of one plane-load of cluster bombs (bombies) every 8 mins!! Hundreds of these failed to explode on impact and even 40 years on, huge numbers have yet to be discovered. The tragedy is that huge areas of otherwise fertile, arable land have been rendered unfarmable due to the risk from UXO's so the people are unable to grow sufficient food to support themselves or to make a living and many have resorted to trading scrap metal from bomb casings as a lucrative source of income. Most shocking is that many of them are totally unaware of the danger they face every time they tamper with these things. To them it's just a piece of iron- no comprehension whatsoever that the fuse could very well still be live and could blow a limb off or worse, kill them when they try to dig it up!

Today we've been on a minibus tour of the Plain of Jars itself- clusters of chest-high, granite urns dotted around the Phonsavan countryside which are thought to date back to the iron age. Noone's quite sure where they came from or what they were used for. I guess you could say they're Laos' answer to Stonehenge. Much to our delight our minibus was equipped with fold-down TV screen and we were treated to naff Loatian karaoke for the return leg of the trip (naturally Clare and I joined in). Now wondering what to do to kill the remainder of the day before our bus out of here tomorrow morning. We've made some new friends - Phil & Sarah (a lovely Aussie couple) and will carry on our journey with them tomorrow down to Vang Vieng for a few days R&R by the river..
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