The
journey to Phonsavan started at the bus station, where the driver and his
cronies were attempting to squeeze 13 people into the 12 seats of our mini bus.
These seats are made for slight Asian frames, not the big bums and wide
shoulders of western tourists, so when the man suggested four of us share three
seats, there was outrage. After an hour and 15 minutes of debating, during
which nothing was achieved, we set off with the four smallest passengers
sharing three seats. For once I was grateful not to be one of the slimmest in
the group; they were in for an uncomfortable eight hour ride.
Our
minibus whizzed us off around the tight bends of the mountains along highways
13 and 7 to Phonsavan. Even sitting in the front seat I was as green as the
surrounding countryside and was grateful for the odd landslide blocking our
way, allowing me to stretch my legs and recover from my nausea.
Phonsavan
is an ugly, dusty town that lines highway 7; the only reason people go there is
to see the mysterious Plain of Jars. The countryside in northern Laos
Craved
from a single stone over 2,000 years ago, the jars are thought to have been
used as funerary urns by an Iron Age civilisation. Some measure up to 2m in
height.
We decided to cycle to the main jar site (site 1), along Phonsavan’s dusty roads. It is possible to visit the jar sites as part of a package tour, but after the horrendous journey from Luang Prabang the previous day, neither of us could face another day as in a minibus. The 7km ride took about 45 minutes and entailed a few hills that took my breath away on my 1950’s style one speed bike.
The
jars were interesting enough but in my opinion, not worth the 15 hour detour.
What was interesting, however, was the history of the area regarding the
Vietnam war. Known as the Secret War as it was never mentioned in US army
official documentation until years after, Laos
was devastated by US bombs; two
million tons of ordnance was dropped on Laos Vietnam
It’s
estimated that 30% of the bombs dropped did not explode as they were dropped to
low to detonate or simply malfunctioned; that leaves 80 million unexploded
ordnance (known as UXO) littering the Laos countryside, buried in farmers’
fields, hidden under houses. Every month more deaths and injuries occur as UXO
are discovered: farmers digging their land, children playing in the forest,
people searching for scrap metal. The bombs are still killing people 40 years
after the war ended.
Phonsavan
is the capital of Xiang Khouang province, one of the most heavily bombed areas
of Laos
The
UXO has hampered the development of this country by rendering so much land
unsafe to use. Farmers can’t grow enough food, roads can’t be built and towns
can not expand as the land needed is full of ordnance that could explode at any
moment.
We
visited the Mines Advisory Group (MAG) in Phonsavan, an organisation dedicated
to finding and clearing UXO in order to make more land available for farming
and development. We made a small donation and watched one of the documentaries
they have showing.
It
seems that where ever we travel in this region we are confronted with the
devastating consequences of the Vietnam War, even in the innocent bordering
countries, Laos and Cambodia
Documentaries
about the Secret War in Laos (all available on youtube)
Bomb
Harvest
Bombies
The
Secret War
How To Get To…
Plain
of Jars Site 1 by bike: Follow highway 7 out of town (west) until you reach an
intersection with traffic lights and a petrol station on the left hand side.
Turn left, continue approximately 4km until you see a sign for the site on the
right hand side. Bikes can be rented in town for 20,000kip ($2.50/£1.50) or
40,000kip for a mountain bike.
We Stayed At…
Kong
Keo, near the minibus station. A shabby bungalow on a quiet backstreet, with a
cosy nightly fire in the communal area. 60,000kip ($7.50/£4.50)
