Phonsavan is our last stop in Laos. It’s not a particularly appealing town, but it has two legacies worth a second look.
The first is an archeological mystery – hundreds of large stone jars spread throughout the province. Archaeologists believe that the jars were used 1,500–2,000 years ago as funeral urns or perhaps storage for food. Local legend on the other hand tells of an ancient king who created the jars to brew and store huge amounts of lao lao rice wine. I tend to believe the latter knowing how much this country likes to drink. The jars lie in clusters outside of the city, with Site 1 being the largest (>250 jars). We joined a tour group and visited Sites 1, 2, and 3 - the only ones that have been deemed safe by local authorities.
The second, but not so flattering legacy of this region is unexploded ordinance (UXO). In the 1960’s and 1970’s, the US dropped over 2 hundred million tons of bombs in Laos, many of which did not properly detonate. The bombardment lasted for 9 years making Laos one of the most heavily bombed countries in the world. The Mine Advisory Group (MAG) is one of several agencies working to clear the land of UXO, but they’ve got a long road ahead of them. We spent a couple nights at their information center watching documentaries on the subject. It was incredibly informative, especially since I had no prior knowledge of the US’s secret war in Laos.
Tomorrow morning we board an 11 hour bus heading for Vinh, Vietnam. I’m excited to move onto another country, but sad to say goodbye to one that has treated us so well.
