The Plain of Jars

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Dear blog,

Today I feel as though I have just stuffed up big style. Can't go in to more details as present because I'm hoping that I might not have stuffed anything up at all. But I feel like I have, and what was supposed to make me feel better has actually made me feel worse. But like I said, it might all be fine. Will just have to wait and see. Will keep you posted.

Anyway, we caught a local bus to Phonsavan after a failed attempt to drum up other tourists who might have been heading the same way to share a mini van and thus avoid the bus trip, but there were very few tourists on the bus which I was happy about because this meant that we were heading off the beaten track somewhat, which I haven't really done too much before.

So the bus was loaded up..all our stuff on the roof including a couple of motorbikes and on board there were a few chickens just for good measure, and we set off to Phonsavan. We stayed at Mr Kongs bungalows which were wooden huts with the hardest beds I have ever slept on. Woke up that night to the sound of rustling coming from my bedside table and once I was awake I couldn't get back to sleep without knowing what was causing it. So I turned the light on, woke alex up and then commenced a half hour of chase the cockroach out of the room debarcle. God I really hate those things.

Anyway, de-roached, finally went back to sleep. The next day we went on a trip to visit the jar sites scattered through some lovely countryside. Its a bit of a mystery about where the jars came from and how they got there..as they are about 2000 years old, huge, as tall as 2 metres and weighing about 10 tonnes, and made from stone sourced miles away. The locals believe they were used to store lao lao (rice whiskey), but archeologists suggest they were used as funeral urns (of giants by the size of them). We spent a good few hours taking loads of photos before stopping at a local village to try Lao Lao which tastes more like tequila and is very drinkable, mooching around the markets selling live 'forest mice' (huge furry rats), wasp larve (mmm delicious) and deep fried swallows (tasty). Spent an hour or so visiting the guides family in his village. His dad has 3 wives, and so he has numerous brothers and sisters an nieces etc and we met a woman who was 110 years old, and the guides dad who ahd a real twinkle in his eye (I wonder why).

Went out for a curry in the evening with the rest of the group.

Am going to download some photos now.

L x

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