Unlike most of the other towns we have visited Phonsavan has not reached a level of friendliness to it's tourists. The locals are alright but the tour operators are arseholes. There are some great things to do here but it is overshadowed by a darker side. There are quite a few aid agencies based here with many expat personnell and we got talking to them about some of the local issues. It seems Laos is the most bombed country in the world (per capita) and around 30% of all the stuff dropped didn't detonate. This is collectively known as UXO and [View Full Entry]

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Phonsavan We have arrived without any complications, only on the way there it was absolutely pissing it down. We had lovely welcoming committee waiting for us, and look they even have banners ...with guest houses... we got put into minibus and were taken to a guest house... Plain of Jars Next day rented motor bike and hope there is not going to be heavy rain as we don't have time to waste - so Plain of Jars here we come.... Did it rain, just a bit... our bike did not want to work, and we thought motorbikes are suppose to be [View Full Entry]

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It was time to make a move from LaLa Land so I woke up and boarded the bus bound for Phonsavan. Spring Break was over. Phonsavan is famous for its mysterious Plain of Jars, and infamous for being the most heavily bombed region of the world. It was going to be a very educational experience. All Aboard (literally) One of the best parts of traveling is experiencing all the different modes of transportation. I would have to classify my Laos bus trips as the most interesting so far. Anything and anyone is allowed on a bus in Laos, as long as [View Full Entry]

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This entry is officially about the Plain of Jars - but on the 11/8/07 we also had a good day - cheap massages! I had a treatment called 'The Luang Prabang Experience', which involved massage, then a herbal steam and then a seaweed wrap. My skin now feels completely recovered from the Perhentian sunburning incident. On the morning of 12/8/07, our minibus arrived to take us to Phonsavan. We knew there'd be another couple on the trip as the travel company wanted at least 4 people before they'd run it and the date kept changing on the advertisement so they were [View Full Entry]

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The first hiccup occurred when we arrived at the bus terminal to catch our bus to Phonsavan. There was no public bus that day, which we had bought tickets for, and were told that we had to pay another 10,000 Kip (50p) to get the VIP bus instead. To be honest we were all pretty relieved as an 8 hour journey with headrests was a lot more appealing than one on a Forrest Gump schoolbus style bus. We were allocated our seats, and told it was reserved seating, so we went and got some breakfast for half an hour, after all, [View Full Entry]

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There has never been any shame in admitting I have done it three times before. A dreadful stigma accompanies such a social gaffe in the United States. Yet while abroad, the rules are different. In the pursuit of greater cross-cultural understanding, both bride and groom have always been understanding when I show up to congratulate them on their new lives together. In each instance, I had no invitation. Ready for an early retirement, noise and bright lights pour out from a building I took as a discotheque when I first laid eyes on it in the early morning. UXO frames the [View Full Entry]

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Phonsavan goes beyond its permanently linked relationship with the stone, hollow receptacles that divert visitors from a well-marked course between Luang Prabang and Vientiane. Those who call upon the provincial capital of Xing Kuong are well rewarded with a more pure and more easily accessible look at Laos. In all its simplicity, Phonsavan is a happy place and though difficult to imagine, even less stressful than points north. But for perhaps the raw fish at the food market, it is an odorless city of one main drag and a few unceremonious perpendicular streets, newly paved. Newer and sturd [View Full Entry]

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When traversing Laos by bus, passengers receive a basic care package for the journey. It usually includes a bottle of water, a pre-packaged cake, or some cookies. My favorite so far has been the seaweed wafers with cream fillings from China. Without question, the most essential handout in the box is a thin plastic bag. An inordinate number of Laotians surprisingly suffer from motion sickness, a disastrous condition in a country where in certain places flat land has to be created by machines. The trip to Phonsavan from Luang Prabang is an eight-hour amusement park ride with just a few stop [View Full Entry]

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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 [View Full Entry]

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Monday June 18, 2007 Laos Motorbike Trip - Day 6 (The Road to Paksan and back to Phonsavan) 140 Km Covered The day began, once again, early. We ate some breakfast, purchased some rubber boots in the market and various foodstuffs for the long trip into unknown territory. We had to make a few other stops before the fun could begin. First, we had come all this way and had to at least see the Plain of Jars. We stopped at the first site and checked them out…making sure to keep inside the white and red markers along the path. [View Full Entry]

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