Plain of Jars

---

The 30+ hours bus ride from Hanoi to Luang Prabang included a stop in Phonsavan. At the time, I didn't know that this would be my next stop. So, essentially I'm going backwards...

Phonsavan is a small town located in the province of XiengKhouang, Laos. Its here that I visited the Plain of Jars. The Plain of Jars is where numerous jars ranging from 4-6 feet high, are dispersed throughout. The history of the jars dated back 2500-4000 years ago. There are several theories as to what these jars were used for. One was that these jars were used in the burial process. Deceased bodies were burned and ashes and remains were placed into these jars. Each jar had a lid to cover it, but very few lids remained. Another theory is that it was used to make wine after a victorious battle. Its still a mystery to the locals.

The Plain of Jars was also the site of a Secret War that took place in Laos during The Vietnam War. Both sides of the war (The American /South Vietnam and North Vietnam) were after this territory because of its proximity to The Ho Hi Minh Trail. The Americans wanted to cut off supplies from North Vietnam to their soldiers in the South, while North Vietnam wanted to protect the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The resulting battles to control Phonsavan took place on The Plain of Jars left behind bomb crater throughout the Plains. It has been reported that the Plain of Jars and Laos is the most bombed area to this day. Even more than the amount of bombs dropped on Germany and Japan.






"Hung out and had dinner with Don last night. Really nice guy. We shared a lot of similarities. We are on a journey for similar reasons. Just different chapters in our lives. It appears to me that the only thing that separated us were our ages. I wasn't able to put myself at ease the whole time. Old habits are hard to break."
Journal Entry: 03.13.2014





The Secret War of Lao



Without getting too much into details, here are some documentaries of the secret war that took place in Lao during the Vietnam war:



-The Most Secret Place on Earth (The CIAs Covert War in Laos)



-The Secret War (BOMBIES) American's War in Laos.



These documentaries and its entirety can be found on Youtube.

---

Photos

Bomb Crater
Bomb crater left from the Vietnam War