The Plain of Jars and the tragic legacy of the Secret War around Phonsavan

---

We were up early - that morning the gates of the guesthouse were unlocked - and rattling along in a tuktuk to the bus station to catch the 'express' bus to Phonsavan. Our bus (120,000 kip each) certainly didn't look much like the shiny VIP express bus - destination Vientiane - that it was parked beside it at the bus station. Not much more than a run down rattly local bus - the air conditioning that we had been sold the previous day comprised of open windows. But the seats were comfortable and it left on time packed with locals and with a total of six Western tourists (Michael and Emily from England, Marty and Carolyn from Canada plus us) on board. We followed the highway towards Vientiane - a pretty drive with lots a curves as it wound through low mountains. The countryside was dotted with patches where it had been completely denuded of all vegetation - no crops were planted either - and unfortunately our distance views were shrouded by a haze of smoke. The annual burn off of stubble had begun literally the day before and already the sky was dulled with smoke - it would gradually thicken over the coming days.

Phonsavan, a dusty town in Xieng Khuang Province which borders Vietnam, has become known for the thousands of limestone jars which are scattered over 160 different sites in the nearby countryside. Not much is known about these stone jars which have been lying there for over 2,500 years. The sites, of which only three are open to public (the rest are still covered in UXO's - only three are totally safe, seven more have only been cleared of surface UXO's) will be entered onto to UNESCO World Heritage sites register mid 2013. It also has a tragic more recent history - the 'American' war in Vietnam was fighting the Communist forces coming down from the north to invade the the south - and to help the Viet Cong who were the civilian army. All forces were being supplied via the Ho Chi Minh trail. The Americans heavily bombed this trail - a section of which went through Laos and the Plain of Jars. Laos is the most bombed country in the world per capita and between 1964 - 1973 two million tons of ordinamce were dropped - 30% of which did not detonate. Sadly people are still being killed or maimed (834 deaths alone between 1999 and 2008) from UXO accidents.

Though it wasn't an uncomfortable trip we were all pretty happy to leave the bus on its arrival in dusty Phonsavan. The six tourists on board shared transport into the main area of the town. We all accompanied Marty and Carolyn to the guesthouse (Kong Kye for 50,000 kip - $6.50 ) they had prebooked and we decided to stay there as well when rooms were available. The rooms were bungalow style, very basic with rock hard beds and no fans though with a western toilet and hot water. You couldn't complain about the price and we discovered that night that the resident rats were a free bonus.... There were a few other small guesthouses and hotels - even one that the Vietnamese President had stayed in a couple of days before our arrival. Which explained why there were so many Vietnamese flags hanging around the town, something we had commented upon as we left the bus station. We booked three nights accommodation and set out to inquire about a tour to the Plain of Jar sites the next day.

The town was heavily shrouded with a dust cloud, made much worse by the fact that the entire main street had been graded and covered with a fresh layer of blue gravel in honour of the Vietnamese president. Presumably when the president was in town they had water sprayed the surface to stop the dust - something that wasn't still being done. Except by hand by few of the local store owners in a vain attempt to keep their open fronted shops clean. The dust was to make my stay in the town uncomfortable as it really upset my sinuses. We approached a guide book recommended tour company and soon had a private tour (for the six of us) booked for next day. We were to visit the three jar sites, a bomb village and numerous smaller sites.

We immediately all walked across the road to the MAG offices to watch a movie they show regularly which tells the horrific story behind the sad history of the area. It was a very sobering hour. MAG are heavily involved in clearing the surrounding district of some of the hundreds of unexploded ordinance. A large percentage of these are bomblets (called bombies by the local people) - 600 or so of these tennis sized bombs were released from larger canisters (cluster bombs) which opened as they landed. These small pieces of metal today are responsible for a large number of the deaths or maiming of the local people. The figures are horrific - between January 2004 and April 2012 - 36,682,893 square meters of land has been cleared with 157,701 items of UXO destroyed by MAG staff many of whom are farmers who have been trained by MAG to undertake this highly dangerous work. It is these same farmers and their families who are killed as they plough their fields. Children also pick them up as they are so small - though today education is playing a big part in preventing at least some deaths. A requisite subject in all schools here is about the dangers of the UXO and what the children must do if they see one.

Feeling subdued we headed down the dusty street for a meal in 'Bamboozle' a cafe/ bar owned and operated by a young Scotsman with a very broad accent who is happily living in the town. I woke during the night - disturbed by a scratching scuttling sound and realised that there were rats in our room. I pretended to ignore it - a little difficult - and eventually fell back asleep. Next morning Marty told us how he spent a long time also trying to remove a rat from his bungalow as well during the night.Seven am next morning saw the six of us waiting for our driver - who arrived a little late - we were all a little concerned that he would arrive at all as we had seen him drinking heavily with his friends the night before. The other tour company the guide books had mentioned was owned by the man at whose guesthouse we were staying - when we inquired about his tours we were told he was not available for tours that day as he was recuperating- after drinking too much at a friends wedding.

Mist and dust shrouded the countryside as we headed to the most distant site - Jar Site number 3. The road was atrocious - rough and incredibly dusty. Marty and Caroline had debated on hiring a motorbike on which to visit the sites but after half an hour on the roads in the van that morning they were very thankful they had changed their minds. Site number 3 is the least visited and most scenic site and we were the only people there that morning. We were warned about staying between the white markers on the site as the land on the other side of the markers could not be guaranteed to be free of UXO. It was amazing - the jars are fascinating and I enjoyed seeing them so much more than I was expecting to. How did they get there and what exactly were they used for? One hundred and fifty jars are scattered around amidst this shady site. They were made in a quarry a few kilometers away as unfinished ones also can be found there. All were transported after being finished to many sites in the province where they were grouped together, in no obvious patterns. Today it is still a mystery as to what the jars were actually used for. Though a human skeleton was found in one jar archeologists don't think they were used for burial - they were most likely used for storing rice wine in.

We next visited one of the 'bomb' villages - so called because the bomb casings are used in the construction of their homes. They use the metal casings as termite proof house supports! Also most of the villagers supplement their incomes by melting down the aluminium from the bombies or their casings and using it to make jewellery or household utensils. The aluminium is melted then poured into wax moulds of spoons or bangles. Bangles were the first items produced but today spoons of all sizes, small hearts, peace doves and even miniature bombs are also made and sold to tourists. Tragically though many people have been killed or maimed in their search for the UXO's to use in these home based industries. We watched the women pouring the molten aluminium into spoon moulds - she was very fast and making dessert sized spoons by the dozen. We were to see buckets of these spoons (plus many different sized ladles) for sale in the markets in Phonsavan the next morning so all the locals must use them in their kitchens. After making a few small purchases - we all bought from different households to spread the money evenly amongst the villagers - our group left and headed back towards Phonsavan over the bumpy gravel, our views shrouded by the dust clouds around us.

We next visited jar site 2 and 1, both much closer to Phonsavan. These sites were busier with tourists but were also much bigger then site 3. The jars are many different sizes - none though were small as they all were at least our waist height. Some were much more crudely sculptured than others with thicker rims and not as defined lines within. All were fascinating to see, grouped as they were under the shady trees with dusty smoky horizon views in all directions. Site one is the closest site to Phonsavan and also the largest with over 250 jars. It also has the largest jar with a weight of 6 tonnes. And is the only site where a carved jar has been found - a spreadeagled figure of a man adorns the side of one of the jars. Our guide was very knowledgable and spoke good English. He worked for Sousath Tours - the company was begun by a now elderly man who was originally responsible for making some of the sites UXO free and open to tourism. Our tour ended, after visiting a couple of massive bomb craters, on a lighter note at a rice wine distillery. Very crude - plastic buckets of fermenting rice from which wine with a very high alcohol is produced. It is sold in empty soft drink bottles for a couple of dollars.

It had been a fascinating but sobering day - the mystery of the jars combined with the obvious bomb damage and a landscape littered with evidence of the 'secret' war. . The war that was kept secret from the American people when Laos was heavily bombed - even used as a dumping ground for bombs or as a testing ground for new artillery - a secret that even today many American people are unaware of. There is today obvious bitterness towards America - though to the Government not the population. Another evening meal at Bamboozle before we went back to spend the evening around the campfire (contained in a bomb casing) at the guesthouse. The young owner of the guesthouse entertained us with his guitar - he was a very accomplished singer and musician - and surprised us when he told us that he had only begun playing the guitar six months previously when a backpacker gave him a gift of one. He sang in English and Lao - singing the English songs perfectly. He told us he hears an English song online then spends hours learning the tune and words by playing it over and over again. Marty finished the evening by entertaining us on the guitar as well - our young guesthouse owner loved one of the songs in particular and double checked the songs name and original singer. The next round of guests at the guesthouse will no doubt be entertained with 'Crazy, Crazy Love' ....

Our four new friends left town next morning to continue their travels - due to plane booking we had to spend another evening in the city. Originally we planned on visiting a few more of the Hmong villages nearby and visit a weekly market held in one of the villages but changed our mind. We had been more than content with the villages we had visited the day before and didn't feel like another dusty day in a bus. We decided to find Air Lao and try and change our tickets (US$90 each) for the flight later that day. If that was not possible we planned to change to a more modern guesthouse (one with air conditioning and wifi) and spend the day indoors out of the dust which was causing me sinus problems. Our guide had told us the day before that a new more direct road to Vientiane had been opened the week before cutting the eleven hour trip down to seven hours. The road was not in the guide books or even on maps of course - but had we known about it we wouldn't have booked the air tickets.

Thankfully a lovely young man at Lao Air obligingly, with a smile and for no fee, changed our tickets departure date. We spent the morning at the local markets where we saw a few new strange food items for sale, including trays of live ant eggs which are a delicacy in Laos. The market smelt of cooking oil as many stalls were deep frying sweet batter breakfast foods. The people were very welcoming and we received many broad smiles from the stall holders. After lunch in a cafe 'decorated' with empty bomb casings (they were used for varied purposes around many of the local houses) we caught a tuktuk to the airport. It was a tiny airport and I will admit to a slight apprehension re the aircraft when I spotted a man behind the ticket counter using an old fashioned type writer! However the flight was very comfortable in a brand new plane - we were evening given fruit and water despite being airborne for only twenty five minutes. In fact the staff spent most of the flight in seat belts as we seemed to spend no time inflight. We were very pleased that we had visited the Plain of Jars - a fascinating site in an area with a sad history of which we need to made more aware of.

---

Photos

Site 1 - in the background one of the many fires burning off the stubble in the fields.
Smoke and dust....