Luang Prabang again

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This week has been quite busy. It started last Sunday when we left Luang Prabang for Phonsavon. Because of the terrain in Laos, i.e., lots of hills, journeys can be quite tough. One it takes a lot longer to get everywhere, and you feel sick for the entire journey due to going up and down hills on windy, precarious roads.

There is nothing in Phonsavon. The reason people come here, however, is to go the nearby Plain of Jars. This consists of three sites with a number stone jars of various sizes. This sounds pretty dull, and it kind of is, except that no one knows who put them there or why. They just know that they have been there for 2500 years.

Phonsavon was also interesting for another reason. It is the most bombed province in the most bombed country on earth due to the over zealous bombing by America during the Vietnam war. This is tragic, especially considering a lot of these bombs didn't explode and so even now there are 50 reported deaths a year from unexploded bombs. However, what made this surprisingly interesting was the strange flippancy the Loation people of Phonsavon have towards it. The guesthouse we were in was decorated with bomb shells and abandoned guns and had a regular bomb BBQ. Aidan and i also got drunk in a bar called 'craters', which was also decorated with bomb shells. Aidan has written an article about this if you want more information. The link is http://www.clubrelaford.com/everything_i_know.html. It will change in the next few days to the one about Laos.

After just 2 days in Phonsavon we headed for Vang Vieng. This is a city that is just geared for and around backpackers. There are lots of bars and restaurants, most of which play Friends and The Simpsons all day and at full volume. There is nothing interesting by way of sightseeing and the main reason people come here is to do activity sports, most notably tubing in which you float down the river in a rubber ring stopping at bars along the way.

Here we booked ourselves on a activity day. In the morning we tubed through a cave. Then after a BBQ lunch we went kayaking for 17km down the river. This was hard work but it mercilessly included a stop at one of the bars on the tubing route. It was a really good day although my body still aches.

We are now back in Luang Prabang. We fly to Hanoi later on today.

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