Jars and Bombs in Phonsavan

---

We managed to get the last two seats on the bus to Phonsavan. People who arrived any later had to make do with a plastic stool in the aisle and as usual the bus was packed. The roads in these areas have a history of hi-jackings so we had a gun toting guard on board as security. Luckily the only hold up was due to a burst tyre thanks to some pretty shocking driving but we got there in the end.

Phonsavan is an ugly, dusty town in the Xieng Khuang province of Laos. The place only merits a visit becuase of the ancient and mysterious Plain of Jars, which we'll come to later, and for its involvement in the 'Secret War'.

Between the years of 1964 and 1973, during the Vietnam War, the USA conducted one of the largest, sustained aerial bombardments in history which resulted in Laos becoming the most heavily bombed country ever.

Their air-strikes violated the Geneva Accord, which the USA had signed just a few years previously, and because of this the bombing campaign was kept a secret from the US congress and the world and so it became known as the Secret War. Whilst the news at the time focused around the war in Vietnam the attrocities going on in Laos remained unknown to the public for years.

Over two million tonnes of bombs were dropped on Laos, thats half a ton for every person living there at the time, and needless to say enough to kill them all.

Why did the USA do this to Laos, an already struggling country in the grips of its own civil war?

There were three reasons. The first was that they wanted to bring down the communist Pathet Lao party as part of the US's fight to stop the spread of communism in Asia. The second was because Vietnam was using Southern Laos to transport soldiers and weapons from Northern Vietnam to the South. The third and most absurd was simply because they were a convenient place to drop un-used bombs. If an airstrike on Vietnam had to be abandonned for any reason pilots were instructed to dispose of their ammunitions over Laos as it was too dangerous to land with bombs still on board the plane. When the USA announced they were ceasing their air-strikes in Vietnam all the left over bombs, which was a lot, were effectively dumped on Laos. It was only then, after thousands of Laos people were made refugees, that the world learnt of what was happening and the bombing stopped.

Many of the bombs used in the campaign were cluster bombs. These are not designed to take down big targets but instead to kill and mame people. Each bomb disperses around six hundred smaller bombs, 'bombies' as they are known locally, which explode on impact firing ball bearings packed within them at ballistic speeds in all directions. However 30% of these didn't detonate on impact and they now cover large areas of Laos as UXO (unexploded ordanance). It just takes someone to hit one whilst digging in the fields or for a child to pick one up or even for someone to just stand on one for them to explode with obviously devastating consequences.

The legacy left behind by the bombings has been catastrophic for Laos and its people. Many areas of land can't be cultivated due to the UXO which has resulted in stunting Laos' economic growth. Farmers live in constant fear of hitting UXO whilst digging the fields and being killed or injured and many people are permanantly disabled after falling victim to the UXO.

A British company called MAG are currently leading the efforts to clear up the mess left the US. They are working on safely clearing the land of UXO and are raising awareness with the locals to try and reduce accidents. However it will take many decades until the country is cleared.

History lesson over!

We didn't want to spend too long in Phonsavan so we booked ourselves on a day trip for the following day to visit the Plain of Jars. We went with a couple we had met on the bus. Our guide was really sweet but he couldn't tell us many facts about the ancient mystery that is the Plain of Jars, instead he kept telling us his Grannies insights into the jars.

I should really explain a little about the jars. We're not talking about jam jars here, these were huge stone jars or urns scattered in the fields across several sites around Phonsavan. They are thought to be around 2000 years old but nobody knows what they were used for or infact anything much about them at all. We visited three sites and to be honest it was a little bit too much, once you've seen one jar you've seen them all.

We visited a few reminders of the war during the trip too including the tourist inforamtion centre which had hundreds of bombs in its courtyard, a Russian tank, a cave where locals hid during the war and many bomb craters which scar the hillside. We also visited a village where they produced Lao Lao, that disgusting spirit so popular in Laos. However the most interesting part of the trip for us was talking to our guide about life in Laos. One thing that really stuck out was what he told us about how difficult it is for people to leave the country. Firstly they have to ask permisiion from the government and they must also have $5000 in the bank as security, a huge some for a Laotian. If they are granted permission they must return within three months otherwise the government will take the money from their bank. Pretty mean.

That evening we visted the MAG office in town and watched a very insightful film about the Secret War and the legacy of the UXO.

We wanted to leave the next day but we were confused as to where to go next so we hung around while we planned our move. We had heard about an elephant festival which was taking place in a little visited region of Laos called Sayaboury. Unfortuantely it would mean having to go back to Luang Prabang for a third time but we decided to do it.

We spent the day bumming around Phonsavan which wasn't much fun. At breakfast a beggar came to our table and got on his knees for about ten minutes pleeding for money. We kept saying no but after he eventually left we felt so gulity that Lil ran after him and gave him some cash. We walked to a war memorial which was rubbish and had a generally unproductive day. We spent the evening drinking Lao Lao and chatting with our hostel owner about the war and life in Laos which was very interesting.

The following day we reluctantly got on a bus back to Luang Prabang so we could get to the elephant festival. Our third visit to Luang Prabang was supremely boring and frustrating as we had exhausted the place. Although we like Lunag Prabang we don't feel the need to visit it again for a very long time.

---