My first post of Laos should be about Luang Prabang adnd that touristic stuff, right? Hell no. There are so many off track places in this country you have no idea. One of them is the Plain of Jars, located in Xieng Khouang Province,
around 350 kilometres north east of Vientiane Capital and 260
kilometres south east of Luang Prabang. Phonsavan is the capital of
Xieng Khouang Province and the closest city to this sightseeing.
So, this is about inumerous big stone jars laying down in the camp, but how did they got there? That's the interesting part. Despite the best efforts of archaeologists, the origin and reason for the Plain of Jars remain a mystery. Unlike Ancient Greece or the First Emperor of China that date from around the same time very little is known about the civilization that created The Plain of Jars. More recently the area suffered badly due to heavy bombardment by the Americans during the Vietnam War.
Theories about the uses of the jars range widely: were they used in funerary rites? Were they used to held human remains? Or was it the giants used to ferment lao lao rice wine? Or even to collect rainwater during the monsoon season? Well, I would like to go there and make my own theory about it!
How to visit:
You can get to Phonsavan by bus if you don't have the money for the plane. Daily buses run between Phonsavan and Vang Vieng (eight hours), Luang Prabang (eight hours), and Vientiane (eleven hours).
You have 3 sightseeings to see it: Site 1 is closest to town and receives the most visitors, but is not the best representation of the Plain of Jars; site 2 is accessible from site 1 by motorbike or tuk-tuk and then; site 3 can be reached by an easy hike and site 52 is the largest, containing 392 jars, is rarely visited and can
only be reached by foot. Always stay on the signed paths when walking
between jar sites.
Please be careful because this was once a war zone and don't just wander there on your own, stay in the floor marks because it could be there many active ground explosives.
If you prefer a guided tour you can find many:
Happy journeys in Laos!
