Plain of Jars

The landscape of Laos constantly takes your breath away. From hillside villages shrouded in mist to lowlands pounded into submission by thousands of high explosives (at one time there was a US airstrike in Laos every 8 mins, this went on for close to 9 years!)

The Plain of Jars certainly showed the evidence of 30 years of fighting, the remains of trenches and bomb craters was still fresh, as were the warning signs

The role of NZaid was good to see, the warning signs more effective than any "Keep of the grass"' signs!

Once through the entrance you come across this lovely area of rolling hills, very little tree life is there (a big difference from much of Laos) and studded all over the landscape are theses large stone Urns.

They were carved from solid stone and the size of some beggers belief (the reason for them is shrouded in folklore and beliefs range from Funeral functionaries to "godlike" creations

The lids on some suggest that storage of something precious may have been part of their function.

The surreal mixing of ancient art and mans detritus of war constantly clashed, many of the jars had been used as part of fighting trenches that could still be seen, along with huge craters from the many American B52 Arclight strikes that obliterated so much of the province.

The amount of UXO in the area is astounding, every house seems to have airplane drop tanks or defused shells as gate posts, while rusty AK47 parts and 'bomblets" part of the US cluster bombs are still found/killing people today.

I will miss this area, it has a battered feel to it, but people are just getting on with their lives. I may have a souvenir of my stay here to show when i get back.

;-)