Visiting Phonsavan: Motorcycles and Minefields

“Time is so vast and we know next to nothing about our roots. But what we have uncovered makes the history of humans beyond fascinating.” – Old Sean

Entering Phonsavan

After initially flying out into Luang Prabang, my next destination was south. I was hoping to see the mysterious Plain of Jars upon visiting Phonsavan.

From Luang Prabang, I managed to clamber onto a seven hour van ride to curve my way towards the countryside city. 

It’s a stunning, mountain-viewing route, though it does get a bit repetitive and there’s enough potholes to keep anyone awake in those narrow seats.  

But once there, Phonsavan is an exploration hiker’s dream.  Renting out the spiffiest white scooter I could find, I zoomed with increasing humor to the Plain of Jars sites. Here, enormous, ancient stone pots are cradled beneath a dusted sky.  

Mystery of Jars

The jars are a unique mystery.  The original major consensus was the sandstone-hewn pots were part of an elaborate funeral ritual. The ritual would leave flesh open to the sky until only bones remained.  However, the bones found at most local dig sites related to the innumerable jars are far younger than the stone basins themselves. 

This means the function of the jars was perhaps adopted to something else. Or the original-carving-culture handled the remains differently. 

Regardless, the stone jars can easily fit a human or two inside.  The jars actually dot a fair portion of the countryside with many more being lost in deep earth.

However, there are three main locations that tourists can easily access a large number of the pots.  Site 1, Site 2 and Site 3 are not centralized and it takes a fair bit of driving and walking to get to see all three.  

Ride Well, Jar Hunter

It’s best to attend the Plains via motorbike or a tour, since there are a lot of other features of interest in the expansive land around Phonsavan. 

Driving around Phonsavan is fantastic. To avoid areas where American bombers left behind unexploded ordinance, the roads weave dramatically in evasive loops. I spent my time navigating dust trails, gravel roads, delving into caves and sidestepping the enormous craters left behind by bombs during the American war.

Overall, I tried to stick to the trails after repeated warnings of unexploded ordnance being littered around. 

I did, however, enjoy tossing good, fist sized stones into untried bramble patches and plugging my ear with delusional anticipation and a demented grin. 

I spent hours on various roads. The patches of fragged ground have dominated the design of modern country roads. Riders must take long and meandrous loops to avoid areas that still potentially contain bombs.

Besides the Jars

There were a few other areas of interest aside from the Stone Jars.  For example, the Cave of the Plain of Jars is a small cave which houses a hole in the ceiling with smoke markings, implying it might have been used as a location for fire or burning ceremonies.   

There are also several hidden waterfalls, but they can only be viewed in the wet season. I did find some unnamed hiking trails some locals recommended.

My most awkward period was when I drove my motorcycle to the top of a hill. Looking down, I saw a crowd of thirty people gathered around a small arena.

It turned out to be a cock-fight. Apparently, gambling is legal in Laos and cock-fighting is… sort of a gray area.. Unwilling to chance an awkward situation, I veered my motorcycle elsewhere.

Once my time on the plains was complete and my sunburn had claimed my face and arms, I returned to Phonsavan. While dropping off my motorcycle, I gave spontaneous English lessons at a bar, my voice accented by Laos Whiskey (which is like moonshine, but with chicken as the side dish).  

As an aside here: Tourists are warned not to drink local moonshine. It’s often not prepared properly and may cause illness or blindness. I was not aware of this, but I probably won’t sample the drinks next time I’m in town.

In a Bomb

Later than night, I went walking around the city. Tourists visiting Phonsavan only have a small are of the city to explore, but it’s not easy to traverse the busy streets. I mostly stayed fairly close to my hostel, but I did seek out some restaurants.

In one location, an American with an exceptionally vital moustache regaled me with his motorcycle-tour stories in a dud-bomb café called Craters.  The walls of the building are made out of actual bombshells, with all the explosive bits already removed.

My time was further improved by a conversation with a man sharing my first name. He was apparently bicycling through most of Southeast Asia with an umbrella and camera phone.

UXO Visits

The following morning I spent some time walking around town.  I visited the MAG UXO Visitor Center which was really interesting (and as an American, disturbing). 

UXO stands for Unexploded Ordinance.

The Secret War of Laos (referring to the immense and frequent US bombing raids of Laos in tandem with the Vietnam War) saw an immense tonnage of bombs dropped on the country.

The museum discusses the United States’ aerial attacks and political efforts in the region. The museum is also home to actual samples of Unexploded Ordnance. It also has a comprehensive (and damning) history regarding the issues of UXO’s in the area. 

I remember hearing on a podcast once that if reading history makes you feel proud of your nation, then you’re not reading history at all.  

Pride definitely wasn’t at the forefront of my emotions upon seeing the triage photos decorated with missing limbs.  

Visiting Phonsavan Specialties

Grim history aside, there were also lots of smaller street shops with specialty goods for the region, most especially silk from Mulberries Organic Silk Farm. 

While the silk is pretty cool, the Bomb Spoons and Jewlery is the most interesting.  With so many bits of bomb hanging around the countryside, there are several projects where UXO safety groups can declare metal safe (free of radiation, dangerous chemicals, etc.). At which point locals melt down the shrapnel into goods. 

There isn’t one location, shop or organization. But Bomb Spoons and Jewlery is the umbrella name for the series of shops which performs this volatile recycling practice.  

Out of the Blast Radius

That was about all the time I had for visiting Phonsavan, which was probably good.  I’m not sure how long I can actually survive with a sizable amount of explosives underground.  During my initial trip through the more obscure country roads on my scooter, I veered off a safe path and into a dry riverbed I thought was a dirt road.  I was only recalled by a local who explained to me my error through a frantic translation on my phone. 

Apparently, I had been driving in a mine field. There was a fair amount of unexploded ordinance buried in the zone.

There are many countries in which wandering off the beaten path is enormously rewarding.  I probably wouldn’t list Laos as one of them. 

With my life effectively safe for the time being, it’s almost time for me to head out once more. I’ll be heading to the city of Vientiane. The city is directly on the boarder of Thailand and the capital city of Laos.

So until then,

Best regards and excellent trails,

Old Sean

Written February 11th, 2018

Visiting Phonsavan and the mysterious Plain of Jars? Make sure to read Leftfade Trails advice column to ensure your trip is safe, fulfilling and informational

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