11/8 & 9 Luang Prabang & UXO in Phonsavan

November the 8th was our last night in Luang Prabang as we were moving on the next morning. We had met Janette, below, a few days ago while we were sitting on the guesthouse balcony enjoying the day’s last rays of sun and the 3 of us began chatting. She was born and raised outside Durham in northern England (Mary Pat: Do you remember visiting there together way back in 1977?) but emigrated to Vancouver, Canada 7 years ago after applying 2.5 years before that. She has worked as a travel agent for more than 20 years and has visited more than 65 countries to date. Janette is a huge runner and a recent triathlon convert.

We ended up talking with her about our days' adventures every night on the balcony. We miss you already, Janette. 

Thanks to Janette's recommendation, we enjoyed our last night in LP at a rooftop terrace restaurant which overlooked the Handicraft Night Market. 

The 9th was a travel day for us; we took the mini van from Luang Prabang, where we had spent 6 of the last 9 nights, southeast to Phonsavan near the Vietnamese border. While waiting for the tuk tuk to pick us up from the Manichan Guesthouse and take us to the mini van station, I took the following photos of the alley to give you a sense of where we stayed in LP.

The Manichan Guesthouse where we stayed in Luang Prabang.

En route to Phonsavan:

We didn't get the primo seats in the mini van this time on the 6 plus hour drive through very mountainous Laos to Phonsavan. Imagine spending that many hours with your backpack crammed between your legs and not being able to move them at all except when getting out for a 20 minute lunch break! The scenery as we drove through countless switchbacks on the mountain passes the entire way was stunning but the windows were too dirty for me to take pictures unfortunately. We had thought the drive would be far longer but luckily the road (I can't use the term highway here!) had been improved substantially so the journey was shorter than we anticipated. 

So surprised to see huge poinsettia bushes growing on the sides of the road when the convoy of mini vans stopped for a break. I never saw them before except in pots at Christmastime and had never thought where they originated! We subsequently saw growing wild all over the Phonsavan area.

The pit stop.

Butterfly time!

Got to the Phonsavan mini van station at 4 and to the Nice Guesthouse where we were staying for 2 nights just 2 minutes later. We had come to Phonsavan to visit the Plain of Jars but I'll save that for the next post.

The only 'sight' in Phonsavan itself is the UXO Information Centre, above, which is where we went directly as they had powerful documentaries beginning at 4:30 we wanted to see. 

Photos from the UXO Information Centre:

Decades after the US's 6 year long 'secret' war on Laos, unexploded bombs remain a devastating problem throughout this region of Laos. The Centre is run by the British organization MAG (Mines Advisory Group) that has been helping to clear Laos' unexploded ordnance since 1994. The UXO Information Centre's photos, displays and examples of defused UXO underline the enormity of the bomb drops.

FYI: The city of Phonsavan is also known as Xieng Khounag which is also located in the province of the same name.

It was staggering to discover that more bombs were dropped by the US on Laos than on all sides during WW11. Laos also became a 'free drop area', we learned, which meant that American pilots needed to empty their payload prior to safely landing their planes at their bases in Thailand after they were unable to find their targets in Vietnam. It is estimated that 30% of the bombs, or 80 million tons, dropped on Laos never exploded.

We learned that one of UNESCO's and MAG's objectives at the Plain of Jars is to reduce poverty by generating jobs through tourism and increasing the amount of safe land for agriculture. That results in farmers being able to grow sufficient food for their family or even producing enough for sale.

It was profoundly disturbing watching 2 of the documentaries and knowing the devastation wrought by my adopted country will continue for generations still to come in Laos because of UXO's. 

Posted on 11/12 from Vientiane, Laos.