Phonsavan – Plain of Jars – Luang Prabang
22nd April 2014 334km 34’C
The principle reason reason for riding out to Phonsavan and back again (500km round trip) was to take the opportunity to visit the Plain of Jars. Although as it happened, the winding, twisty mountain road and views made the extra effort all the more worthwhile.
In the early morning I rode out through rice paddies, rolling hills and quiet little villages to visit three of the jars sites. At two of the sites I was completely on my own to wander and explore the 2200 year old jars.
The jars are amazing, some weighing upto 1000kg, varies sizes and shapes and located generally on the tops of hills or plains, just scattered or sometimes placed together. It is amazing that the makers of these jars created them with such accuracy and moved them into locations. There are such a large quantity of jars. Unfortunately a number of the jars have been destroyed by American bombing during the ‘secret’ war in Laos. Furthermore, there are still a very large number of landmines in the area and I had been warned not to stray from the red & white markers, indicating the areas that had been cleared of mines and were safe to walk. At the first site, there was a very narrow path and I had to constantly search for the markers to ensure I wasn’t wandering off the trail and into a potentially dangerous mined area.
After exploring the jars, I headed back to the guesthouse to pack the bike, which was now parked next to a collection of mines, bombs and bullets collected from the surrounding area. The guys from MAG (Mines Action Group) warned that sometimes these munitions collected by hotels are still live and dangerous!
I took a photo and hotfooted it out of there, starting the ride back along route 7 to Luang Prabang. While the views were stunning and the twisty road very enjoyable, it rained. I stopped to put on rain gear and it bucketed down in sheets as I crossed the mountain range. The temperature dropping to 19’C and the wind blowing like crazy. Then it cleared and the sun came out, so I stopped to remove the wet gear and continued on. About an hour later, it started to rain again, so yet another stop to hide under a small roof in a village to put the wet weather gear on again, with a group of villagers watching curiously at the strange ‘farang’.
Riding through the villages was enjoyable, there were hundreds of school-kids walking back along the road, they would often wave and yell out “Sabadee!” There were plenty of pigs always walking out onto the road at the most ideal moment to turn them into bacon strips under the front wheel, and I had to keep an eye out for them constantly.
One of the interesting observations from my time in Laos has been how hard the women work. In all the villages, it is usual to see a couple of guys sitting around, talking, sometimes holding a baby, while the women are doing all the hard physical labour, digging a holes, chopping wood, carrying a huge bundle of logs. Or husband and wife might be walking down the road, he is carrying the tools, two of them, one in each hand, while she has a massive load of timber on her back. It has been interesting to see the role reversal from what we are used to.
This same cycle continued a third time, and by the time I was approaching Luang Prabang, it was 6pm and dark. The last 40 minutes ride into town was fraught with danger in the dark. Most local motorcycles do not have any headlights or tail-lights, so they cannot be seen at all in the dark. It was a hair-raising ride and I promised myself to plan more accurately in the future. I had committed to not riding at night if at all possible, and today I’d broken that self imposed rule. It wasn’t worth the risks.
As I made my way into the centre of town, I guy on a scooter yelled out to me to stop. He had a small boy on the back of the scooter and said he had a guesthouse and I should follow him. I told him I already had a place picked and was heading there, but he persisted with a line about “very good secure bike parking” so I relented to take a look, following him. Of course when I reached there, the price was at least 20% more than market rates, but exhausted I took the room and had a shower before a fast meal and bed.
Great photos as usual!
The hotel guy reminds me of Mexico, were helpful in giving directions – and when got there realised there was a reason for being so helpful…..