Okay, up this morning and on the road by 8:00! Off to see the Plain of Jars, but first a stop at the quarry where these jars were made. Damn! More stairs, about 2000 of them, as the quarry is on a mountainside. Figures. Ill either be dead or healthy by the end of this trip! The quarry is at least ten miles from the nearest jar site, and thera e are many unanswered questions about how the jars were transported down the mountain and to the plain. One theory is that the people used elephants, which have been a labor staple here for many years. But, it is unknown of elephants were used 2500 years ago. Another mystery... So we climb a bit further up the mountain and my guide shows me a tunnel the Viet Cong used during the war. Laos was heavily involved in this war as well, and by the end of the day Ill get to some bomb craters. Going down was easy. Now on to the plain. There are 59 sites of these jars located so far, but where Im going first is the largest and most visited site. And it was fascinating. Huge. Used for cremation and burial rights is the current and most accepted theory, due to the remains found in and around the jars. On to the second site, which is lovely. In a bunch of trees. It is far smaller than the first site, but much more beautiful. Some of these jars are huge, nearly seven feet high. I asked if this was a World Heritage Site. The application was made, but since there are still a large number of UXOs, unexploded ordinances, still in the area, the WHS organization wants to wait until the entire area has been cleared of all unexploded bombs. This could take years. Now off to Spoon Village. Tons and tons of bombs were dropped on Laos from 1964-1973, and approximately 30% failed to detonate. Many of these have exploded while farmers were plowing fields -- there is one woman who lost her husband and four of her five children when his tractor ran over a UXO. This was in the last ten years, and the war has been over forty years. I digress. Spoon village is a small community that takes the aluminum from UXOs and turns them into spoons, bracelets, bottle openers, and other items. We found one hut where the man was still working, casting spoons. Then off to a Hmong village. This was the best. Actually walked through a village with no attempt to set up souvenirs stands out anything like that. Just like walking through a neighborhood. I had a number of Hmong students when I taught at Pomona High, and it is a unique culture. Enjoyed seeing the village, the people going about their lives, and just walking around. Finally went to a site only a couple of miles from this village where a number of bomb craters still exist. 50 years later! They are much shallower now after fifty years of monsoon rains, but still sobering. Back to the hotel and getting ready for dinner.
Posted on: Sun, 25 Jan 2015 12:00:37 +0000
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