Phonsavan

Phonsavan isn't usually a destination for most travellers as its quite a long journey to get to it and it only has one thing to see. The Plain of Jars is a megalithic archaeological landscape in Laos. It consists of stone Jars scattered around the valleys and foothills of the phonsavan area which were believe to have been used for bodies. So we began the 5 hour journey and met a lovely couple Ryan and Roberta from London and Staines who we chatted with for a lot of the journey. Again the journey felt ridiculously long and the roads were very windy. The minivan was quite an old one with no seat belts so the journey wasn't great. But... What a treat... The bus station was actually in the town centre! No tuk tuk scamming required! Basically everytime we've taken a journey in a minivan in both Laos and Thailand they drop you off out of town and then the tuk tuk make you pay over the odds to drop you off. To be honest it's a very unwelcoming way of entering a new town as you instantly become annoyed with the scam. Anyway we were pleasantly surprised when we arrived. We checked into a hostel which was a really nice twin room with a terrace so we could do our washing! (It really is the little things!)

We went to a lovely restaurant called Simmalys. It was unbelievably cheap, yummy food and wow the portions.... they were huge!! We actually ended up going here for breakfast, lunch takeaway and dinner for our duration in Phonsavan!

From about 3am we were woken by a Cockerell and manic dogs that just wouldn't stop barking. It wasn't great! The next day we paired up with Ryan and Roberta to see the Plain of Jars the next day. We had a luxury minibus all to ourselves and it was great fun. We saw 3 different sites that have been fully excavated and are now safe from bombies. It didn't take long to see the sites so we were back by mid afternoon, just in time for a nap ☺️

We then met up with Roberta and Ryan for drinks and dinner. I'd say a very restful and fulfilling day.Read more