99 red balloons

Christmas Eve daytime for us was a complete contrast to previous years & we spent it on the balcony of our guest house in Luang Prabang (‘LP’)  watching the river where groups of young local lads swam fearlessly in the currents & ran up & down the high sandbanks that edge the river with ease, whilst we enjoyed a treat of Overpriced/rubbery but delicious cheddar cheese with crackers. In the evening we made the foolish mistake of having  cocktails with LaoLao – the locally brewed vodka, 50% proof, followed by a few beers at a local bar called Utopia – full of first time travellers, holiday hippies & those who have travelled the SE Asia route many times. They were a good crowd & it was a good night. Too good. Not surprisingly our possible  visit to the waterfalls on Christmas Day was abandoned for the more sedate pursuit of balcony viewing, but a great place nonetheless to watch via Facetime G-R open her Christmas presents with the enthusiasm of a seasoned pro. “wow”!! She exclaimed as every present was unwrapped. Brilliant! Rudy dog was less enthusiastic about our FaceTime & laid on the floor & ignored us, dressed in his Christmas pudding coat.  

The following day & we were back on the road – an 8hr bus journey on a local bus to Phonsavan. Local buses are fine but they are made for local people – that is to say people who are shorter & narrower than us  so the width of the seat, ,the foot room, headroom- are all too small, too tight, too low, resulting in you being very cramped & crammed in. Add to that a road that goes right up, all the way around, across & all the way down many many mountains & you begin to get an idea of what the experience is like. Oh & toilet stops are at the side of the road in the bushes. 

Phonsavan is less than 30 yrs old & feels like a frontier town. It has evolved due to its proximity to  ‘the plain of jars’. These are giant stone jars of unknown origin which are scattered over hundreds of sq kms around  Phonsavan. They are quite extraordinary & like our own Stonehenge, many speculate on how & why they were built & how they got there. Another thing about this area which we did not know about until we  arrived is that it was heavily bombed during the American/Vietnam war & that there are still many unexploded ordnance (UXO), particularly cluster bombs.  As a consequence people are still being injured. We visited the local charity centre where they record on a chalkboard the names/details of incidents. Since August 2016 12 people, mainly children have been injured by UXO’s. Heartbreaking to read the details. 40 years since the war ended  & although the area is being cleared the danger is still very real. Hard to comprehend. 
We explored the area with a guide, Kong, an extraordinary character who shared his personal experiences of the bombs. After visiting the ‘jar site #1’ we went to a local Hmong village  where Kong was quickly surrounded by dozens of excited local children as he handed out balloons to them. Such a simple gift which bought them great delight, although I had to fight the urge to wipe all their snotty noses!  There we also saw several buildings using bomb casings/shells as support pillars & fire pits. Genius. Next stop we visited a cave where hundreds died in a bomb attack. Mr L disappeared into the tunnel, but  it looked too slippery for me so I waited at the entrance with 4 local ladies, who decided to kidnap me & take me to a small waterfall & on a route probably more treacherous than the cave! After scrambling up a 10ft high mudbank I got back on the original track & sat waiting for Mr L on some steps with the ladies, making small talk through pointing, & showing them my photos of holiday/family/ even my bathroom!! Our last stop was at a hot spring where the locals gather to bathe & where Mr L & others sought the secret of eternal youth by covering themselves in smelly mud. I opted for the more sedate foot bath! 
Before we knew it, it was time to head back to LP for a night before saying goodbye to Laos. We have loved laos & LP - It's a comfortable clean town with character.  Would love to comeback & see more .Time to get back on the plane. Destination Kuala Lumper.