After Luang Prabang, we took a bus to Phonsavahn to see the Plain of Jars and have a cultural experience. Well, we definitely got a cultural experience. We got off the bus and as usual, there were loads of people trying to get us to stay at their guesthouse. The process is a little chaotic because no one wants to be left without a place to stay. After a few minutes, we decided on a guesthouse and went to get in the minibus, but it was full. "No problem" the lady assured us, and an old jeep came screaming up. We were told to pile in, so pile in we did. That was when we met Mr. Kong. Oh Mr. Kong, how we love your bling and how you say bollucks! when you are pissed. He took us in his former CIA jeep to his guesthouse and began educating us about Laos. I didn't know that the US had bombed Laos so heavily during the Vietnam War. There are still tonnes of unexploded bombs in Laos- we saw some of them. We liked Mr. Kong so much that we convinced him to take us on a tour in his jeep, something he doesn't normally do. The next morning we were off to a village where they use the materials from the bombs for building and scrap metal. It was nice to be somewhere non-touristy. The people spoke a different dialect, so our bad Laos-speaking abilities were even useless. We were ushered into a small room and into a celebration. The celbration was for Mr. Kong's friend (who he told us was his brother, but was really just his friend) who had been sick. The celebration was to wish him good luck and health. Apparently in Laos, good health involves drinking rice whiskey at 9 a.m. and lots of it. We kept having to take shots and then people would tie white strings around our wrists and mutter in Laotian. Supposedly they were wishing us well, but who really knows. There was also tasty food that we all had to share out of the same bowls (again, to promote health) that included rice, soup and chicken. All of the chicken. Mr. Kong was given the head- probably because he wears all that bling. I was given a foot, which I did not eat, but Des (one of the British boys we have been hanging out with) to eat. He heaved twice before swallowing. Mr. Kong may have had too much whiskey because then he let all of us take turns driving the jeep. We then went and saw bomb craters and unexploded bombs. Then to the Plain of Jars. The jars are some mysterious thing. They were made around 2500 years ago and human remains from about 1200 years ago have been found under them. We don't really get it, but we went out and saw them anyway. This was the point when Mr. Kong got bored and started lighting everything on fire. Literally, we were walking down a path and he just kept leaning down and starting grass fires. He is a little crazy. Overall, it was a great experience and now I have good luck from white strings tied around my wrist, at least that's what they claimed...
Oh yeah, the pictures. Well, one id of me upside down in a jar because Ali dropped his waterbottle in it. Then there is Mr. Kong in all of his glory. Ali showing the pictures he took to the village children. Paco in a jar. Enjoy.