We left Vang Vieng with regrets but felt it was time to move on. Our next stop was Phonsavan, which is the main starting point for tours to the Plain of Jars. This region is dotted with 60 known sites filled with mysterious giant stone jars. The jars are about 2500 years old but archeologists are not sure why or how they were built. Most theories center on the jar sites being burial sites, either they were cremation urns or extravagant burial plot headstones. Three sites are open to the public and we toured them with a very knowledgeable and entertaining tour guide.

The region surrounding Phonsavan has seen some of the worst fighting and bombing in Laos' decades of war. Because it was located right between the Northern Vietnamese (and apparently Russian, since we saw a bombed out Russian tank) and Laotian communist strongholds in the east and the Thai and American airbases in the west, the area around the Plain of Jars was heavily damaged by Agent Orange, Napalm and regular old bombs. Our guide claimed the region was heavily forested in the 1950s but now the hills are pockmarked with bomb craters and little vegetation grows.

Some of the jars sites were bombed and we saw huge bomb craters. The three tourist sites are still being cleared of unexploded ordinance (UXO). Our guide showed us a place at site 2 (which supposedly had been cleared of UXO) where he used to bring his groups for a picnic lunch. Two weeks ago, the authorities dug up a 250 lb bomb that had been buried 5 feet under that exact spot for the last 35 years. Needless to say, we treaded very carefully while we were there.

Phonsavan town itself has little to offer the traveler other than a good Indian restaurant and the fact it's only 3 hours away from the Vietnamese border. So after 2 nights, we headed to Luang Prabang (LP). LP is cited by other tourists as "beautiful" "restful" "amazing" and "not like any Lao town you've ever seen." UNESCO has called it the "best preserved city in Southeast Asia" and it is now a World Heritage Site. (On a side note, the Plain of Jars is scheduled to be designated as a World Heritage Site in the next couple of years, something that we noticed the locals aren't particularly happy about because they see it as giving their heritage away to the UN.)

LP is indeed a nice city and not just because it has umpteen zillion wats. It's situated on two river and has a nice river walk, the sidewalks are nicely bricked and the night market is a pedestrian only zone filled with delights that would rival any you'd find at Portland's Saturday Market. Oh, and did I mention the Scandinavian Bakery?

The one strange thing about this town is that there are not enough guesthouses and hotels to fill the need. Hundreds of people stream into the city every day, by plane from Bangkok, by 2 day slow boat or 6 hour speedboat from northern Thailand, by bus from Vientiane and from China. You would think that there would be scads of guesthouses here but there aren't. Which makes the ones that are available very pricey by Lao standards.

We got into town by bus from Phonsavan at 4 pm and promptly headed for a cafe where I sat with the bags while Pearse headed out to find us a room. We had been warned that it would take a while and that we probably wouldn't find a place we liked that first night and would have to change rooms the next morning. Pearse wandered around and checked about 15 guesthouses, which were all full, before he found an OK room for $6 but it had 2 single beds and was right next to a noisy courtyard. Regardless, I was thankful we had found a room. The next morning we got up early and wandered around for 2 hours not finding a suitable room (I was looking for just a tad of "atmosphere" if I was going to spend $12 a night), when we finally found a room that was OK. Exasperating the situation is that there is no reservation system in this part of the world. Hotel owners don't know (don't ask) how long guests are staying. When a guest is ready to check out, they pay the bill. Until then the owner doesn't know if there is a room available and because of it, they don't take reservations.

Our primary job done (finding a home for the next few days), we have since been taking in the sights of LP. The riverfront has been the site of a couple of evenings drinking beer and a couple of afternoon walks. The night market is great for sightseeing and for finding yummy grilled fish. And there are tons of wats (temples) of which we have seen none.