Day 664 - Plain of Jars

After 20+ months of Adlibing Asia we found ourselves on our 3rd organised tour of our trip - at the end of the day we were reminded why we normally go to a lot more effort (and even spend a bit more money) to do things ourselves. But at least this way we don't get blown up by UXO (unexploded ordinances). This is actually a huge problem in Laos, which has the unfortunate title of "the most bombed country in the world".
The Plain of Jars are an archaeological wonder and mystery - the most common theory about these gigantic rock jars sitting out in clusters in the middle of nowhere is that they are funeral urns. The other theory is that they are celebratory whiskey jars for ancient giants!!Some date these jars to 2,500 years ago, and some are 3m tall - perhaps their size and the fact they're made of rock is the reason they're still around today.We spent most of the day going between the 3 major sites that house anywhere from 50-100s of jars, enjoying site number 2 the best where the forest has the power to claim back their territory by growing right through the middle of these massive jars. Apart from checking out jars, we also had a brief but boring look at a rusted old Russian tank, and had a quick meal of typical Laos noodle soup, and a brief stop at a family home where they were busy making Lao Lao. Lao Lao is home made whisky made from fermented sticky rice and has one hell of a kick!

At the end of the day we returned for some more good food at the local market and checked out the wares as we still had nothing else to do once back in town!Adlibing the Jars.