Visit Plain of Jars, overland Vientiane via Mouang Khoun en route stop visit Wat Phia Wat
This morning we head out to explore the Plain of Jars. We will be visiting Sites 1, 2 & 3 – an impressive archaeological site including hundreds of large stone jars. Spend time walking around on the marked paths which is truly a peaceful area on a hillside and getting impressed by the bulk of the jars scattered in groups around the hillside. The hill is littered with bomb craters from the Vietnam – American War. If you make it to this part of the world, the excursion is worth your effort and visit. A ghost of its former self, MUANG KHOUN, old Xieng Khuang, 35km southeast of Phonsavan, was once the royal seat of the minor kingdom Xieng Khuang, renowned in the sixteenth century for its 62 opulent stupas, whose sides were said to be covered in treasure.
Years of bloody invasions by Thai and Vietnamese soldiers, pillaging by Chinese bandits in the nineteenth century and a monsoon of bombs that lasted nearly a decade during the Second Indochina War taxed this town so heavily that, by the time the air raids stopped, next to nothing was left of the kingdom’s exquisite temples. The town was all but abandoned, and centuries of history were drawn to a close. All that remains of the kingdom’s former glory is an elegant Buddha image towering over ruined columns of brick at Wat Phia Wat, and That Dam, both of which bear the scars of the events that ended Xieng Khuang’s centuries of rich history. Although the town has been rebuilt and renamed,it has taken a back seat to Phonsavan, and, with little in the way of amenities for travellers.
Overnight in Phonesavanh