This week we had our second trip outside of Vientiane. This time we traveled northeast to Xieng Khoung Province and the city of Phonsavanh. There is a lot more to the place than it is given credit for in the guide books. Just coming to the city it felt like it was a “real” Lao city. Not like Luang Prabang with the UNESCO status and the endless pilgrimage of tourists. Not even like Vientiane which is so much larger than anything else in the country. This city was in the words of our program leader more dusty and more like Vientiane in the ’90s. As for the night life — everything closes quite early!

We were tourists again this trip. We went to the Plain of Jars (site #1). Everyone craned their necks to see inside them. While we were all wondering what the jars were used for (they say liquor or funerals) it was hard to not notice the massive bomb craters in the middle of the site. I was upset myself to see one of the largest jars had been toppled over and shattered, presumably by the crater directly next to it. One can only wonder what has been erased by the war. You don’t have to look far to see the continuing effects — such as the warning signs to watch for bombies.

Later that day we went to the MAG UXO museum. The most important thing I have learned is to see forty years later the legacy of the war from the perspective of the receiving-end of US imperialism. How can the U.S. embassy be contributing such a pittance to the UXO removal program?! How can they smile so vacantly in the face of their handy-work? The US embassy was certainly not so hands-off during the war. In fact, they were picking the targets to bomb. It is a bitter pill to take but to learn this is something that most Americans need.