The reason why most tourists make the trip all the way to Phonsavan is the Plain of Jars.  The Plain of Jars is Laos’ equivalent of Stone Henge.  It’s incredibly ancient and totally unexplainable – in both how and why it was made.  A plain spotted by a few hundred jars remain.  Once there were thousands, but the jars too became victims of the U.S. bombing.  Some argue that they were for storing some form of alcohol, while others believe they were burial urns.

On arrival the jars are fascinating, but a little underwhelming.  Though again like Stone Henge, the longer I spent wandering through them, their power and magic grew.  The total scope and feat of them became quite awe-inspiring.