Foto: The largest jug in the Valley of the Jars (bron: Ronald van der Veer)
Laos - At half past seven, we drive towards the Valley of the Jars. These mysterious jars are scattered over three sites in an area of thirty by thirty kilometers. Along the way, we also see the heavy bomb craters in the landscape from the Vietnam War in 1960–1970. I was unaware that Laos was involved in this war. The Xieng Khouang province was heavily bombed. In this province alone, more bombs were dropped than were used in the entire Second World War. Because many dropped landmines did not explode and remain buried in the mud, the area is still dangerous to enter today. The provincial capital, Xieng Khouang, is so dangerous that the city was abandoned. Nowadays, Phonsavan is the new capital. Fortunately, the Valley of the Jars was cleared of mines several years ago by the mine clearance organization MAG. Posts mark where it is safe and where it is not safe to walk. We first visit site three. Huge jars lie between the trees on a hill. I guess these are some sort of grave markers, although the exact meaning is unknown. We walk through the MAG markers to site two. Along the way, we pass villages, rice fields, and many bomb craters. Here too, we examine the jars. Then we take the bus to site one. Here lies the largest jar, which is 2½ meters high and also 2½ meters in diameter.
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