December 29, 2012 @ Plain of Jars


Hmong ball tossing game pov pob is a common activity for adolescents

Hmong girls and parents going to the ball-throwing game

Hmong girls meet possible suitors while playing a ball-throwing game

Young Hmong girls in Phousavan

Love their outfit

Suitors

Me & Hmong girl

Jac & Hmong girl

Boys and girls form two separate lines in pairs that are directly facing one another

Girls can ball toss with other girls or boys

But boys cannot ball toss with other boys

It is taboo to toss the ball to someone of the same clan and date the same clan

The pairs toss a cloth ball back and forth until one member drops the ball

If a player drops/misses the ball an ornament/item is given to the opposite player

Ornaments are recovered by singing love songs to the opposite player

Recent times the young lovers have been seen to carry tape players

to play their favorite love songs for one another

A pair

This guy gone crazy with the camera

Love her outfit

Cute baby

This is the only info we found about Site 16

Here we go orienteering

Saturday is dressup day

Happy kids

Small town near Old Capital Xieng Khouang

Fish sticky rice

Noodles for lunch

Bikers

Kids playing in the river

Naked kids!

Asking the local for Site 16

Homes in the rural area

Stop again for direction

Guys at wedding banquet

Me on the bike

Hot spring

This guy is so nice

He took us to the hotspring

Perfect day for taking a cruise

Jac

Wedding crasher

Tie the white string to the wedding couple

The white string symbolize good luck

The bridemaid

The wedding party

Box for wedding gift

Lining up to get in

Kitchen for the banquet

Local dishes at the banquet

Village houses

Few of the non-brick roof house

Kids helping

Asking for direction, these people carry gun

In search of Site 16

Finally we found it!

Site 16 near the Old Capital Xieng Khouang

More than 90 sites are known within the province of Xieng Khouang

Each site ranges from 1 up to 400 stone jars

Site 16 is smaller scale compare to the others we had seen

But we had a lot of fun in search of it

There are no signal of Site 16

Very few local people known about this Site 16

Only seven of the 90+ jar sites have been declared safe to visit

Head back to Phousavan happily

Major landmark along way

Make a LEFT here from the main road

Rush back before the sunset

Wooden bridge shortly after the Old Capital

Houses along Khounchueang Road

Seem like basic living in Laos is not bad

Hydropower Project

Oh no car accident

Another wedding

Laos might be a people country, but citizen living condition is not bad

Dinner before night bus

Glass noodles

We ordered pure veggie dish but they still got it wrong after 3 attempts

I supported annual education supplies for a UXO survivor to return to primary school

UXO (unexploded ordinance) Survivor Information Centre Unexploded Ordinance (UXO) Survivor Information Centre

A lot part of the Vietnam war was fought in Laos

It is called *the Secret War* due to long-time US denial of any involvement

Bombs were dropped on Laos for a couple of reasons

Unable to land safely back at the base while still carrying bombs, US military dropped them on Laos

Overnight bus to Vientiane

Thank god it is a sleeping bus

Glad we got the *single* bed

12 hours ride

People sit on the floor too