Rte 7 to Phonsavan

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We were travelling in a mini bus heading for The Plain of Jars,  with only two comfortable seats between eight of us there was a lot of changing around.   We started in pleasant flat countryside outside Luang Prabang but were soon on tortuous mountain Routes #13 and #7.  Only saw one group of Hmung rebels armed with rifles and they were busy with an overturned truckload of motorbikes

   Villages front on to the edge of the busy highway                       

And cling to steep ravines at their rear
Young children were the most happy to see us, babies and toddlers were wary, adults went about their business
Old ladies and children stood by the highway offering dead rats (I think) for sale.    Not sure what we were expected to do with them
  The drive was very uncomfortable but incredibly scenic

The last 50 km were flat, quiet and uneventful

Phonsavan

The area around Phonsavan is littered with French, Chinese, American, Russian and Vietnamese made ordinance, a souvenir of over 100 years of warfare.  Bomb casings are in evidence all over town.   This one is in front of our hotel.  On the balcony they were using others as BBQ's.  We saw them in use as pig troughs , planters, fire pits, fence posts, etc.   Other military scrap is used for the making of prosthetic limbs

Welcome to Phonsavan with it's eccentric sense of decor colourful market and beautiful children

Adults were less likely to consent to be photographed in northern regions but would make exceptions if with their  babies

We were at the market to buy fruit, juice and snacks for our expedition to the Plain of Jars next day
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