PonsavanPersonal travel impressions in stories and pictures from Ponsavan, Laos. Click on the pictures to enlarge, send as a free e-card, or download for personal use. You can locate Ponsavan and navigate the world using Google Earth Show on map
N 19° 27.164
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PonsavanVisited: December 2000 More pictures of Ponsavan:
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Ponsavan is not only a starting point for a visit to the famous Plain of Jars, but also the capital of an area that was heavily bombed during the Secret War in the 1960s and 1970s. The Hmong people sided with the CIA and turned their home country into a battlefield. In fact, the town was almost completely destroyed near the end of the war. 
At present, it is being rebuilt in all possible ways. This means a lot of dust (roads are being constructed), houses are often just skeletons of stones and concrete, electricity is erratic in the evenings and non existing during the day or night. In some cases, we saw bombs being used as part of fences. At the same time, satellite dishes could be seen on the roofs of houses. This gave us a sensation of a young town trying to leap forward in the future.
Despite the condition of this town, or perhaps because of it, Ponsavan made a special impression on us. Let's say that it gave us a Far West feeling. This town will probably look very different in a few years from now. Its surroundings, a hilly and mountainous area with creeks, plains and craters, will remain attractive forever.