Loop
Revealing the
Dark History of
a U.S. Secret War
M
y skin tingles as the sound wave of
an explosion, echoed off a nearby
hill, hits the Honda CB500X. On a well-
worn dirt road, I am safe. However, a
Mines Advisory Group (MAG) team must
be clearing unexploded ordnance (UXO)
somewhere close.By Day Three of the “Plain of Jars” loop, I’m deep inside
the Xiangkhouang province of Laos, the most bombed
province in the most bombed country per capita in the
world—all thanks to the Secret War of the 1960s.
Though the loop is 482 miles, I’m prepared to put
another 70 or so in the saddle for day trips around
Phonsavan—the jump-off point for the Plain of Jars.
And, if I time it just right, I’ll be sliding back into Luang
Prabang—the cultural heartland of Laos—in time for the
Festival of Lights.
I arrived early this morning after holing up in a small,
cement, motel-like room the night before. Day One was
a big one. The goal was to book 162 miles from Luang
Prabang to here. Following Highway 12 south, the
jagged edges of karst limestone mountains capped in
lush jungle rose up on either side of the road. Turning
onto Highway 7, I avoided diving back into the hedonis-
tic party town of Vang Vieng—renowned for drunken
river tubing and restaurants with menus boasting magic
mushroom shakes, pizzas, bags of weed and opium tea,
among other recreational delights. Highway 7 wiggled
east, as if following a dragon’s spine bejeweled with tiny
mountain communities.
The plan is to base in Phonsavan for motorcycle day
trips to the Plain of Jars sites 1, 2 and 3.
The crisp, cold, early-morning air in the Plain of Jars
tastes fresh as I head south. The mountains run amok
with children, but the dominant life force outside the
city are the brown cows and stocky water buffalo.
Farther afield, rice paddies fill the lowlands.
In addition to the defoliants dropped between 1964
and 1973, the U.S. averaged a bombing mission in
Laos every eight minutes. Despite decades of almost
hopeless clean-up efforts, the aging bombs continue
to maim and kill Laotian children, who are particularly
attracted to the small ball shape of the cluster bombs
that were used. Inside the UXO Survivor Visitor Center,Little of the glory of Muang Khoun, the
royal seat of Phuan Kingdom in the 14th
century, remains.AdventureMotorcycle.com 55