探访老挝神秘的石缸平原

choi

贾里德·萨勒姆, 探访老挝神秘的石缸平原. BBC Chinese, Sept 22, 2015
www.bbc.com/ukchina/simp/vert_tr ... range-plain-of-jars

, which is translated from

Jarryd Salem, Laos' Strange Plain of Jars. BBC, Sept 7, 2015 (in the Travel section).
www.bbc.com/travel/story/20150810-laos-strange-plain-of-jars

Note:
(a) “Clouds of dust mushroomed behind me as my motorbike bounced along a potholed track outside Phonsavan, a mid-sized town 400km northeast of the Lao capital, Vientiane.”

Phonsavan
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonsavan
(The name stands for "hills of paradise"/ Phonsavan's most famous attraction is the nearby Plain of Jars)

(b) In Laos: “Despite such gems as the Unesco-listed northern city of Luang Prabang, many visitors end up surrounded by the raucous revelry of Vang Vieng, a much-loved party stop where backpackers float down the Nam Song River in rubber tubes.”
(i) Luang Prabang
(A) “literally: ‘Royal Buddha Image (in the Dispelling Fear mudra)’ ”  en.wikipedia.org

* The “mudra” is Sanskrit for “seal” -- Chinese translation being 印 or 印相. Mudra 印相 is the gestures of hand (thumb juxtaposed with or close to forefinger or middle finger of the same hand) in sculpture or paintings of Buddhism.
(B) Town of Luang Prabang. UNESCO, undated.
whc.unesco.org/en/list/479

Click the big photo underneath the title -- or any thumbnail below, and you will reach the same Web page showcasing various Buddhist temples in that town.
(ii) Vang Vieng
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vang_Vieng
(“The town lies on the Nam Song River [qv]. The most notable feature of the area is the karst hill landscape surrounding the town”)