Spend an extra day in Luang Prabang or Vang Vieng?

Thanks for that somsai..I'll read up on Thadua. Is it easy to get to? It would be nice to get a bit off the beaten track!

Plain of Jars can be done in day if you can time the flights, you still spend 1 night. When I was there the electicity was from generators so hot water was very limited and the town went dark at night. That was a few years ago. The Jars were interesting, some were bombed by the US, some have trees growing thru. From the air you can see bomb craters, and people have bomb casing for fences and BBQs. Around there are rice fields, friendly local people. I went to a village and saw young people in traditional clothes playing catch with a ball, girls on one side boys on the otehr, a courting game I was told, they chat and get to know one another. Wonderful people. Also saw a few militia with rifles.

If you really want to see a small town then just get off the bus when you see a guesthouse sign in the middle of nowhere. Sounds silly, well probably but it is how you will find the places that no one else goes to. The thing is, there are no guarantees. Some places we found doing this were magical and we spend days there, other places refused to let us stay and we would have to catch the next bus out. It is, however, all part of the adventure.

thanks for all the suggestions! Now i have heaps more to think about hehe. I'm kinda tempted to go for Phonsavan...the jar's sound pretty interesting.