The trip started well. We got picked up on time and taken to another hotel to get some more guests. We had free bananas to eat (we filled our bags) and then after a last glass of beer hoi, we piled into a minivan to set off to our bus.
When we approached the bus station there were a couple of local buses around and we all laughed about how they were going to be ours. oh, the laughter of innocence.
We ended up on a bus not much better. We refused to get on board at first and demanded the bus we'd paid for (some people had paid $20+ for the same bus as us but we kept quiet). In the end we had no choice and got on.
The trip was a disaster but at the same time I have never travelled so well. Honest.
It began shortly after we left. We broke down 5 minutes after we began. The bus was piled high with local rubbish too and so our travel bags were in with us and took up the back 3 rows of seats. Maui and I had moved some so that we had two seats to ourselves at the back and we slammed our seats back until we were pretty much lying flat. It is hard to explain but we felt justified getting comfy seats even if we broke them! Seeing as the air conditioning once again consisted of an open door, sitting next to an open window was also a must. I ended up being the only one with two seats in the end though (someone moved in next to Maui) and it was priceless.
First breakdown...
Once we were off again, sweating to where we could shower each other by standing up, we got a puncture. This was to be the first of four. We also broke down at least four more times while I was awake and I was told a couple more while I slept (while travelling, you learn to sleep anywhere, anytime and through anything). It was awesome the first time though. My whole chair lifted off (being directly above the wheel) and I'd honestly thought we'd hit a bomb!
‘In February 2003 an attack on a bus near Vang Vieng killed 13 people including two western cyclists. Two months later, another bus was attacked, killing 12 and injuring 31, confirming fears that government assurances over the security of the road were badly misplaced.’ (My Lonely planet, South East on a shoestring, 2004, kindly informed me).
One of the punctured tyres...
But no robber for us though it took an age to fix too as we had no spares and had to wait for another bus to go by to borrow one. Meantime we just sat on the road side being old nothing! We then drove for the last hour with a puncture too for the same reason and because everyone on board was making it quite clear we'd had enough.
When we finally hit the border we had to wait an hour before it opened. meanwhile I used the toilet while we waited and some lady sitting outside actually tried to charge me. I played ignorant and refused to understand her and then it was time to cross.
Here we all gave our passports over to the driver (an obnoxious man) and waited for our turn. All the locals used the "foreigner only" side and would just push past and into us to get there. Really made some people cross. You could see they wanted to hit these people. But thankfully patience won out.
Then we all learnt they were asking for a dollar for 'good service' and it was blatantly a bribe. Sadly everyone paid except me and the Polish guys as we were over Vietnam. The people can be nice but they have a real edge compared to the rest of Asia. We flatly refused to pay a bribe we say going into their pockets and you may be thinking "what cheapos, it's only a dollar!" but when you travel a dollar goes a long way and it is also the principle of the thing.
in the end our bus drove of without us and scared we'd be left behind we angrily (but smilingly) paid, grabbed our passports and walked the 3kms to the bus - where I gave the driver a huge telling off for what he'd done. we then paid for our new visa for Laos, jumped back on board and prayed for new things out of this new country.
Wealking to find our bus....
In the end I bet I'll remember this bus ride for much longer than all my others too. And we made it so that's what counts!
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