myrainasia

For those who were worried I managed to get out of Vientiane and arrived safely in Tha Khaek.  Even though I still owe an update on Vientiane, I had to write about the bus trip before I forget.

First of all, I learned that my absolute bottom line maximum for a hot sweaty bus trip is now 6 hours.  The time it took to get from Vientiane to Tha Khaek on the public bus.

Arrived at the Vientiane bus station at around 10:30 this morning.  The Vientiane bus station is nowhere near the actual downtown of Vientiane.  Grabbed a tuk tuk and arrived about 30 minutes later.  However, this tuk tuk driver actually had a schedule for fares- first I’ve seen- so it was one of my cheaper rides (cheap being a relative term since nothing costs more than about $5 max).

The driver landed me right by the bus going to Tha Khaek but I went to the window because I thought I needed to buy a ticket- I didn’t. Then I went back to the bus where people were milling about and the guy who appeared to be in charge told me to wait.  By the time I decided to stop waiting it turned out that the only seats left were the small plastic stools that would line the center of the bus.  Not interested in sitting on a plastic stool for 6 hours.  Tried to figure out if there would be another bus (the schedule said every hour until noon) and the best answer I could get was “maybe”.

By this time the stool aisle was full and the bus was now going into standing room only.  This is approximately where the “maybe” turned into “no more buses to Tha Khaek”.  I refused to panic or to pull one of my NY hissy fits. (If no one understands what you are screaming you look more like a madwoman than otherwise.)  Instead I went over to the table where they seemed to be selling the tickets that I had been told one didn’t need and started pointing at the other buses and asking where they were going.  One was heading to Pakse- a ride of about 12 hours on the VIP bus and about 17 hours on the public bus.  However, Tha Khaek is on the way and there is only 1 road so I asked if it stopped in Tha Khaek.  First told it did not.  This answer did not satisfy my highly logical NY lawyer mind.  I perservered.  Turned out that they only sell tickets for this bus for Vientiane to Pakse.  Now it hit me that this was a financial issue.  Time to play wealthy American.  Offered to pay the full price to Pakse (about $10) if they would let me off if Tha Khaek (a $7 ticket).  Done deal. 

It was now 11 am and the bus was close to full.  I went to smoke a cigarette and the driver sent me onto the bus to put something on a seat.  Brilliant move.  I spent the next hour watching all the seats fill up, then out came the plastic seats, and then the standing room started.  Turns out that the bus schedules are very loose and take off time depends on when you think you cannot squeeze on one additional passenger.

We started around 11:30.  And kept picking up passengers- kind of like putting clowns in a little car at the circus.  The bus was an unairconditioned airconditioned bus.  A puff of moderately cool air came from the vents but not enough to do anything so all windows were open.  And most people had their jackets or sweaters on.  And I was the only one who was drowning in my own sweat.  Status quo.

After stopping for gas, and food supplies (loads of vendors at the windows and hopping onto the bus), and more passengers, we actually hit the road.  The driver hit the horn every 3 or 4 seconds and never for just one beep.  We watched Thai television the entire time- either singers or this comedy act. I don’t know if it was videos of 1 popular show, but I am now fully familiar with that cast of characters- no need to really understand Thai.

First stop was about 2 1/2 hours on.  (For those who don’t like toilet stories, skip ahead here.)  The stop was in the middle of nowhere but there were large trees and much foliage on both sides of the road.  Amusement from all of my bus neighbors at my look of puzzlement as to why we were stopping.  Still happy to have an excuse to get off the bus and have a smoke.  Decided I could hold it in.  Then realized when in Rome was a much better plan.  Followed the smart ladies who decided the other side of the road was more private.  Unfortunately, don’t wear the long Lao skirt which makes a much better privacy cover.  Figured it all out nonetheless.

Tried speaking to the woman sitting next to me who didn’t know a word of English and was not overly sharp at charades.  She didn’t get the universal I point to myself and say “Myra” and then point to her and look questioningly.  So we gave that up.  We did share food and friendly looks.  I offered my cookies to all of people near me and my neighbor was the only one sharing.  As the hours wore on, it got to be a joke- I would offer everyone and then make a show of how no one wanted my food.  By the time I got off, everyone took some Certs or gum with a lot of smiles and laughter.

The ride was long and hot and not something I want to do every day.  But I loved doing it.  There is a perverse streak in me that says do exactly the opposite of the other tourists.  It may turn out to be a misery, but it will turn out to be an experience.

Did I mention that I am charmed by the people here? I am.  Still loving this country.

I will try and get back to the story of Vientiane from Savannakhet, the next stop. Hope you can wait. 

Tags: 1, Laos, public buses in Laos

This entry was posted on Friday, April 11th, 2008 at 8:50 am and is filed under 1. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.