2/7/06
Looking out my front door
Arrived here last night after a grueling six hours on the road. About an hour out of Vientienne our bus pulled over - I figured it was for a bathroom break. Well when the bus driver and the two guys with him started walking around the bus, I figured they were just doing some routine checks. But when they opened up the luggage compartment and got out the big tarp, threw it under the bus and started looking around underneath, I knew that could only be bad news. After about an hour sitting there on the side of the road, they determined that it was unfixable and started getting our bags out of the luggage compartment. Thinking that they had another bus coming for us, I wasn't too concerned. The bus driver proceeded to flag down a songteaw - for those unfamiliar with traveling in Asia, this is a small pickup truck with a covered back and 2 benches with about a half inch of padding covered in the finest Corinthian leather - ha ha ha. The ultimate in luxury! My God!! These guys ride up and down the road picking up everybody standing on the side of the road. The bus driver said with a sheepish smile - bus broke down, no fix - this man take you. Have room for 5 people - another one come soon. This one was already packed with people, so I decided to wait for the next one which came about a half hour later. Needless to say - it was a lo-------ng ride on a bumpy, dusty road. Riding with the local people was interesting, but this wasn't what I paid for. Instead of an air conditioned bus we were riding in the back of a pickup truck. As the sun went down, so did the temperature, which made for an even better ride! Good thing I had a sweater. All along the way we stopped to pick up and discharge passengers and their goods. At one point there were people hanging off the back and sitting on the roof. One lady sat next to me, started talking to me in Lao, making gestures, and laughing at everything. Have no idea what she was saying but she was sure having a great time. This was one of those trips you read about and hope it never happens to you. Well............
My ass is still hurts.......
Now I'm here and I feel better. The scenery from here looks pretty spectacular. Time to get a motorbike and go for a ride.