Day 20 - Sometimes you have a bad day
Trip Start
Dec 17, 2007
1
30
Trip End
Feb 14, 2008
Vientiane, Lao Peoples Dem Rep
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
The tuk-tuk picked a few other people up on the way to the bus station including a nice older couple from Wiesbaden, Germany where I served in the army. We made it to the bus station when my back went out. I had a sharp pain in my back which has happened to me a couple of times. It usually last a couple of days before it gets back to normal.
Anyways, I took the VIP bus, the king of bus (according to the sign) and got to my assigned seat early. There was no one sitting next to me so I was thinking that I have got it good but soon the bus was filling up and I was asked to move to another seat as there was a couple that wanted. Then he had his pants unbuttoned and his belly was hanging out, and he was stretched back with his arm over his head so I was getting the full force of his arm pit. My opinion of him as pretty low and I kept thinking that he was one of those dirty tourist who comes to sexually abuse underage children.
The bus actually left on time at 9 am. Then it it pulled into the next door gas station for five minutes. Then we were off through the crowded streets of Luang Prabang but after five minutes we left the city and entered the countryside and started climbing a mountain. For nearly the next five hours, the bus would climb a mountain on a narrow curvy road with steep drop off on one-side and after reaching the peak, we would descend down the other side. At the bottom, the bus would cross a small stream and start climbing again. The traffic was light but the bus would pass other vehicles. It was a white knuckle ride and I was gripping the armrest and a handle on the seat in front of me, leaning away from the smelly guy with a bad back and a raging headache along with motion sickness. I didn`t have a clear view out the window but I did see that people lived right next to the road and used it as their front porch. Lots of people were using the road to beat or thresh some type of long stem plants.
Finally, the bus left the mountains and entered a long valley with lots of farms so I was able to relax a little. We stopped off for a free lunch of cooked vegetables and meat over rice. A hour or two later we stopped at Van Vieng which is famous for its limestone peaks and riding inter tubes down the river while drinking. Lots of people were getting off there so I mad my move to the front row so I didn`t have to smell that guy anymore and hopefully I could feel better (headache and motion sickness). I sat alone and had my bag and a bottle of water next to which had a loose cap. Of course, the bottle tipped over and spilled almost all of the water so that there was a puddle of water on the seat. We headed on to capitol but soon the bus pulled over and the bus driver starts working on the engine (fan belts) and it was at least 30 minutes before we got on the road again. We finally made it to Vientiane about 7 pm.
I had picked out a guest house from the guide book and all I wanted to do is get to my room and take a shower and go to bed. I got a tuk-tuk to take me and it was less than 10 minutes to get there. But it was full. UGH! There were several other guest house in the area and it wasn`t until about the sixth one did I find a room. Well, not a room- a family suite for $35. I was so worn out, I took it as I didn`t want to waste more time to find a room. The suite was huge with one room with two twin beds and other room with a double bed with lots of furniture. They also said I could move to a cheaper room the next day. I took a shower and soon zonked out.
