Travelling in Someone's Armpit
Vientiane -> Vang Vieng, 1st May 2002
As I was taking the 10:30 bus to Vang Vieng, I had a nice easy
morning, a slow start & a casual breakfast.
I gathered my stuff together at about then took the short walk
to the bus station. Trying to find the bus took a lot of effort!
After walking around the market exasperatedly for 10 minutes,
getting a little annoyed that there was no bus station, I eventually
discovered that the bus station was about 100m further on. When I
got there, I ended up walking around the bus station area at least 3
times, following very vague directions from various drivers. When I
eventually found the right bus, I chucked my bag on top and
gratefully sat down.
For the 30 minutes until the bus departed, there was a constant flow
of vendors flowing through the bus. They'd climb in one door, work
their way slowly along the bus, then exit by the other door. Some of
the vendors looked quite amusing, they carried huge trays, like the
ice-cream sellers at theatres, laden with huge assortments of wares.
They sold everything from baguettes to crisps, from batteries to
cheap plastic sunglasses, from fake watches to dodgy walkmans. I
made a purchase that was to prove essential, a small paper fan. As
the sun climbed higher, the bus got warmer & warmer, the fan helped
me stay comfortable in the intense heat.
As the time passed, the bus slowly filled. Originally there were 2
people to a seat, then in proper Lao style, they crammed 3 onto each
one, then the aisle filled with standing passengers. When there
wasn't an empty square inch, and everyone was comfortably positioned
in someone else's armpit, the driver decided to go.
The journey passed quickly and in Laotian terms, was even quite
comfortable! Being squashed into this tiny bus with half of the
population of Laos was much more comfortable than the hard, rocking sawngthaews.
When we reached Vang Vieng, I quickly found a cheap guesthouse, then
headed out to explore the town.
Vang Vieng itself is very touristy, each building provides something for tourists. Restaurants, guesthouses, bars, tour offices,
souvenir shops, laundries, internet cafes are packed in jawl to jawl.
Although there is probably an equal number of tourists in Luang
Prabang, the larger size helps dilute the effect. There really isn't
anything in Vang Vieng, except tourist things. One amazing thing about the town
though, are the huge rock formations and strangely shaped hills that
surround Vang Vieng. It gives a really interesting extra to the
place, just standing and looking to the horizon offers some
fantastic views.
In the true style of Lao, without any pre-meditating at all, I bumped
into Danny & Sophie again. We caught up what we'd each been up to,
then continued exploring the town.
After a couple of hours, we headed down to a lovely little cafe on
the riverfront to meet Matt & Tillen who were also here. As you can
see, escape from people who know you is impossible! Here I am,
travelling around the world, and I keep bumping into the same peopel!
After watching the sun set spectacularly behind the hills, we spent
the evening eating & drinking. At the final place we ended up at, we
bumped into 2 other guys we knew, Tom & Wesley, who joined us to
drink Lao Gria (the local version of Sangria).
After a long evening of food, drink and chatting, the bars began to close & our beers ran dry,
so we called it a night and stumbled through the darkness back to our guesthouses...
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