Travel Story (2): Laos, The Local Bus by Lloyd Cheam

Upon arrival, I ask for the local bus going to Vang Vieng, a small town north of Vientian, capital of Laos. After purchasing the bus ticket, I went around looking for lunch. I have not only had lunch but also have ‘take-away’ Lao authentic chicken fried rice with me, as I remember it will be an 8 hours trip to Vang Vieng. If I have taken a VIP Bus or an Express Bus (mean of existent is the Farang, the richer one), having a lunch break won’t be tough at all. However, I am taking the rough one, the ‘Local Bus’. It is quite unpredictable.

The local bus in Laos, theoretically is nothing scarier than what we have in Malaysia. Well, minus the Air Con, the standard big seat, plus lots of dust and plenty of goods. Yeah, plenty of goods. I thought bus are only for passenger but soon found out that I am incorrect about it. The Bus Company usually sells out all its passenger seats and would carry goods twice the weight of the bus (with passengers) until it seems it is impossible to move at all.

The way they stack up goods in and on the bus is also purely unique. The corridor in between passenger seats will always been reserved for heavy goods like rice, rubber, steels and etc. Without a doubt, they would take as much as it could. Stacking up all the way to our waistline when we are sitting down. So, getting around in the bus is quite a task. The rooftop is for sure that it is at its maximum potential as well. Piling anything you could imagine and you could bring. It is ordinary that things are piled up as high as the height of the bus itself. From a distance, it certainly looks like a Double Decker Bus.

I am glad I am not the only Farang in the bus. A middle-aged couple from London, whom I have run into earlier in the town, is also sharing the same ride. A group of 6 Italians and Spanish are also among the minority. They will be great companies, as most locals do not speak much English at all.
As passengers are all seated and goods are all been piled, the bus leave. It does not take me too long to realize that the most painful part in travelling is getting from a place to another. 8 hours, sitting at a straight up and non reclining seat most of the time, no entertainment (or you prefer Lao music) and suffering the “zero gravity chamber”. (Quoted from the book “Are you experienced?”) Which means half of the time your ass is hanging in the air and the other half is when your ass is cruelly banging at the seat. And it carries on over and over again on the golf-holes-filled state highway. Yeah, for 8 hours.

By all means, this trip is not meant for any sort of training. It is purposefully for my own luxury and enjoyment. It is just so much to see and experience when I choose to do it on my own, instead of spending more money for a comfortable travel package. I did a whole day kayaking in Vang Vieng, in the river that buried deep among the green mountains. Also, in places like Si Phan Don, a remote region full of small islands (they call it 4,000 islands in Southern Laos) where I do nothing for a whole day but laying on hammock reading and sleeping. Like Toh say, the moral of the story is, do it yourself (DIY) and you will receive more than what you expected (well, the good and bad). Arrange your own flight, find your own accommodation, picking up a guidebook and read it, walk in a strange town by your own, spend as much time as you want to in a place, this is what I call travel.