Heat and dust II >> Travel: Laos, Myanmar, Thailand 41

Nov 16: Night, Vientiane

The express bus is as fast as the chicken bus.

It took us more than seven hours to get from Savannakhet to Vientiane in our express bus. For some reason, I kept thinking about the hare and the tortoise during this bus journey.

What a waste of money! To add insult to injury, foreigners had to pay more to take the express bus whereas the price of a ticket for the chicken bus was the same, regardless of nationality. Also, this express bus was not as clean as the other chicken buses we had taken.

Midway through our 'leisurely' ride, the driver stopped for lunch. After crossing a bridge, he pulled to the side, where the road curved gently, opening onto on a patch of dusty ground. Erected on this flat land were a few box-like shacks, like the temporary quarters of a construction site. There was a makeshift canteen, a row of offices or dorms (not sure which) and space for vehicles to park.

Ignoring the passengers, the driver and his attendant made a beeline for the canteen, to a table where food was laid out. They ate a tremendous lunch, heaps of white rice with two or three dishes. The rest of us had to make do with over-priced snacks or fried rice or noodles for lunch.

Deciding to eat a late lunch in Vientiane, Annie and I subsisted on our pack of biscuits, bottled water and the last of our M&Ms (Comfort food from home and, yes, they do melt in your mouth, not in your hands!). Most of the passengers looked more than ready to leave this dusty plain by the half-hour mark.

But, not our replete bus crew.

So we waited, languishing in the stuffy bus, hiding under the meagre shade of the canteen or shuffling desultorily in the early afternoon heat. Finally, some forty minutes into our enforced break, the driver slapped on his cap, got into the bus and gunned the machine. We piled in and were on our way again.

At the outskrits of Vientiane, the driver switched off the aircon. Windows flung open; hot, heavy air sunk into the bus, along with fine, light dust. With many people alighting and unloading their luggage, we did not reach Vientiane until half an hour later. I thought we were finishing our bus ride in a swirl of dust, heat and sweat.

But, some 20 minutes later, the driver switched on the aircon again. Windows came down; dust settled. We rolled into Vientiane station.

Addendum

Tuk-tuk drivers at Vientiane station are learning to be the predators that its counterparts in some other countries have devolved into.

This time round, one from this lamentable species asked for US$1 per person (>10,000 kip) for a 5-10 minute Tuk-tuk to our guesthouse. We eventually found one willing to drive us to our guesthouse for 5,000 kip.

Budget (for two in kip and USD)

Room >> US$21Breakfast >> K2,000
Tuk-tuk to bus station >> K3,000
Bus (Savannakhet to Vientiane) >> K80,000
Tuk-tuk to guesthouse >> K5,000
Lunch >> K16,000
Groceries >> K40,000
Dinner >> K49,000

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