Tug of war >> Travel: Laos, Myanmar, Thailand 40

Nov 15: Night, Savannakhet

We arrived at the compact bus station bright and early this morning. We did not have to ask around for long before a bus boy beckoned us energetically.

"Vientiane! Vientiane!" He hopped off his bus and reached for our bags.

"But, we're going to Savannakhet!"

"Yes, yes!" And grabbed Annie's bag.

He was certainly enthusiastic and cheerful, but we were not too sure about boarding his to-Vientiane bus yet. We did not want to end up in Vientiane just yet.

So Annie tightened her grip on her bag and soon we were engaged in a lively tug of war, with the guy pulling us to his bus, chained as we were to Annie's bag. No way were we going to lose our belongings in this ignominious manner. And all this while, the bus boy kept up his vigorous litany of "Yes, Savannakhet! Yes! Yes!"

By now, the passengers in the bus must be thoroughly entertained, judging by the number of faces glued to the windows, avidly tuned in to the drama on the floor.

Finally, the bus boy realised he was never going to get us to board through such 'hardsell'. His driver was getting impatient. The engine was rumbling. He stopped tugging and we nearly careened into him, no doubt leading to more mirth from within the bus. He needed the right approach fast to snag his last two customers.

"Yes, yes! Savannakhet, Vientiane!" He finally said the magic words, confirming that his Vientiane-bound bus would stop in Savannakhet en route to the Lao captial.

Up and into the bus we went, greeted by the stony-faced driver in sunglasses and a sea of stares and grins. Ah, foreigners!

The bus pulled out of the station and everyone settled down to the humdrum rhythm of the road. Although we had provided the morning's excitement, we were still charged the full fare to Savan by the grinning bus boy. They say it is a hard life for an artiste. And so it is...

It was a hot and dusty ride in the 'chicken' bus. During the first couple of hours, we stopped and stopped. At some of these stops, hawkers rushed into the bus to sell roast chicken, sticky rice, drinks, watermelon slices and even toilet rolls!

By then, our bus was very crowded. Sacks of rice paved the aisle, with baskets parked on and beside them. These obstacles did not deter the enterprising hawkers.

Several hours later, we rolled into Savan's bus station. After disgorging its two reluctant passengers and a few other locals, the bus sped off to Vientiane, its final destination many, many, more miles away.

Savan is not as dusty as Pakse, but it feels more humid. Walking around town earlier, we saw many buildings that looked abandoned. In reality, only some were; others had people living in them.

Four- and multi-legged problem

Yesterday, Surada (one of our Wat Phou excursion mates) said Luang Prabang (LP) might have a problem with rats. She said she and her husband saw a rat run across their room in Phousy Guesthouse. While in LP, we saw dead rats on the road, flattened by passing vehicles, but both Sayo Guesthouse and Tum Tum Cheng, our accommodation choices in LP, were very clean.

Then, Alex, another excursion mate, added that her room in Lankham Hotel, where we rented our minivan to Wat Phou, had an ant problem. She also told us that she and her friend had been bitten by the ants and showed us some red spots on her arm. Our room in Pakse was okay, but there were ants in our bathroom, no doubt attracted by the insect graveyard and the wet floor there.

Last leg soon

Tomorrow, we begin the last leg of our Laos trip. We have had a great time so far and I am a little sad to leave. On a brighter note, we intend to eat very well on our last two or three days in Vientiane!

Budget (for two in kip and USD)

Room >> US$8
Breakfast + coffee >> K13,000
Tuk-tuk to bus station >> K6,000
Bus to Savannakhet >> K40,000
Tuk-tuk to guesthouse >> K5,000
Lunch >> K15,000
Tuk-tuk to express bus station >> K3,000
Dinner >> K26,000

Next... Vientiane again