Day 126 – Vang Vieng, Laos – 3:28 PM

Last Friday I returned to Pakse, Laos after a two-day motorbike journey through the Bolavean Peninsula. Robin, my riding partner from the Netherlands, departed on a night bus to Vang Vieng hours after our arrival in Pakse. I decided to relax one additional day and depart the following evening.

I awoke Saturday morning and started to gather my belongings. The sweltering conditions in Room 42 at Cheap Cheap Guesthouse put an additional pep in my step. The day prior, staff refused to move me to a lower, more temperate floor even after I informed them I noticed keys to available rooms on Floor 2 and 3 hanging behind the reception desk. The two staff members looked at me and each other before laughing in my face. I could only stand there for so long. I politely said I would survive and ascended the four flights to my room. As a result, I was anxious to checkout but knew I had nowhere to go until my bus to Vang Vieng departed at 8 PM that evening.

When my two bags were fully packed, I descended to the lobby and turned in my key. I smiled and asked if I was permitted to leave my bags in the lobby until my bus departed. The staff member nodded his head and I proceeded to stow by bags under the nearby stairwell. I walked through the small lobby and into the early morning heat. I turned left onto the sidewalk and crossed at the first intersection. I entered an open-air restaurant and found a seat in the shade. A waitress handed me a menu and I ordered a two-egg and vegetable omelet and large orange juice. I had been fighting a serious cough in the day’s prior and I awoke with clogged sinuses. I needed vitamin C and pseudoephedrine before it worsened. I also realized the last thing that would improve my health was an 18-hour bus ride over the bumpy roads of Laos. However, I did not want to waste anymore time in Pakse and vowed to sleep as much as possible on the journey to Vang Vieng.

My breakfast arrived and I ate at a deliberately slow pace. I had hours to kill and was in no rush to return to Cheap Cheap Guesthouse where I intended to pass the time before my departure. I pulled out my phone and logged into the free Wi-Fi network offered at the restaurant. I scrolled through news websites and caught up on the latest goings on in the world. I took a bite of food and read a paragraph or two. Took another bite and opened a different article and scanned that for interesting facts. I opened the sports section of the USA Today application and noticed that while my beloved Villanova Wildcats recently lost, they were still projected to hold a #1 seed in the upcoming NCAA tournament. (Two early subscribers to Perpetual Footsteps, both former co-workers, will undoubtedly shake their heads when reading the preceding sentence and ask once again how I’m able to root for Villanova when I did not study there. To them I say that having an immediate family member graduate from Villanova affords me the right to root for the Wildcats.)

I eventually cleaned my plate and finished my glass of orange juice. I paid my tab and slowly walked to Miss Noy’s to purchase my bus ticket. Aside from being a well-known motorbike rental agency in Pakse, Miss Noy’s sells bus tickets to locations throughout Laos and Southeast Asia. I walked inside and smiled to the agent behind a wooden desk. I informed her I hoped to purchase a ticket on that evening’s overnight bus to Vang Vieng. She picked up the receiver and dialed a phone number. She asked the individual on the other end if there was a seat available. She looked at me, smiled and nodded her head as she hung up the telephone moments later. She retrieved a blank ticket from a drawer and filled in the appropriate details. I pulled out 220,000 Laotian Kip from my wallet ($27 USD) and exchanged it for the ticket. She instructed me to return at 7:30 PM that evening for an 8 PM departure. I stood up, thanked her and walked out into the late morning heat.

My next stop was a nearby pharmacy to purchase pseudoephedrine for my clogged sinuses. I walked along the quiet streets of Pakse until I reached a storefront adorned with a green banner, in the midst of which was a white cross. Throughout Southeast Asia, a colored cross most often signifies a pharmacy or hospital. I walked inside and a clerk emerged from the backroom. I asked if he had pseudoephedrine and he politely shook his head. I then asked if another pharmacy in the city might have it. He shook his head again and stated that no one in Pakse carries pseudoephedrine. I did not have the motivation to verify his response by walking to each pharmacy. I returned to Cheap Cheap Guesthouse hoping I would find what I needed in Vang Vieng.

I walked into the fan-cooled lobby of Cheap Cheap Guesthouse and took a seat in one of the wooden chairs. A staff member sat nearby watching a local, Laotian television show. There I sat for the remaining hours until my bus left. I passed the time reading, returning emails, blogging, going through photographs, researching future flights and jotting down points of interest in Vang Vieng. Occasionally new arrivals to Pakse entered Cheap Cheap Guesthouse asking for rooms. Some decided to look elsewhere while others hauled their bags to their rooms.   Not once did the staff member retrieve a 4^th floor room key from behind the desk. I will never know why they chose to stash me away in Room 42. Maybe it was the beard? Afternoon slowly turned into early evening and shadows in the street grew longer as the sun descended.

Around 5 PM, I took leave of the lobby and walked back across the street to order a bite to eat. I sat down and flipped through the menu. A waitress approached and I ordered a plate of fried noodles with chicken and egg along with a Beer Lao, the local ale found throughout the country. My order quickly appeared and steam rose from the large portion of noodles intermixed with pieces of chicken and cut up fried egg. Restaurant-goers came and went as I worked through my meal. Backpackers loaded down with luggage walked up and down the nearby sidewalk arriving from or departing for far off locations. I would soon join their slow march out of town. Dusk quickly faded into night as streetlights and decorative lanterns illuminated the area. I finished my dinner and had one more errand to complete before returning to Cheap Cheap Guesthouse to retrieve my bags. I turned right out of the restaurant and walked ten minutes to a local food mart. I walked inside and the air conditioning swept over me. I walked the aisles looking for food that would hold me over until I arrived in Vang Vieng. I purchased a package of salted almonds and two miniature Snickers bars. I realized that was not enough but nothing else lining the shelves jumped out to me. I paid for my three items and slowly walked back to Cheap Cheap Guesthouse.

I entered the lobby and informed the staff member I was finally leaving. He smiled and nodded his head. I retrieved my belongings from under the stairwell and slung my packs over my shoulders. My large pack sat against my back and the smaller pack against my chest. I threw the staff member a wave and stepped through the entry doors and onto the sidewalk. Temperatures declined after the sun disappeared from the sky and my walk to Miss Noy’s was rather comfortable. I arrived shortly after 7 PM and noticed three other packs lying on the ground outside the storefront. I placed mine down and sat at a nearby picnic table. Other travelers began to arrive and gathered in the general vicinity. One approached and said he recognized me from the bus ride to Don Det. We rode together on the first leg from Siem Reap, Cambodia to the lunch break and then parted ways. I proceeded to Don Det, Laos while he and a travel mate journeyed to Kratie, Cambodia. He sat down and we discussed our travels since our paths diverged.

He asked if I had ridden in a sleeper bus in Southeast Asia. I nodded yes and detailed my overnight bus trip in Vietnam. He informed me that overnight buses in Laos have mattresses that line each side of the cabin. Each mattress can accommodate two people. Solo travelers are often paired with a stranger and the two must share a mattress for the duration of the journey. I was not looking forward to this trip. I would prefer a normal bus seat for an overnight journey rather than a mattress with a complete stranger. I sat back and crossed my fingers the bus would not sell out and I would get the mattress to myself. Moments later the tall, Belgian from Miss Noy’s appeared and began giving instructions to those heading to Vang Vieng. It turned out only three people on that particular bus were heading there, a French couple and myself. The overnight bus would take us to Vientiane. From there we were to ride a tuk tuk to a separate bus station where we would rendezvous with the bus from Vientiane to Vang Vieng. According to a nearby poster, our arrival time in Vang Vieng was 11 AM. With no further questions, the tall, Belgian moved on to another task.

A short time later, a large tuk tuk arrived and the tall, Belgian motioned for us to board with our belongings. Large packs were stowed atop the vehicle and riders stepped into the bed of the half-motorcycle, half-truck. I have noticed in Southeast Asia that large buses do not navigate the narrow city streets. They are positioned on the outskirts of the city and tuk tuks shuttle passengers from guesthouses and hotels to the buses. This was no different. After two or three additional stops, we pulled into a large parking lot and four buses were lined up side by side. The parking lot teemed with activity as tuk tuks came and went and passengers meandered around hoping they boarded the correct bus. I stepped from the bed of the tuk tuk and retrieved my bag from the roof. The French couple and I approached the bus we thought was going to Vientiane and displayed our tickets to the employee standing near the open luggage compartment. He glanced at each ticket and nodded his head while grabbing my large pack. After I saw that it was safely stowed, I stepped aboard the bus with mild trepidation about the mattress situation. I was assigned to berth six and eventually found it towards the front of the bus. The French couple was assigned to berths three and four. They were diagonally in front of me to my right. Another couple from the tuk tuk had berths seven and eight. They were directly to my right.

I removed my shoes and stepped onto my mattress. I noticed that in fact there were two single-person mattresses lined up side-by-side.  Each mattress had a corresponding pillow and blanket.   In front of me was a small cutout for my feet and additional luggage. I stored my small pack within the cutout. My shoes went into a plastic bag and placed on a small shelf above the cutout. The food items I purchased earlier that evening were stowed next to my shoes. With each passing moment, I grew more and more hopeful that I would get both mattresses to myself. My hopes were quickly dashed just before departure. As I sat up, I noticed a head peak around the corner into my berth. He showed me his ticket adorned with a “5” in the upper right-hand corner. He was Berth 5. I smiled and stepped into the aisle, allowing him to enter. He was a local and thus did not speak much English. Aside from a welcoming smile and “Hello”, few words were passed between us. He zipped up his leather jacket and pulled on a pair of light winter gloves; I sat back in shorts and a t-shirt worried I would overheat during the ride.

Eventually the bus doors closed and we lurched forward as the driver pressed on the gas pedal. For the next thirty minutes or so, I sat on my mattress taking in my surroundings. I was comfortable and figured I would be able to sleep as the night progressed. I was able to stretch out my legs from a sitting position although not able to lay entirely flat. The cabin lights flickered from white to blue and then shut off completely. I put in my ear buds, turned on a recently downloaded podcast and put my head back. This was my home for the next ten hours. Sleep did not come as easily as expected and I grew quite uncomfortable. Parts of my body went numb from my sitting position and I tried to adjust without disturbing my mattress mate. I attempted to lean my head against the wooden partition that separated my mattress from the aisle but the bumpy roads jarred me awake soon after. How I longed for the days of paved roads. I managed to doze off for periods of time but by no means was it sound sleep.

Luckily, my mattress mate departed around 3:30 AM at a local stop. He pulled on his shoes and stepped from the bus onto the curb. The doors closed and we pulled away. To whom did I owe this good fortune? I now had both mattresses to myself! As I folded my body in order to lay down flat, the decreased temperatures on the bus caught me by surprise. I quickly grabbed the supplied blanket and, disregarding possible germs or bugs that call it home, pulled it up to my waist. I was able to doze off and on for the remaining three hours until we arrived in Vientiane. The early morning light ushered us into the Vientiane Bus Terminal. I pulled on my shoes and gathered my belongings. I retrieved my large pack from the luggage bay and proceeded inside the terminal with the French couple. They informed me they slept surprisingly well thanks to a pharmaceutical that is available over the counter in Southeast Asia. It was 6:30 AM and we did not know for certain when our bus to Vang Vieng was scheduled to depart. We sat and waited for our pre-arranged tuk tuk to arrive and transfer us to a secondary bus terminal. The tall, Belgian from Miss Noy’s provided us a phone number and instructed us to call it if our transport did not arrive by 8 AM. Every fifteen minutes, for the next ninety, one of us walked through the nearby parking lot looking for the tuk tuk arranged by Miss Noy’s. Each time we returned unsuccessful.   When my watch displayed 8:00 AM, I reached into my pocket for my cell phone. As I pulled the phone number from my other pocket, a tuk tuk driver appeared from the parking lot and asked if we were heading to Vang Vieng. We nodded and followed him to a small pickup truck. We climbed into the bed with our belongings. Three fellow backpackers followed soon after. We arrived a short time later at a travel agency. As we stepped from the truck, I asked several times if this was the proper location to meet the bus for the ride to Vang Vieng as we already purchased our tickets. The driver nodded and ushered us inside.

We entered a small room with five cushioned chairs and a wall lined with desks. A representative manned each desk and juggled a telephone receiver and computer keyboard. We sat back and agreed that we would arrive in Vang Vieng at some point that day. The prospect of arriving by 11 AM grew slim as the morning progressed. Around 9:00 AM, a pickup truck pulled alongside the curb and we were instructed to pile into the back with our belongings. We did as told. The truck pulled away and made three additional stops to retrieve other passengers. We came to a final stop aside a large bus that turned out to be our transport to Vang Vieng.   I loaded my large pack into the belly of the bus and was the first to climb aboard. I sank into a comfortable seat towards the rear. I placed my small pack on the seat next to me hoping it remained empty for the duration of the ride. Shuttle after shuttle arrived and seats quickly filled up. Eventually the seat next to mine became occupied and my daypack went on the floor between my legs. Shortly after 10 AM, the bus engine fired and my second leg of the journey began. By now the lack of sleep and worsening head cold were getting the best of me. I wanted the ride to be over and needed a nap. We puttered through city streets before turning onto a pothole-ridden road that we traversed for the next couple of hours. Sleep came easy on this ride as I struggled to keep my eyes open. However, the bumpy ride and lack of proper suspension on the bus ensured it was not sound sleep. This is traveling and it is what I signed up for.

Around 3 PM, we pulled into the bus depot on the outskirts of Vang Vieng. A tuk tuk stood by to shuttle passengers to their respective hotels and guesthouses. I did not book an accommodation in advance and asked to be dropped off in the city center. As we proceeded, I noticed a multitude of guesthouses and knew finding a bed would not be a problem. We came to a stop and he motioned for me to exit. I paid the $1.25 USD fee and slung my packs. Moments earlier we passed the Vang Vieng Guesthouse and it looked appealing. I walked towards it and came upon a number of westerners sitting on couches that adorned an attached courtyard. I walked up to the reception desk and inquired about the price of a room. They quoted me $7.50 USD per night and I gladly agreed. They told me the room was not ready yet but I was more than welcome to find a place on one of the couches and relax. I walked over, discarded my bags and sank into the couch, happy to have reached my final destination after such a long journey.