People aren't against you; they are for themselves.
– Author Unknown
Sunday, December 1, 2013 (DAY 636)
Searching for local buses to Vang Vieng, this doesn’t appear to be an option, even after inquiring at the tourist information office on the Southside of town on the adjacent corner of the Bar Garden. After speaking with several of the numerous transportation service companies, the best price I could find was 125,000₭N ($15.61) for the 187km (116 mile) 5-hour journey South on Highway 13. Later, I realized that you could save a mere 20,000₭N ($2.49), which is a small amount by walking to the bus terminal if you follow the road that runs parallel to the Mekong River South, where signs were posted for tickets for 105,000₭N ($13.11) to Vang Vieng. However, by booking in advance you will receive the guarantee of a seat with a specific time as well as being picked up from your guesthouse, which depending on the travel season can alleviate potential headaches and frustrations. Be forewarned, that this is an arduous and rough stretch of paved and dirt roads that has more twists and turns than when Tebow was the Broncos QB. Several travelers refer to the mini shuttles as “puke vans” and even the most veteran of backpackers have found it difficult to keep the contents of their stomach down.
Searching for local buses to Vang Vieng, this doesn’t appear to be an option, even after inquiring at the tourist information office on the Southside of town on the adjacent corner of the Bar Garden. After speaking with several of the numerous transportation service companies, the best price I could find was 125,000₭N ($15.61) for the 187km (116 mile) 5-hour journey South on Highway 13. Later, I realized that you could save a mere 20,000₭N ($2.49), which is a small amount by walking to the bus terminal if you follow the road that runs parallel to the Mekong River South, where signs were posted for tickets for 105,000₭N ($13.11) to Vang Vieng. However, by booking in advance you will receive the guarantee of a seat with a specific time as well as being picked up from your guesthouse, which depending on the travel season can alleviate potential headaches and frustrations. Be forewarned, that this is an arduous and rough stretch of paved and dirt roads that has more twists and turns than when Tebow was the Broncos QB. Several travelers refer to the mini shuttles as “puke vans” and even the most veteran of backpackers have found it difficult to keep the contents of their stomach down.
MY RTW PERSONAL EXPERIENCE:
Although I’ve set my alarm for 7:15am with plans to be picked up by 9am, I find myself laying awake just before the annoying sound begins, but I notice there is something wrong. The fan has stopped spinning above me and putting two and two together, I’ve come to the fifth conclusion that the electricity is out again. This also occurred the night before for several hours and reminds me of the constant power outages while living in Nicaragua. Contemplating whether or not I wanted to brave a frigid shower in the dark, as there is a single window in the bedroom that doesn’t provide light to the bathroom, I continue to stay snuggled up under the covers. Yes, snuggled up like a 3-year-old with their woobie at naptime. As the internal struggle and debate continues, miraculously the swooshing of the fan begins and electricity has once again returned. The reason electricity is necessary for a hot shower on a cold morning as today, is because the water is filtered through a junction box that heats the water. Yes, this sounds extremely unsafe, but at least the circuitry is enclosed unlike the suicide showers in Central America with exposed wires that often provided you with the gift of a jolting shock each time you turned the water on or off. After a hot shower and a quick brekkie, I’m picked up just after 9:15am where I climb in the back of a caged pickup truck where there is a younger Chinese couple and two middle-age guys from Australia. I begin chatting up the Aussies–with our common language–and before I know it we’ve picked up the remaining three passengers and have arrived at the bus terminal where we will be transferring to a shuttle bus.
Although I’ve set my alarm for 7:15am with plans to be picked up by 9am, I find myself laying awake just before the annoying sound begins, but I notice there is something wrong. The fan has stopped spinning above me and putting two and two together, I’ve come to the fifth conclusion that the electricity is out again. This also occurred the night before for several hours and reminds me of the constant power outages while living in Nicaragua. Contemplating whether or not I wanted to brave a frigid shower in the dark, as there is a single window in the bedroom that doesn’t provide light to the bathroom, I continue to stay snuggled up under the covers. Yes, snuggled up like a 3-year-old with their woobie at naptime. As the internal struggle and debate continues, miraculously the swooshing of the fan begins and electricity has once again returned. The reason electricity is necessary for a hot shower on a cold morning as today, is because the water is filtered through a junction box that heats the water. Yes, this sounds extremely unsafe, but at least the circuitry is enclosed unlike the suicide showers in Central America with exposed wires that often provided you with the gift of a jolting shock each time you turned the water on or off. After a hot shower and a quick brekkie, I’m picked up just after 9:15am where I climb in the back of a caged pickup truck where there is a younger Chinese couple and two middle-age guys from Australia. I begin chatting up the Aussies–with our common language–and before I know it we’ve picked up the remaining three passengers and have arrived at the bus terminal where we will be transferring to a shuttle bus.
Standing around waiting and talking with two other Dutch guys that appear to be around the same age as myself, we begin verbally encouraging our driver that it’s 10-minutes after 10am and we are all here ready to go. One tip that I’ve realized traveling South East Asia (SEA) is that often you have to remind drivers of the scheduled time for departure otherwise they may wait around hoping to collect more paying passengers. As we climb inside, I’m thankful that there are three empty seats, which allows us to spread out a bit. The first hour of driving I hold a conversation with the two Aussies next to me and learn that one of them is a lawyer and the other is a doctor–already I’m feeling a bit more safe as we are speeding around bends and turns through the mountainous jungles of Laos, where at one point a truck swerved around a slower moving car driving in the opposite direction and in turn our driver had to react quickly to avoid a head-on collision. I suppose close calls such as these have become a bit of the norm, living life on the edge where I’ve stopped even producing a sweat in these moments. The drive through the misty mountains is incredible as a layer of fog causes the peaks to disappear into the sky. The thick dense foliage that covers the slopes vanishes and makes it impossible to imagine where the summit ends.
After stopping at what I thought was the midway point of our journey, from Luang Prabang, it’s the typical quick roadside meal. Discussing among one another, we guestimate the temperature is around 5 degrees Celsius (40 degrees Fahrenheit) as we can see our breathe in the air. About an hour later, we are surprised with another quick 10-minute stop at an incredible overlook spot of the surrounding mountains and the valley below. I can’t tell if the clear panoramic view is because of the high altitude that we are at or if the midday sun has burned away the mist and fog. Either way the view is stunning and there are few words exchanged as we stand there in awe of the beautiful scenery.
This stop would be our last before arriving in Vang Vieng, and is certainly one that will not be forgotten. Walking up the 45-degree inclined road you’re rewarded with an almost unobstructed 240-degree view and what seems to be the highest point for this area. Only a few shops and restaurants line the sides of the pedestrian walkway, and part of me wishes we had waited to enjoy our meal here to take in more of the view, but before long the driver had gathered us together and told us we still had about two more hours before reaching our destination. Piling back inside, I attempt to catch a nap as I’m being flung back and forth as we drive downhill, and this is a constant battle where I think I may have fallen asleep for about five solid minutes before being thrown up against the window and regaining consciousness.
Thankfully we have avoided being included as one of the ‘puke vans,’ and arrived just after 6-hours, unlike the advertised 5-hour travel time seen all throughout Luang Prabang. The time is just after 4pm, and while many of us were hoping for sunshine, the skies are overcast and appear to begin raining at any minute. Disorientated from our current location, we are dropped off at the North Bus Terminal in Vang Vieng, where a taxi driver is there to greet our arriving group in hopes of collecting fares from each of us. I ask him how much, and the driver responds, “20,000₭N ($2.49) each.” Thankfully there is another full pickup truck being loaded up with bags and we ask the other group what they agreed to pay and of course the price is half of what our driver quoted. Once he notices this, he agrees to take our entire group of eight people for 10,000₭N ($1.24) each. Hey, it’s the small victories you claim, and when 10,000₭N can be a banana and Nutella® crepe it’s worth bartering for.
Unfortunately, many of the hostels friends had recommended had no vacancies as well as several others were completely full. Since it was becoming dark and I was feeling famished and tired, the Dutch guys and myself found a nearby guesthouse. With the absence of dorms, I caved for another private en suite room at the shocking price of 50,000₭N ($6.24), which came with a massive California King-sized bed, and ta-dum, a television in the room with HBO! Winning! Even though I could really care less about having a television, let alone HBO, it was humorous to me that the older Aussie guys told me they had splurged and had a reservation at a place in town paying $120 a night. Plus, I couldn’t help but think how this would never occur in the States and if I chose to stay here for an entire month the total would only be $187.20 for a private room with an extremely comfortable huge bed, WiFi, free coffee and clean drinking water. This, friends, is not only one reason why I love Third World Countries, but also how I am able to travel on a short budget for long periods of time.
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