Local Buses

In most of the countries here tourist buses exist that can get you from one place to another quickly and somewhat efficiently without stops. But they are so boring. If you take local buses, you can chat up a local, get out when a place looks interesting, and 2 or 3 times out of 5 the bus itself is an adventure.

On this 14 hour night bus from Pakse to Vientiane, we stopped in a village around sunset. At that time i noticed the bus was an old Korean city bus, never meant to be driven long distances. As I stretched my legs, several netting bags were thrown next to the bus to be loaded on. Each one was filled with a dozen birds-ducks, chickens, a turkey. For some reason all the cocks had been put in the same bag and they were going crazy. The local solution was to pick up a stick and give em a beating until the fighting stopped. Moments later a tractor pulled up with a dozen pigs. The next half hour was spent hauling the pigs up on the bus top with a rope or just pulling them up by their ears. Then we were back on the road.

After two flat tires throughout the night, i was awoken about 4am. In a daze i saw the bus was empty of people, but none of its cargo. Well the Korean bus had given out and they had let me sleep until the next bus arrived. Off i went to a new seat and was in Vientiane by dawn.

Here's some general pics from Laos.