The chicken bus
Trip Start
May 12, 2005
1
16
33
Trip End
Sep 11, 2005
Luang Namtha,
Lao Peoples Dem Rep
Saturday, June 18, 2005
We waited for a 4.10pm tuk-tuk to take us to the bus station, which eventually turned up at 4.30pm. We had been told the bus, which was en route from Vientiane, could turn up at any time between 4.30 and 6.30pm. It rolled in at 7.30pm and didn't leave til 8pm.
The seating arrangements were crazy! More tickets had been sold than there were seats on the bus and by the time we had persuaded the driver not to put our rucksacks on the roof, in case it rained, there seemed to be just one seat. It was a bit difficult to tell, because almost everyone had got off the bus and had left their bags 'saving' their seats. So Kat sat on the seat and I sat on our bags, piled up by the back door. Then a man came and moved some bags, gesturing that I should share half of a double seat with a couple of his bags and boxes. I was hemmed in by an Italian, Marco, one of the few other foreigners on the bus. Then more people came and ousted Kat from her seat, so she sat on our bags. Plastic stools appeared in the aisles to accommodate the extra people. Then my man came back with a handful of rice for the shopping bag by my feet, which was when I discovered it contained a live CHICKEN!!! Then we set off.
Anyone who knows my bird phobia is probably already sniggering. For anyone who doesn't, let's just say that there was NO chance of me getting any sleep: I sat there paralyzed with fear for at least the first four hours of the trip, not daring to move a muscle for fear of disturbing the chicken.
The bus made regular stops at district boundaries, to be checked over by men in military dress. When it stopped for "dinner" at about midnight we spotted men in uniforms, guns slung over their shoulders, striding past the bus: a stark reminder that it is only in the last couple of years that Laos has managed to wipe out banditry on its main roads.
At about this point, the chicken woke up and started getting quite agitated; poking its head out of the shopping bag, dangerously close to my legs. When I discovered there were actually two of them - and my legs were well within pecking distance - I freaked out, Kat took pity on me and we swapped places.
There was no chance of sleep that night! The bus made many toilet stops, often within 10 minutes of the last one, particularly in the hour after "dinner". In Laos, everyone has to 'go' by the side of the bus, as the UXO (unexploded ordnance) makes it impossible to head off into the bushes to protect your privacy. Luckily I managed to hang on til we reached our destination!
With each toilet stop, the bus lights came on and, as the windows were open, the entire bus filled with moths and daddy-long-legs that flapped around in our faces. The second time this happened, an American girl near the front of the bus said loudly and sarcastically "I love Laos". There were only about seven Western tourists on the overcrowded bus and no-one else was complaining - Kat and I exchanged looks showing we both felt she was 'letting the side down'.
After a few miles sitting on the bags, I obtained a seat next to a man who smelt worse than the chickens and, worryingly, kept making spluttering and retching noises in his sleep. However, at 5.30am on the dot he spluttered and retched as usual, but then immediately jumped upright and whipped out an electric shaver to attack his chin.
The last 25km of the journey were taken at a snail's pace, due to the poor condition of the unmade road, the teaming rain and the floods of water pouring down it. Although I wasn't on the 'precipice' side of the bus, Kat told me later that we got rather too close to the edge for comfort at several points.
We finally arrived in Luang Nam Tha at 8.30am - about four hours late - and made a beeline for the office organising our trek, which was supposed to be setting off at 9am.
Cathy
