Huay Xai
Trip Start
Jul 20, 2004
1
7
44
Trip End
Apr 22, 2005
Huay Xai,
Lao Peoples Dem Rep
Sunday, August 15, 2004
The bus dropped us of at the start of Chiang Khong itself, so it was a quick tuk-tuk ride to the river crossing. We got there just in time before it closed for the day. We got the exit stamps in our passports, then a quick photo in front of the farewell sign and we were off in a dugout canoe, crossing the boarder into Laos. The river was busy with boats scooting around in all directions. The sight of Laos was a contrast to that of Thailand's side. The buildings were more run down, the boat ramp hadn't been maintained and the immigration office was more of a shack. We checked into immigration at Huay Xai and were checking our lonely planet book for options on accommodation when a well dressed fella strolled up and began his selling pitch for a bus to Luang Nam Tha. He had us sold and we paid 250baht each and even got a ride to a hotel where we would stay the night before getting picked up for the bus station in the morning by one of his drivers. We enjoyed our night in Huay Xai having a lovely meal at the guesthouses own restaurant and strolling along the main street, where although rundown was very warming to the eye as its architecture is of French origin.
Kendall ready for another long journey..
More friendly faces
The next morning we woke and had breakfast before being pickup by the transport company for our journey to the bus station. We arrived at the bus station which was not much more of a dirt yard with a shelter on it, to find there was no air conditioned bus only small pickup trucks. We asked about the bus photo we were shown and told there was no bus like that and we still had to pay for the ride. This really got to Kendall and the teary eyes got some response from the station master, but will still didn't have a ride yet. We had to wait until just after 10am for a bus to depart, but this bus in most developed countries would be taken off the road before it could kill anyone. The floors were bear metal and had large holes scattered about the place to make walking a tricky business. The seats had vinyl covers, but the padding had been removed, so it was vinyl on timber, then to top it of the timber had nails all through it which made for a really sore bum. The bus was meant to leave at 10.30 but we were still waiting as the bus station at 2.30. Finally they got the bus half filled and with the impatience of some of the locals we were finally on or way. Like most of Laos just about every road is dirt, and within 1 km of leaving the station the rickety old bus was on the dirt. We drove through beautiful little villages where bamboo huts are the only type of dwelling. The kid's would run up the road, bear foot and all just to wave at the bus as its slowly made its way through the village. The journey was slow, as it wasn't long till we were climbing into the mountains of Laos. Our bus struggled to make it the steep roads, we got bogged several times and had mechanical breakdowns as well. With each village we gained more passengers and there live stock. Its not uncommon to share your bus with chickens, pigs and goats in Laos. Night fell and we were still traveling deeper into the interiors of Laos, the roads were getting muddier and the bus was struggling to negotiate the creeks and washouts that came with every decent. The bus came a holt as we stuck our head out the window to find an array of other trucks and jeeps in a traffic jam in the middle of nowhere. We all got out of the bus all walked up to see what the hold up was. To our disbelief we came across a river that was flooding and no one was game to try and cross it. Locals were stripping down and testing the waters. Our driver explained that we had to wait for the waters to recede so that we could continue our journey. The night started to drag on, but this gave the bus driver time to overhaul the engine, ready for the next leg of the journey. Kendall was sure that the next village wasn't far away, and asked the driver if it was far enough to walk. He was sure that the next village was way too far to walk and we should just sit it out. After about a 4 hour wait, an impatient local decided to give it a go, so he got in his ute, revved it to the max and stormed the river. Having made it over that was it, every driver was sure they could make it over, as we waited for a Chinese cargo truck to cross it was finally our turn. As we crossed the river the water came up through the holes in the floor of the bus and people were scrambling to keep there gear dry. Lucky for us our packs had been placed on top of all the other stores down the back of the bus so we were spared the wet clothes. Only 300 meters after the river crossing the Chinese cargo truck had got bogged in front of us, so it was off the bus again waiting for the truck to be pushed sideways so we had enough room for the bus to get past. Then only 200 meters further down the road the lights of Ban Ta Fa come into view, Kendall couldn't believe it, after 6 hours of waiting we only had to walk 1 km to the next village, but instead we were arriving there at 11.30 at night when it could of been 5.30. We had a quick meal before retiring to our room, which was a bed with four weather exposed bamboo walls. They certainly weren't anything of a sound barrier as I do believe the local guy in the next room was having a really fun time with a young girl. I decided to have a shower before bedding down, and that's when some more fun began. I had finished my shower when I turned the tap to turn the water of and it came off. The whole water system feel apart, spraying water at full pressure everywhere. My clothes and towel were soaked, but I had to put them on to find a isolation tap to turn the water off. I followed the black pipe coming from the shower block, but it lead no where. I went to find the owners to let them know but they had shut down shop and disappeared. I then went behind the shower block into the thick scrub which grew up to it. I frantically pulled leaves from the vines and rolled them up in my hands to make a temporary plug. I finally was able to slow the rate of water being wasted and returned to our room to dry off on Kendall's towel.
Another broken down car
Jeep Travel
The next morning we made our way to the bus stop which was located in the village center. The town was a cute rural village, thatched huts with live stock roaming around. The children were playing games like rolling a wheel down the street with a stick. The food didn't look very advertising so a coke was my breaky, Kendall did try some local soup, but the flavor wasn't quite to our tastes. We boarded a pickup ute which we thought would be a better option than a bus, as the utes were passing consistently and had 4wd. Before we parted a couple arrived and the gave a bag to his wife once she got on then he pulled a whopping big handgun out of his pants, check to make sure it was loaded then handed to his wife. We were thinking this isn't a good sign. We were finally off and the jeep ploughed its way further along the jungle tracks, but it wasn't long till we were held up again. A small creek had lost its bridge, so the locals were out trying to bogey up a temporary bridge for the vehicles to get across. The ute was crammed with people by this stage and I was getting a sore neck from leaning forward the whole time, and the bum was getting quiet saw from bouncing on the wooden seat. The ute finally pulled into a more major town and we were now at Luang Nam Tha.
Typical Laos home
