Ill
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Vang Vieng,
Lao Peoples Dem Rep
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Alone again. Craig and Steve heading in different direction. I decided to get the local bus to Vang Vieng, rather than the tourist bus with hotel pick up. Local transport is always far more interesting, alot cheaper and makes travelling a bit more of a challenge. It took a while to find out where to catch the local bus, because people wanted to sell me tickets for the tourist bus. Finally found out the bus station was near the market and got tuck-tuck there. Funny how the drivers initially quote you a ridiculous price...I paid a seventh of the original asking price! Arrived at bus station and everyone I spoke to couldn't speak English. Walked around until I found a bus for Vang Vieng, but had to wait 1 1/2 hours before it left. This is when I started to feel ill. Headache, gut cramps and felt like I was getting a fever. Feared I'd be sick of out the window on the journey. Considered spending an extra day in Vientiane, but I stayed on the bus.
My backpack was on the seat behind me and I decided to get out some medication. But when I looked behind my bag had vanished. I panicked that it had be stolen. A woman saw my frantic searching and signaled that it was on the roof. I didn't bother to check that it was, because I felt so ill and the few locals on the bus seemed very friendly and I doubted they'd take my bag. Luckily when I arrived in Vang Vieng it was on the roof. I can't believe that I didn't notice a man dragging it through the window behind me and throwing it up there.
The journey was 4 hours. Nothing compared to what I've done previously, but it felt longer because I was ill. At the beginning we kept stopping and picking up more people and luggage. It got so crowded that there were 3 of us squashed on 2 small seats. So they stopped to pick up some plastic stools, so that people could sit in the aisle. There were a few other tourists on the bus, but the majority were locals and they all seemed very happy and friendly. A big change from Vietnam. Arriving in Vang Vieng was very nice and peaceful. I can't remember the last time I managed to get off a bus without being pounced on by tuck-tuck drivers and hotel touts. It was nice not to have to fight people off for a change. Luckily accommodation is cheap here, even when I'm not sharing, so my search ended quickly. I slept for hours, but still have no energy to do anything, even though I want to go off and explore the town.
