In Luang Prabang..finally!

Muang Ngoi


Bus from Hell (above and below)

Ron again-

So the last you heard from us, we were in Dien Bien Phu. Little did we know what awaited us...the bus from hell! We had a good rest that night, and then the next morning, at 5 am, we left on a minibus for Muang Khua, in Laos. The trip was supposed to take 8 hours. Needless to say, it did not. The minibus was a little crowded when we got on...8 stops later, there were 35 people in a 15 person bus, including some Hmong ethnicity women and quite a few angry foreigners. (And of course, all 35 people's luggage on top) It was quite a hilarious crew, as we had 4 Americans (including ourselves), 4 Israelis, 2 Swiss, 1 Irish/Aussie dual, 1 Canadian, 2 Frenchies, and assorted Vietnamese/Lao/Hmong. Sounds like the start of a joke, doesn't it?

The ride to the Vietnamese-Lao border was fine, as we had arrived early enough to secure our own seats, though it took us about 2 hours at the border to get all of our paperwork sorted. It was the second part that was particularly awful. The road was not paved, just one lane of dirt...and on one side was a dead drop of several thousand feet. Additionally, it was obvious that there were hastily repaired landslides about every 1.5 kilometers (i.e., about every 3/4 of a mile), I can tell you this now since we're safe, but at one point, our bus (super top-heavy because of all the luggage on top) was going around an inside curve and the right rear wheel slipped; the next thing we knew, the bus rolled to a sickening 60 degrees. For a good moment, we all truly thought we were going to go over. Yikes. To top off the whole deal, we later had to stop for 2 hours as the road was closed for repair (yet another landslide repair-yay!). Only 13 hours and 90+ kilometers later, we finally reached the sleepy hamlet of Muang Khua. Combined with relief to finally be free, we were all thinking, "Whose fucking idea was it to take this route anyway?" Oops...(it was me.) At any rate, by the time we got it night had just fallen, so no going on to Luang Prabang.

Instead, we found a decent guesthouse, had a Beerlao (or two) and a lao lao (rice whiskey [or two]) and a dinner of noodles, and hit the sack. The next morning, we decided to take a slow boat (amazing, and reminescent of Apocalypse Now-Never, ever, leave the boat) to Muang Ngoi, a very quiet little town on the banks of the Nam Ou river. This place justified our overland route instantly. It is a quiet little hamlet, totally surrounded by very high mountains, that is totally unserved by roads, only by river. We spent the night there and rented a beautiful little bungalow (with a western toilet and hot [well, lukewarm] shower!) for only $8. Very romantic.

We had lunch, dinner, and breakfast at this lovely little veranda restaurant overlooking the river and the mist-shrouded mountains, and took a good hike with our American friends whom we bonded with during our bus adventure. The trail wound through rice paddies and water buffalo to a set of caves and a little village, and total of 4 hours. Funny, no signs or warnings in the cave about dead drops and slippery slopes--not like America! We were free to go as far in as we liked, but even with flashlights we only ventured a few dozens yards in.

The next morning (today) we took a very short boat ride to Nong Khieu and then a 3 hours Sangthiew trip to Luang Prabang. (Sangthiew is like a pickup truck that is covered in the back and has two long benches where you sit). So, we now find ourselves in beautiful Luang Prabang, in the 'Grand VIP room' in a lovely French villa. Quite the jungle explorers we feel we are! Time now to sit back and enjoy a neo-colonial gin and tonic, what what. More to report on Luang Prabang next time!