We returned back from sapa on the overnight train mostly spent playing cards with our cabin mates..after realising the hotel had charged us too much for the sapa trip and an extra $20 for the bus I was not happy. I was tired cranky dirty and ready to blow when I saw the woman. She gave me the usual rubbish about how I was mistaken but I wasn't in the mood. I've written a bad review and a complaint email (that's how annoyed I was!)
Anyway that aside i wasn't looking forward to today anyway- let me set the background. For aslong as we have travelled you hear the stories about "the death bus". This is the bus from Vietnam to Laos..the one we had no other choice but to get. I'd read/heard so many things about the buses having bugs and the drivers over taking on blind corners in the dark on a cliff edge.
Now another reason why I hate the woman from Hanoi she assure us we'd have the back row and it took 20 hours. In reality we had the middle seats..and it took 30 hours. Ouch. No bugs though that was a bonus. The bus itself was decent and luckily we had a small group of tourists who we made friends with and all got each other through. There was a girl from chilie who was hilarious I woke up to her pushing a Vietnamese man trying to teach him about respect towards women..it didn't go we'll. and then there was Gordon..crazy mofo ginger Irishman with the best travel stories and plans I've ever heard. He took my interest straight away when he started talking to me about Everest base camp and Annapurna base camp in Nepal as if you didn't know that's pretty high on my hit list for next adventures! The journey itself wasn't bad the driver wasn't crazy and felt quite safe.
About 11 hours in we reached the Laos border. It was very confusing we had to wait ages to be stamped out of Vietnam and then had to walk across the boarder to Laos which was covered in mist so we couldn't see where we we're going and we all ha flip flops on and got covered in mud. The woman at the hotel also told us the visa was $20.. They we're actually $35 luckily our new mate Gordon lent us the money. After many forms we had our visas approved and stamped..back to the bus.
The bus didn't have a toilet which was alright for lads..not so much for girls. Now I've developed an addiction for books - I've always known my love of reading but it's reached epic proportions! I read 3 whole books on that bus journey - thanks jane for teaching me speed reading! I've had to get creative and start asking for recommendations from people as the 200 books on my kindle are almost read. The journey in parts was beautiful with views of the jungle an mountains
We eventually...felt like an eternity arrived in Luang Prabang Laos. It was in the middle of a storm. There we're only 3 tuk tuks around and everyone started arguing over prices but mart was that fed up by this point I just told him to pay whatever it was. Now for Laos we've had to make some tough choices..
We're back to hostels but private rooms and there fine! £8 a night. And we've really had to pick what's important for us to do.
Our main goals we're always gibbons experience and tubing so that's what were sticking with.
We went and booked our bus to huay xai (pronounced hu-ay sigh) where the gibbons experience is..so out the way it's annoying and ate some yummy food an spent the day in a place called utopia. It's basically a bar on the Mekong river high up off the ground with cushions where you drink and read or use wifi. Later on we headed to an Aussie bar as they we're showing the football made some mates and bumped into Gordon..typical bear grylls had rode 60km that day. Me and him walked to the night markets to see what was going on. We don't been there 20 minute and everyone started packing up like crazy shutting the tents on our heads. We couldn't work out why and people just kept pointing. Then asif someone has opened the sky it started to rain. I'm talking crazy Asian storm rain. Which then turned into hail. And more rain. The roads became like rivers and we walked slowly (no point rushing we we're soaked) back to the football bar. Everywhere then closed for the night as all the power went out. It came back on but everything's outside based and it was still raining. Also Laos has a curfew of 11:30 everyone has to be in an everything closes. Except bowling. The bowling alley stays open?!
The following day we went and got our washing done..walked around abit sat in the sun went back to utopia. Can't beat relaxing and reading in the sun. There's a big poster by the bar of a monk and a tourist..the monk says why do you have a watch when I'm the one who has all the time. Laos PDR they joke stands for please don't rush - they have all the time in the world. I like that, we should all try an be a little more patient.
We went round some shops showered and waited for our overnight bus to huay xai - let's see how we get on with this one!