If you have read a few of my journal entries then you already know that riding in the VIP Mini-Buses in third world countries is quite an adventure. What I have failed to mention is that these same mini-buses are luxurious when compared to the local bus service. As a result, I am usually too much of a wimp to take the local service, but when I do, all of the stereotypes almost always come true just as they did on my trip from Vang Vien to Vietienne in Laos. To set the scene, I just completed a ninety minute ride in the back of a pickup truck that was followed by a 2-3 hour kayaking trip. The next phase of the trip to Vietienne was supposed to be two hour ride in a mini-bus. After getting off the river, we were driven to "town" to wait for our "mini-bus". The town consisted of a shack where old women sat around all day and made brooms (literally) as well as a typical, Laos road side store. Other than that, there was little else other than lots and lots of rice fields. In short, I was in the middle of no where even by Laos standards. Ah but then a BIG old local bus pulled up next to our truck. I don't know why, but I knew immediately that this bus was meant for us (six people in my group). After a brief protest by some of my fellow travelers (we paid good money for the trip and did not expect to have to ride on a local bus), we all accepted that fact that we had been scammed and boarded the bus. As the pictures indicate, the bus ride started out ok; I had a seat which is not always the case for local bus services. Never mind the fact that there I was sitting next to an old 16" fan and had a circular skill saw on the floor right next to me. I had a seat. I should be thankful. Ten to twenty minutes pass before someone responds to the bus driver announcing his presence that he is near and that if you want to get on board, you had better get in the middle of the road to flag him down as bus stops are non-existent. The system is this; the driver honks, you flag him down, then get on board. Let me tell you lots and lots of people, 100 lb sacks of rice, random goods for the market, etc. all got on board. No live animals this time though. Before I knew it, I was holding the 16" fan in my lap, had the skill saw between my feet, and had a monk falling asleep on my shoulder. Huge sacks of rice as well as backpacks were stacked on the floor of the bus as well as on the roof. People were sitting anywhere and everywhere. The highlight of the trip was when the bus ticket dude started playing one of the passengers instruments (picture). People were clapping and stomping their feet. It really made the trip special. To make matters more fun, people were still getting on board. I happened to be sitting in the back next to the door. This made for good entertainment because getting people on board was like trying to squeeze more people into a phone booth. Things had to be moved in order for the door to open, then the bus ticket guy had to maneuver in a way to allow the new passenger on board, the new passenger quickly learned that he had to climb over the sacks of rice and away from the door before the door could be shut. Ah good times. Fortunately, we arrive without any break downs and in one piece. While it was a good experience, I will be sticking with the luxurious mini-bus travel from now on. As a side note: Vietienne was nothing special. A few of the Wats were cool, but for my tastes, the only thing of note came from their National Museum. In short, if you stubbed you toe this morning, then it was either the fault of the Imperialist American Power or one of our "stooge" governments. It was down right comical as I read the repetitive captions of the exhibits that basically blamed America for everything. With pictures of Lenin and Karl Marx everywhere in the museum it was obvious that USSR had a hand in forming the message and opinion about America for the museum's exhibits.