Boy meets girl (again)

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The bus trip to Pakxe was a trial that I don't care to repeat any time soon. My first mistake was getting involved in an "English practice" conversation at the bus station, during which I agreed to sit with the guy through to his destination at Savannakhet. It turned out he'd picked a seat over the wheel arch, which isn't a problem if you're 5'6" but can be considered somewhat cramped if you're 9 inches taller and most of it leg. The bus had no A/C and stopped so frequently that even the local people were getting cheesed off. People here will use public transport for tasks as luggage-intensive as even moving house, so picking up passengers can take up 20 minutes or more. My conversation partner was replaced at Savannakhet by an irritating woman who sprawled all over her seat and mine. She was constantly pushing up against me - if I left any room even in the footwell, she'd put her feet in it. The remainder of the trip was a shoving match falling just short of open hostility.

The guesthouse in Pakxe that LA Woman and I had arranged to meet in turned out to be one of the Lonely Planet's recommendations, meaning every backpacker at Pakxe bus station wanted to get there. We were all crammed into a songthaew and I sat grinding my teeth and avoiding everyone else's gaze on the trip to the guesthouse. LA Woman had arrived earlier in the day and had kindly reserved the last room in the place for me. She'd also met some people who'd left Thakhek at 1PM (i.e. nearly 3 hours after me) and had arrived before me, which implied I'd made a poor choice of bus.

There's nothing to say about Pakxe, other than that it too was roasting. Having successfully rendezvoused with LA Woman, we left at the earliest opportunity.

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Photos

Daycare prison
Copyright LA Woman 2007