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Published: April 2nd 2008
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Bus Accident
We had an accident a few meters away from the LAO PDR Immigration Office In my previous post I said that we will be travelling from Hanoi to Vientiane on the 22nd of March 2008.
We were picked up at the Hotel as promised at about 4:30 in the afternoon by a motorbike and were dropped-off in a corner somewhere in the middle of the city near Elizabeth Travel and Tours. About 5 minutes after we arrived, a foreigner was also dropped-off, followed by seven more.
All-in-all there were 10 of us. About 30 minutes after we were dropped-off, we were picked again this time with a taxi and dropped in another corner near the new building of the Vietcom Bank. It took another two hours before the bus arrived. It was a big bus, way bigger than the 10 passengers.
The bus just picked the 10 of us, and we all thought that we are heading to Vientiane. It turns out they brought us to one house where the driver supposedly had dinner. While the bus was parked outside, two men started to chisel and remove some bolts on the floor of the luggage compartment.
The whole procedure took several hours. From underneath the floor of the luggage compartment they
Dognapped Lao Dogs
We were told by our host in Vientien that dog napping is quite common in Lao. Victims of dognappings are likely to end-up in a Vietnamese dinner plate we were also told removed several lumber which was no doubt smuggled from Lao. Some of the boards got so stucked that they had difficulty removing it. After all the lumber were removed, it took the men several more minutes to replaced the removed floors. And it was not until past 12:00 midnight that we finally headed to Vientiane.
Smugglers USING us as Cover I must have slept so well during the trip that I did not notice the activity of the bus driver, the woman, and the two men who were with him. I was told by our companion that the bus stops every now so often to drop-off something, or that the woman gets off the bus then picked-up again in another corner.
The bus, there was no doubt is a smugglers bus and we, the poor falangs were used as cover for the whole operation.
Starved The following day, the bus only stopped for a few minutes after Vinh City. The driver told us that there is a restaurant nearby but it never stopped until at the Vietnam-Lao border.
All this time from our departure in Hanoi at about 5:00 the other day, the caucasians
Damage to our Bus
This picture was taken from inside our bus. The poor dogs can be seen outside. had not eaten a single morsel of food. We were all hungry.
Exit and Entrance Fees and Accident While exiting Vietnam, we were asked to pay US$1.00. The White assengers protested but they were made to pay anyway.
Once cleared by the Vietnamese Immigration, we walked about 1 kilometer to the Lao Immigration where we paid US$2.00. After our passports were stamped we proceeded to our bus and we went on smoothly until we collided with a truck full of dogs! Yes dogs!
The dogs were placed in very cramped cages and noticeably some of them were shaking. Many others were also in pain.
A window mirror of our bus were broken into smaller tidbits. Luckily My companion who was sitting near where the truck hit our bus was not hurt. It was her first travel with us. I cannot imagine just how nervous she could be at that time. Plainly, if I were in her place I may have cried.
The accident delayed us by about 4 hours.
On the 26th hour of our starvation, the whites started protesting and were on the verge of mutiny. The driver was eventually pressured to stop at least twice in some settlements along the road. All 10 of us went out of the bus and looked and asked the locales through a combination of sign language and pidgin English whether there is a restaurant nearby. We were told there was none so off we go again.
Finally about three hours away from Vientiane, we sighted from afar the unmistakable light of a bar/restaurant. This was to be our third stop. It was a restaurant alright, but the menu is in Lao script, the waiters cannot understand/speak English and we cannot speak Lao. Luckily, a Lao lady who knew some little English come to our rescue and we were able to order some food (minus the meat THINK of the dogs we had encountered earlier).
After we had our fill we went back to the bus and continued our trip to Vientiane. We all settled to our seats and were all quite all the way to Vientiane.
Arrival in Vientiane We arrived in Vientiane at about 11:00 in the evening. Because we have slumbered the driver announced in a LOUD voice Vientiane! Vientiane! I was the first one to spoke up.
I told him that we want to stop at the city center. I have to repeat the instruction more than three times to make sure that I got my message accross. He stopped along the road some moments later and said "City Center." I inquired "Is this the city Center?" He said "Yes, City Center."
When we disembarked from the bus a tuktuk driver approached us three. With some companions he said he was going to take us (the three Asians) to Thong Bay Guest House for US$6.00 (US$2.00 for each passenger). US$6.00 is extortion alright but I am tired, I am sleepy, and all I want is just to lie in some cozy bed. SO, the HELL! I said "Take us there! (I could have added pronto! Hora mismo!).
But then again, delays. He wanted to take the white falangs too! grrrrr I am at my wits end but just dont have the energy to raise objections. The whites wanted to pay less but the driver won't agree after so much haggling the whites finally relented and we were on our way.
In my next post I shall write about our guest house and Vientiane.
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