Manic travel day

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I woke up early hoping to see the amazing view mentioned in the Lonely Planet. Upon opening the curtains to my bunk it was clear the description was a load of nonsense, but since I was awake I stayed awake and took the opportunity to use the facilities and eat my breakfast before everyone else in the carriage rousted themselves. I even got up before the guard who eventually got around to waking everyone else up by shouting “okey wake up, okey” and walking up and down the carriage until the occupants vacated their bunks and he could put them away, adding another “okey” when done. I think he liked saying “okey”.

The train arrived in Chiang Mai somewhat later than advertised, but in retrospect we realised it didn't matter as we would not have been able to catch the intended bus anyway. We caught a tuk-tuk to the bus station and bought a ticket before boarding and heading off towards Chiang Rai. Like other “VIP” coaches in so many other countries the service was somewhat better than in the UK, with free drinks and snacks as well as video screens and working air con. I tried to concentrate on my book, but was continually distracted by Harry Potter in Thai. I have no idea what the film was about, but the dubbing was occasionally comical.

We reached Chiang Rai hoping to get the next bus to Chiang Kong and the border. After Sammy did some investigating and I did some eavesdropping we worked out that there was another bus station. We caught a sawng-thaew (converted pickup truck) with other tourists disgruntled by tuk-tuk drivers trying to overcharge for very short rides.

However, the scammers were not finished with us yet. We reached the second bus station where a lady told us the next bus (presumably her bus) was at 15.30, which we realised would probably arrive too late for us to cross the border. Bummer. Then a police man wandered past about 2 minutes later, pointed out another bus going the same direction, and ticked off the woman who had tried to dupe us.

We caught a tiny local bus which wound its way towards the border, eventually arriving at Chiang Kong at 17.30. A rather quick tuk-tuk ride to the boat dock, a rush through passport control and we got across the river and through Laos customs with 12 minutes to spare before it closed. The distance from the boat to the hostel was probably the furthest I used my own legs all day. We checked in and decided to book seats on the slow boat to Luang Prabang after dinner at one of the river side restaurants. There wasn't much to do in Huay Xai which wouldn't set us back a considerable amount (both time and money).

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Comments

[UM]

small palin biscuit
So is a Tuc Tuc a small biscuit or did I miss a previous entry! When you crossed the border to Bummer did you mean Burma?

[Ed]

No to both!
A tuc tuc is a small vehicle with a small motorbike-like front section for the driver and a partially covered rear section for passengers to sit in. They come in different size, shapes and configurations, but are not edible unless one is a hungry robot. The "bummer" comment related to our apparent (at that time) failure to get to the border in time to cross.