Wake n bake, should I shower? Who knows when I'll get the chance next...Nah... I had one last night, that'll do. Decided it was time to leave Nong Khiaw, I want to relax by the water for the rest of my time in Laos! Can't afford to keep moving every few days, coming to terms with the fact that I can't see EVERYTHING I wanted to and THATS OKAY! Quality>quantity. Ok time to head south, oh such a long way to go! No thanks, I don't need a tuk tuk, I'll walk with all my bags, the dripping sweat isn't bothering me. The start of a series of buses to catch. Made clumsy impressions buying fruit on the way to the bus station. I'd passed the station a couple days ago on a tuk tuk on the way into Nong Khiawq, remembered it looked like a ghost town with very little activity. Prayed I wouldn't have to wait hours for a bus. Oh my god, got there just in time! Van to Luang Prabang, leaving now! Hopped in the van, jesus there are 18 of us crammed in here? And I managed to get the best seat in the joint, the fold down chair that offered leg room by the door. In a row of three and not 5, hot damn! I patted myself on the back and thanked the Universe for the gift. Never mind the maniac driver who's speeding and passing with a death wish, never mind being completely airborne on the bumpiest ride of my life. Never mind the child's foot that keeps brushing into my ear, or the woman behind me that jolted out of her seat, climbed on top of me to put her head out the window and yak. It was just a three hour ride, no problem! On the way there two men threw up/gagged the entire ride so this was no biggie. Once again I prayed that when I got to Luang Prabang I wouldn't have to wait hours in the heat for a bus to Vientiane. Wouldn't you know, same scenario, I arrived just as the 10 hour bus was leaving and secured myself a window seat! A couple of hours into the ride I notice we seem to be lacking serious horsepower up these mountains, and we make several stops to add water to whatever you add water to on a bus...I'm no expert. The brief backward rolling we experienced upon stopping wasn't very comforting though. These little stops collectively took a few hours. I wasn't complaining, but couldn't we at least be stopped near food, rather than the middle of nowhere? Last try, we make it all of 5 minutes and that engine has called it quits. Everyone exits the bus, I wait and evaluate the locals' demeanor before making a judgment on the situation. They're laughing. We sit in the road, and it doesn't look like anyone's doing anything to rectify the situation. We're just sitting, and hey I'm cool with that! But I'm also hungry and there's no type of establishment anywhere in sight, plus it's dark now. Hours pass and I come to terms with the notion that we are just going to sleep out here, but finally a smaller, nearly full public bus comes to our aid. We say farewell to the big broken bus and cram into this one. My winning streak of the day has expired and I have the worst seat on the bus, the extra one that folds down at a slant over the aisle and has no back. I always find a way to sleep though. Held my backpack over my shoulder, leaned it on the guys chair next to me and slept this way, frequently awoken by stops to pick up more people who had to stand in front of me for the ride. We arrive by morning, in time for my next bus to Pakse. Food and toilet at last, and just another 12 hours to go. Did someone really need to bring their rooster on board? Oh, I guess that mother didn't feel compelled to clean up her kid's puke off the steps of the bus; I carefully hop over...why is everyone always throwing up? god Im musty, really regretting forgoing that shower yesterday. More sleep, more yearning for ample leg room. By the time I arrive in Pakse I had spent 40 hours in busses and A deep fear sets in: developing truck driver ass. I wander with my bags, having several strange encounters, and finally enter a hotel lobby in the wee hours of the night, thankful the staff is asleep behind the front desk. I set my bags on a wooden bench in the lobby (not the floor with the roaches I see scurrying) and sleep on it for a few hours, ready for the last leg of my voyage to Si Phan Don(4000 islands) in the morning. "Life I love you, all is groovy"
