Yes, you heard it right. Robin and I fought through food poisoning on a 12 hour overnight bus ride from Chiang Mai, Thailand to Vientiane, Laos. I think that I can honestly say that these were the worst 12 - 24 hours of my life that I can recall. I'm pretty sure that it came from homemade coconut icecream, which was delicious at the time. We had not been previously warned that ice cream may be unsafe to eat due to either being made with dirty water, or becuause of the fact that it melts and then becomes refrozen. Big mistake! After the 4 hour bus ride from Pai to Chiang Mai, where we were to change buses, I was definitely feeling a little ill. I blamed this on the curvy roads and lack of sleep from the night before, and made the very unwise decision to still board our 12 hour bus ride across the Loas border, into Vientiane. About an hour into the bus ride, I grabbed Robin's arm and told her that I felt horrible and that she had to ask around for a bag (awkward situation for her, and muchly appreciated and needed)! She was fortunately able to collect a number of plastic bags from other people on the bus which I used to throw up into almost hourly, for about the next 8 hours. I had to have Robin and others to persuade the driver to pull over so that I could use the restroom and get some freshair, which he at first was refusing to do. The people in the front seat generosly gave up their seats so that the two of us could sit together, next to a window, and of course, as far away from everyone else as possible. Not only was I in so much physicl and emotional pain, I was also completely and utterly embaressed and felt horribly for the other passengers who had to sit through this mess with me. Robin and I thought about getting off the bus and trying to find accomodations for the night, but due to the fact that we were in the middle of nowhere Thailand, we decided it wise to stay on the bus and tough it out. Luckily, I had enough bags and nothing got totally out of control. All I could think was, "what the hell did I do to deserve this?!" I kept looking at Robin with these "are you f*cking kidding me eyes". I really can't think of a worse traveling situation, and the other passengers agreed and were amazing at helping to take care of me. I was given anti nausea pills and such, which helped me to sleep and calm down. To make matters worse, our driver seemed to have been dozing off at the wheel and while Robin was tending to me, she was also trying to keep the driver in check. What a saint! Okay, it gets worse... With about 2 hours left in the trip, Robin started getting sick. At this point, I was done needing the bags and our roles reversed. Throughout this entire process, we had to go through Lao customs, including talking to officilas, signing documents, passing over passports, paying for visas and the whole lot. It was such a nightmare, and I can't believe they even let us into the country. Wow! Thank goodness for deep breaths and kind people, otherwise I don't know how well I would have made it through this exprience. Without needing to be said, our entrance into Laos was very interesting, and we were having a hard time accepting this new country as a happy place. However, it's a beautiful country and after this experience, I feel that I can handle whatever the world brings my way! A big thanks goes out to all of those people who were so generous and caring, whom most of them I will likely never see again. Oh my, what an experience, never to be forgotten, but surely something to learn from. Do not attempt anything that takes you out of your comfort zone when deep down you really know that something inside of you is going wrong - especially public transportation in a foreign country!! Live and learn, fellow humans, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger!
<3 Betsy
