D-(eparture) Day

The 5 AM alarm went off and I was not getting out of bed.  By the time the snooze went off at 5:55, I officially had no other choice than to roll out, pack my bags and get ready for my 6:30 pick-up.  Having gotten the last possible seat on the sleeper bus to XK, I was weary about showing up just in time for the 7 AM bus, but luck was on my side and I was able to get a seat.  

Before loading the bus I tried to find a little shop at the bus terminal that sold hot coffee.  Unfortunately all they had was canned Nescafe, which is a sad excuse for coffee.  As I was figuring out what other drink to get, I met two German guys who were also on the bus with me.  They were impressed with my Lao skills, but knowing cafe hone? is certainly nothing to be proud of. Instead of going through Vang Vieng as I had originally planned, I decided to take the bus through Thathom, which was said to be four hours faster.  

Yeah right...

The bus left promptly at 7 and we rolled out of the station with half a bus load.  I soon realized that the bus was going to fill up because we stopped every twenty minutes to pick up more people and load their ridiculously heavy rice sacks onto the roof rack.  Soon the bus was full and all the jumper seats were occupied, can you say fire hazard?

Rock outcroppings provide for a very scenic landscape amidst rural rice fields. 

 Although the stops were many, I was able to catch some sleep during the morning portion of the trip.  Around 11:00, we arrived at the river crossing that I remembered from my drive in the other direction.  Because the bridge was still not complete (I think the people building the bridge are splitting the proceeds of the ferry boat guys), we had to join the long line of cars waiting to cross.  I decided to buy a grapefruit and for the next 45 minutes of waiting, managed to get myself very sticky with citrus juice.  It was hotter than normal and all the Lao women I was sitting with kept saying hone lai  (very hot), obviously.

With sweat dripping from every inch of my face, I loaded back on the bus when it was our turn to load the ferry.  We crossed with no difficulties, except that since I was on the bus and everyone else was outside, I kept hearing them ask "where is the farang?" Atleast they were watching out for me.

On the other side of the river, everyone loaded up and we started moving.  Fifteen minutes later we were again parked, but this time outside a pho restaurant for the inevitable bus stop lunch.  Not hungry and certainly not interested in another bowl of food, I declined the offer to eat with my new Lao friends and sat with them for a while before walking around and getting back on the bus.  Forty five minutes later, we were rolling again.  

After about an hour, we arrived in Pax Xan and I bid farewell to the German guys who were continuing their SEA backpacking trip southbound to Cambodia.  We continued to drive along, picking up and dropping off people along the way, each time the driver having to climb onto the roof to lower down, or carelessly drop, their bag.

At this point I estimated that we were 3 hours away, as Viengmany told me I should arrive around 5, making it a 10 hour trip.  All was on schedule until we heard a loud clunk and the bus pulled over.  The back axle had come unscrewed and we spent the next half hour on the side of the road waiting to get it in place. They finally fixed it and I was excited to get closer to home.

Bor Pen Nyang! The back axle was loose and no one seemed to mind.
Patience, Carly, patience. 

After almost everyone had already gotten off the bus, I arrived at the bus station.  It was now 7:10 and I was hungry and exhausted.  Having agreed to take a tuk-tuk into the the city, I haggled for a ride and was put onto a shared doisan with a group of four men.  They got dropped off first and by the time I reached home I could think of nothing but a hot shower and clean clothes.

I quickly threw my bags down and got ready, as Kiki and Brad were already waiting for me for dinner.  We met at Lao Kitchen, our favorite curry place, and enjoyed the usual, except that I have officially sworn off sticky rice for a couple days. Brad's friends are here to visit but were too jet lagged to come out, so I luckily got off the hook for a crazy night on the town.  

We finished our meal and walked around for a little, buying essential groceries to stock the fridge.  I'm very much looking forward to a lazy morning tomorrow, picking up my sinhs at the tailor and heading to rowing practice with Kiki.  

The race is a little more than a week away and we don't want to be kissed!