Travel is really slow in Lao. I cannot write enough posts about the subject, because it is so slow. I’ll admit it could be faster is we took private tourist vans when they were available, but we prefer not to for several reasons. The main reason is because I feel that the local transport is one of the ways to really get to know a country. On a local bus, the windows are either broken or open, so we can smell and see the landscapes, we’re stuffed in dozens of other Lao, so we get to see how most people travel, and we eat real Lao food at all the local reststops. Contrast that with a private tourist van, where the windows are tinted and you drive so fast you can’t see anything, the windows don’t open and there’s A/C instead of the wind, so you’re in this little climate/smell controlled bubble racing down the road and only stopping at tourist/traveler oriented restaurant for any breaks. The tourist-vans have purpose though. We’ll take one if it’s a extraordinarily long journey or if we’re in a rush to get somewhere. For instance we’ll probably take one in a few days from Vientiane down to Pakse.’

makeshift ferries to transport cars and trucks across Mekong

I’ve written quite a bit already about how slow travel is in Laos and how we’ve spent a disproportionate amount of our time here so far in transit. Today we spent 4 hours going the 60-something miles from Vang Vieng to Vientiane. A placard at the front of the bus indicated it was gift from Japan in 1988, similar to many of the Korean-donated buses we’ve seen elsewhere in Lao. To ensure good seats (or any seat at all, for that matter) we got on about 45 minutes before it was scheduled to leave. Once we did get going, I realized that this was perhaps the slowest bus I ever took. On flat road, we went incredibly slow and I seriously think I could’ve walked faster when we hit inclines. We didn’t stop that often, but that’s just because Lao isn’t as populous as most places we’ve been. We stopped for everyone that waved us down, until many of the seats had 3 people and the middle aisle was crowded. But I learned a little bit on the ride too. Like other rides in Lao, many passengers were transporting big bags of grain. Most were put on the roof, but many were laid out or sat upright down the middle aisle for seats. And like our last bus ride, the driver, the bus boys, and the first couple rows in the front were all engaged in a laughter-filled conversation most of the ride. I also noticed that people in Lao have a kind of wide-eyed smile when they board a bus. The only paved roads we’ve seen so far in Lao are the main highways. All the sideroads and village roads are unpaved or dirt paths. Thus, we never left the highway, but just stopped as we passed through road-side villages. I say I learned a bit on this bus ride, because I was just making mental notes of how Lao local bus travel is unique. For instance, in India, the middle aisle always stands, the drivers never engage in conversation, most people look serious when they get on a bus, in addition to random pickups, most public buses stop at bus stations every few hours, and most travelers are men. That’s just a couple contrasts between Lao and India, but I think it’s the accumulation of seeing how people travel, eat, live, talk, party, etc, that helps one to get to know a country and/or culture. So like I’ve mentioned before, travel is slow in Laos. But its been really for seeing the country and observing its people. Flying around Lao wouldn’t give justice to its beautiful mountainous and rivers. And taking a tourist bus, I’d miss out on the good noodle stops and glimpse into a small aspect of Lao life. The travel has been slow, but its rewarding too.