One Year Away

Penny

Travel in Asia is always eventful.  There is always something new and bizarre for Joe and I to see and to make us appreciate the transportation system (including all its rules) that we have in Canada.

Today, we made a 230 km journey from Pakse to Savanakhet in Laos.  The relatively short journey took a total of 5 hours and 50 minutes to complete. The bus stopped at every opportunity to add on more passengers.  Even when the seats were filled, the driver pulled out a stack of plastic stools that were placed in the middle of the walkway for people to sit on.  Thankfully, Joe and I had already claimed two seats by the time the bus was full.

It felt like every nook and cranny was used to transport something.  From live chickens in the cargo hold underneath the bus to motorcycles being hoisted and tied to the roof, the bus was packed to capacity.

But the oddest part of the journey was when the bus would come to a stop in a small village or town and all of a sudden ladies holding barbecued chicken, barbecued chicken hearts or boiled eggs on sticks would swarm the bus.  They poked the skewers in through the window screaming something in Lao.  Our bus was surrounded by at least 20 ladies all selling the same stuff.  The exchange of chicken skewers and money was frantic.

Now that we are in Savanakhet, we have made plans to do a 3 day trek in some remote ethnic minority villages around the area.  We will be out of touch during our trek but hope to have some nice pictures to share with you upon our return.