March 09, 2008

Bangkok (THAILAND)

Last Day in Bangkok, and an Overnight Bus to Laos with a Doped-Up Driver

I visited a few tour agents this morning to book an overnight bus into Laos, and eventually I found what I was look for: an overnight bus to the border with onward connection to Vientiane, the capital city, for only 700 baht. This was the extent of my productivity for the day as I spent the remainder of my time updating web journals, staying in touch with friends, and basically taking a day off to relax. Seemingly every restaurant around the Khao San Road shows movies or television episodes the entire day, so any time some one feels like kicking back there was the option of settling into a chair or couch to zone out.

As the evening approached, and my 7:00 pm departure, I took advantage of Bangkok's convenience and purchased several knock-off CDs (mostly Manu Chao), and some cheap t-shirts for the road (half of my clothes were never returned back in Hong Kong.) I also paid my fourth visit to Ling, shown to the right, who makes the best smoothies in Thailand and for an absolute pittance. Although I have always preferred Strawberry and Banana, she insisted on trying Banana and Jackfruit, which has a much bigger bite to it. I don't know if Jackfruit exists in most countries around the world, but if you don't mind seeds it is not a bad way to go.

I arrived at the bus station at 06:45 pm, but our bus was mysteriously postponed and we didn't end up departing until after 10:00 pm. Fortunately, I met a Canadian couple who are finishing up a full year of traveling, so I had plenty of stories to occupy my time. When the bus finally came, I made sure I was the first on board so I could claim the front two seats - guaranteeing the most leg room for the long journey - but it was a decision I nearly came to regret.

After a couple of hours on the road - time that was spent watching the disappointing Rush Hour 3 - I could smell marijuana from my seat. I looked around, not sure where it was coming from, and after seeing a French man across the aisle looking equally bewildered I knew it wasn't just my imagination. Initially, we both brushed it off, figuring someone had perhaps smoked in the bathroom or from their seat in the back of the double-decker bus. However, shortly afterward we both noticed the bus was swerving all over the road and driving in the middle of two lanes most of the time. The French man climbed downstairs to get a better look at the driver, saying things like, "Hey buddy, are you OK?" and  "If you can't drive then don't!" but the driver only laughed and said he was fine. We awoke another Thai man on the bus to get his assistance, but it was another hour of near misses before they awoke a new driver. It was a far scarier experience than one might imagine because I was at the front window of the bus with nothing to protect me from flying through shattered glass if there was any kind of a head on collision.

I managed a couple hours of sleep in the early hours of the morning, but it was still a much-welcomed relief when we reached the Laos border at 6:00 am. The bus unloaded as everyone filled out the necessary visa forms and handed in their passports (process shown to the left.) There was a sketched out English man who was obviously a serious drug user, and he had apparently run out of rolling papers because he was asking everyone if they had any. Between his constant twitching and erratic behavior I became glad he wasn't sitting near me on the bus, and even more relieved I would soon part ways with him. I really hate all the weird people who escape to Southeast Asia because it is so cheap and police enforcement is minimal - there are far too many drugs, prostitution rings, and instances of child abuse.

The Laos border crossing took several hours, so it wasn't until 10:00 am before I was finally stamped into the country and hopping on another bus to the capital, Vientiane. I wasn't the only one caught in the long lines, as the video below demonstrates - a man literally pulled out his violin and started playing to the amazement (and pleasure) of all the bystanders.