Laos is the worst country in Southeast Asia in which to travel by bus, as I discovered during my last trip, when forced to stand for five hours straight in the aisle of one as it bounced its way along the dirt tracks of the Golden Triangle, as opium-growing country is known. I had congratulated myself when, earlier that day, I raced across the bus station at Udomsai after the four-hour trip from Luang Prabang to catch the first available bus to Luang Nam Tha, where I planned to arrange one of the treks in the Nam Ha conservation reserve I had read so much about. Admittedly, I experienced a brief moment of guilt as I settled into the last available seat, pretending not to notice as my former travelling companions were told by the ticket office that the next bus wouldn’t be leaving for several hours–at least I was on my way.
Photo: The road north from Luang Prabang to Udomsai
Two hours later, I was standing by the roadside watching as the driver and more mechanically minded passengers than myself attempted to repair the engine. It soon became apparent that their attempts to bandage the leaking radiator with bamboo leaves would not be getting me on my way. So, I soon found myself reunited with my travelling companions from the morning’s trip from Luang Prabang to Udomsai. Only this time it was they, not me, who were comfortably seated. Appropriate, perhaps, that they should come to my rescue. But the remainder of the trip to Luang Nam Tha was a punishing exercise in endurance that I never want to repeat. There must have been 20 of us packed into the centre aisle, gripping the baggage rails, as the bus careered its way to our final destination.
