We boarded the bus and my initial assessment was that it was not as nice as the Cambodian or Vietnamese buses, but would be just fine for the 10 hour overnight ride we were facing. Just as I finished that thought, they filled the center isle of the already packed bus with low plastic stools and filled the row with people! Any nook or cranny not big enough for a human was jammed with luggage. We were trapped like rats. Man, oh man what I would have done to take a photo...but I couldn't get out!
After everyone took their seat, some guy passed out bottled waters (how nice!) and plastic puke bags (did I mention that this route was too curvy for a double decker?). As my discomfort with the situation increased, I also noticed that there were no bathrooms on the bus. 10 hours with a toddler, and no bathroom. I also noticed that the temperature was dropping. We were on an overactive A/C, freeze-your-ass-off bus. And it started to rain. What had I gotten us into?
Chalking it up to part of the adventure, Addi snuggled down into her seat and promptly fell asleep. I desperately hoped to fall asleep before we got to the mountains, and Jim chatted away with the cute Belgian Hippie in the seat next to him. The guy on a small stool in the isle next to me fell asleep with his elbow in my rib and the girl on the stool in front of him used my legs as a backrest. I wanted to be annoyed with this invasion of personal space, but how could I?
After a few hours, someone from the back of the bus shouted something in Laotian. The bus pulled over and everyone piled out...and started peeing! This was the bathroom break. A bus full of people peeing on the side of the road. No place to hide, no coverage, no modesty. It was absolutely crazy- and happened 4 more times before we reached our destination!
This was a bus ride I will not soon forget...although I did manage to fall asleep before the curvy mountain roads and got a decent rest!
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