Bus From Hell (Vietnam to Laos)

“Don’t do it” my friend almost cried to me. She doesn’t want me to take the so-called hell bus from Vietnam to Laos.

“It breaks down. It’s not safe. It takes 2 days with no stopovers. Locals will scam you.” she continued.

I know it all. I’ve read all these horror stories online, and I’m ready to go. It was a sleeper bus with permanently reclined seats. The bus started, and the colorful lights inside were lit.

“Oh, it looks like a party bus now,” I thought. But as if on cue, the aircondition died, and lights shut off, the bus stopped in the middle of the highway.

An hour passed and we’re still parked, and sweating, or hyperventilating from the lack of air. The locals and the bus driver seemed to be having an argument. I looked at the travelers around me for some form of unknown support. All foreigners were asked to sit at the back – Malay, Japanese, Belgian, Danish, French, and myself, a Filipino. No one understood Vietnamese so we just lied down in our reclined seats and tried to conserve as much energy as we can.

Maria, the Danish girl, smiled mischievously and put out Uno cards. Kaz, Stefan, and I nodded approvingly and played with her. Apparently, we all had different rules from our countries, so Margot, who is not part of the round, mediated the rules.

The engine started again. There were sighs of relief, and everyone was back to his proper seat in no time. Kaz opened a book. Stefan put on his earphones. Maria wore her sleeping mask, Margot took out her phone, and I stared out the window.

Not long after, the bus stopped in an empty lot. The bus broke down, again.

Everyone got off the bus and sat around a small wooden table, and chat with each other as if we’re all traveling together. In his broken English, a local told us that we were waiting for a replacement bus, which will arrive in an hour or two. Meantime, everyone had beers or noodles - HOT noodles WITH EGG! – such is a luxury, when I was prepared to eat nothing but biscuits for two days.

The replacement bus arrived and it took us another hour to transfer all the goods to the other bus. The next 2 days, we all looked out for each other, and even stayed and traveled together upon arrival to Laos.

The bus was from hell, maybe, but it was now in Laos, and with amazing people in it!