the ticket counter inside the bus terminal
The bus terminal seemed quite new, probably just renovated not long ago. But, there was this funny urine-alike smell in the terminal area; really not sure whether it was the sanitation system malfunctioning or other thing. Also, I discovered something interesting in the washroom. The cubicles in the gents and ladies were 'connected' - only separated by glass blocks; blurry effect, of course. Weird huh?
The express bus ticket from Vientiane to Luang Prabang cost 95,000 Lao Kip (around RM36-38). Besides getting sales from passenger service, the bus itself too function as a 'cargo' bus. That's why it took almost 2 hours to load all goods to the top of the bus. I'm telling you, there're 2 motorcycles up there!
workers loading goods up to the bus - bus no: 9888
There were only 3 foreigners: me, a French lady and a German lad. I think the bus was 'donated' (read 'dumped') by the Korean to this country, as I found quite a few labels in Korean inside the bus. Could it be a sign of reusability and durability of Korean products? Or a positive sign of bilateral relation?
One thing I did find out: the odometer wasn't working - meaning the driver (or at least me, since I was just sitting behind the driver seat) wouldn't know the speed of the bus. Anyway, he was a steady driver. Moreover, speeding was quite impossible. The roads was like those in Malaysia, before elections - badly maintained. On top of that, not to mention the windy mountain roads. So, the main reason why the bus journey took roughly 12 hours was due to the road condition.
I would add in one more - it had too many 'pee-stops' during the bus journey. Yes, the bus was stopped in the middle of no way for people to relieve themselves at the bushes. Not only men, women did that too. The latter part was really a culture shock to me. Don't ask me how they did that, I didn't check them out. Well, come to think about it: it's human nature after all, right? Luckily, there were a few proper toilet stops, no need to fertilise the Lao soil.
stopped here for proper toilet and buying snacks
Another few discoveries that I found to be fascinating: the driver, his girlfriend and the bus assistants were having dinner picnic in the bus, right in front of me; a few passengers were picked up by the roadside along the way and their seats were just plastic stools on the aisle; one of the assistants slept on the mat placed on the aisle, right next to me; another one slept in the luggage compartment (yes, the part underneath the bus; wouldn't he be breathing in the dust?)
The weirdest: a long hunter sniper with kept in the bus, With or without bullets, I has no idea! What's that for? To kill wild boars or any other animals found on the mountain area? Or to defend against robbers? But, all of these didn't bother me much, other than the non-stop blasting of Lao music. That would be my only complaint for which I found it very much irritating.
Overall, it was a positive experience and quite a pleasant bus journey. However, I doubt that I would take such a long bus journey again in the near future. For your information, later on, I took minivan / minibus from Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng (6 hours), then to Vientiane (5 hours). They cost a little bit more, but faster and slightly more comfortable.
