May 15, 2007 – by Ajarn Charlie
My trip yesterday over the mountains by bus was a 10 hour odyssey. It was only towards the end of the journey that I noticed that one of the fellows who got out at a frequent ‘piss stop’ in the back was packing an assault version of an older AK-47 with a 90 round banana clip. Hmmmm…I thought, what was this all about as the only place I ever saw weapons in this country was in front of gold shops where ‘off duty’ Lao police sat in uniform protecting the inventory of each goldshop owner. The fact that he had no uniform on of any type, told me there was something going on that wasn’t being spoken. As it turned out, I was right.
It was the next morning I learned after mentioning this peculiarity to some in Vientiane that I discovered that apparently in recent weeks that the road I had just transited for 10 hours was now a ‘no fly zone’ for tourists according to western embassy web sites and this very young man with the Kalashnikov was a Lao version of an ‘air Marshal’.
But what else is new, as this is an old story and being the cynic I am, I suspect the truth is nothing close to what is being told to the public as to why tourist shouldn’t be traveling these remote mountain roads….
OK, you ask, why is that? Because all along the Mekong, from the moment you enter Laos, everywhere you turn or look, hill after hill is being stripped of their timber. After getting off the “slow boat from China”, and finding land transportation across the mountains (as the waters are too shallow to continue to Vientiane by boat), once again one is confronted by hillside after hillside either having been stripped or being stripped of their ancient trees. Except for the occasional bus like ours or the gas truck that almost ran into us head on (wasn’t my day to die…), all other vehicles on this 10 hour journey across some of the most rugged terrain in this part of the world, were logging trucks. Everywhere you look, you see logging trucks of every 
shape and size. And you know what else is a bit funny about these operations? Where the logging is new and trucks are carrying massive logs (usually only 3 and worth a fortune!) can be seen, you can be assured a police ‘checkpoint’ is just around the next bend. Think there is any relationship between police checkpoints and logging? naaahhhhh . Probably not…..just my cynicism coming out. And probably no relationship between digital camera toting writers who just happen to be watching things as they go by who are unaware they are somewhere they aren’t suppose to be (because it is ‘dangerous’ or off limits).
Sorry but my experience has told me time and time again that rules, commissions, agencies and police are not there to ‘serve and protect’ the common man but to protect the rich and those getting richer by taking from those that don’t have the means to protect what they do have or deserve. Commissions established to ‘protect’ a river or lands are in reality established to exploit that resource and legalize, for the wealthy few or more powerful (such as China) the exploitation of the resource. Whether it is water or timber, Laos is being raped and is dying.China needs the water and the glaciers that feed the 7 major rivers of Asia that originate in Tibet are melting at a dizzying pace.
But fret not oh young one, there is plenty of dope and it is cheap! Everywhere there is dope for sale. Opium. Pot. Opium tea. You name it, you can buy it and everyone, from the moment you step into this communist hardline controlled country, is offering to sell you a high.
Once again, why is that? In a country where posters hang from walls in upscale cafes advising you it is against the wishes and laws of the respectable people of the country to entertain ‘working girls’ in their café, bar or restaurant, are the same ‘servants’ standing by, willing and able, to run for you to get you a joint. Hmmmmm. Once again, what is wrong with this picture? Think they want the foreigner to stay stoned so they don’t see too much or ask too many questions? Naaaaahhhhh. There I go again….and this is a place that my passport is checked 5 times within 30 minutes after entering the country. I really get confused with this concept or ‘rules’ around the world. Don’t you?
Anyway. Enough ranting…for now. As I said the bus trip over one of the many spines of Asia was a journey! I arrived at the bus station in Luang Prabang after going to the North Station first instead of the South Station. Guess I should read the “Lonely Planet’ and I would not have made this mistake but not knowing where I was going, I didn’t give a shit really. I will say though that having been to both stations, the southern station is far busier, while the northern station is out near the airport. Of course both are at opposite ends of town. Of course….
I finally made it to my station of choice at 08:00 still not having a clue where I would go that day. Maybe the Plain of Jars if a bus was heading that way. Maybe not…
As the motorized version of a rickshaw dropped me at the foot of a bus leaving for Vientiane which was leaving in 30 minutes, I quickly decided to jump on this bus, get to the capital which I was intimately familiar with, and decide what to do after that. Paying my 100,000 Kip ($10 USD), I had a bit to eat and after grabbing a few sandwiches and water to go, headed for the bus.
Once again, my $1 an hour rule worked as I have found wherever you travel in Asia, by whatever means on land or river or train, you pay around $1 an hour. This particular trip was exactly 10 hours and the ticket was $10. It is a rough rule I use to determine what I should be paying for this or that trip to here or there. Funny thing is, even the cyclos that wheel you around Phnom Penh charge 4,000 riel, or $1 USD. But I digress...
I found my seat, settled in and exactly at 08:30, the bus departed about half full and the seat next to me was empty! Wow!! I thought, this is great but how bizarre. A bus in Asianot packed to the roof and not a single rooster to be found. This is going to be sweet…..
What happened next? We drove 30 minutes out of Luang Prabang and into another village where we stopped….and waited….and waited. I got out, wandered around, took a photo. After watching the crew of the bus it was obvious they were trying to round up passengers or anything else, to pay their way over the mountains.
About an hour later, the solution came in the form of another bus that had left the station after us, heading for Vientiane as well. How so you ask? Simple, by Asian standards. Just unload all the people, bags and cargo from one bus that isn’t full and jam all them and their possessions into the new bus. Oh….almost forgot to mention the air conditioning unit shoved down the center aisle blocking the rear toilet door. Who needs a toilet on a 10 hour, mountainous bus ride anyway?
But at least we were moving now and my new seat, this time on the aisle instead of a window as I had paid for and requested, was now next to an American who at first, was a bit of a jackass when I said I had seat 14 and he was in it. He basically told me to park my ass and it made no difference where we were sitting as he had seat 17 and someone was in his seat.
As I wasn’t in the mood to argue and especially as there were no other options on this bus, and being Buddhist, I left it to Karma and ‘parked my ass’. Maybe he would be the one to die in the fiery head on collision with the truck we would hit?
As it turned out, I guess he wasn’t a morning person and turned out to be OK and we struck up some interesting conversations over the next 10 hours. Apparently Mr. Matt had just gone through a divorce (of course, why else would you be in Asia?) with his lady of 8 years, 2 of which at the end included the ‘married’ part. To hear him tell it, he paid for her PhD and promptly dumped him. Now that’s his story. Would be interesting to hear hers….
He was doing the Asia ‘thing’ which included Thailand of course, Laos followed by the temples at Siem Reap and Angkor. He was meeting up with another American traveler in Vientianewho had been doing Asia for 2 years and suggested we all meet together after we arrived. Sure…why not I said?
Almost forgot to mention, although I was on the bus, there was a pretty powerful earthquake that was felt around the region. I swear I had nothing to do with it!
Photo Gallery from this leg...
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