#louangphrabang

After traveling the well trodden path from Ho Chi Minh City to Sapa, Vietnam, it finally became time to depart the first country of our journey. Hunter and I did some investigating on how we’d like to get to Laos and decided we had the time (and budget constraints) to go by bus.

A flight from Hanoi to Luang Prabang would mean a night train from Sapa to Hanoi ($30/each), a taxi to the airport ($15), and airfare ($180/each for last minute tickets), all more than we were willing to spend on this leg. Let the bus journey begin! We figured it’d be a nice way to make some stops and see the countryside, and save a few bucks. Our good friend Justine warned us that traveling in Asia means being comfortable with having no idea what’s going on, and this story is a testament to that. I thought this guide should make its way online should anyone else consider making a similar journey.

Getting to Laos from Vietnam is not as simple as all our other buses had been. No showing up at a well marked bus stop and hoping on. Vague instructions online led us to Green Valley Hostel in Sapa which advertised bus routes from to various Laotian cities.

Start by paying Green Valley Hostel $32/each for one way bus tickets from Sapa to Oudomxai. You will be given a hand written ticket that says “Two people to Oudomxai at 6pm tomorrow” and no other proof of purchase. (Note: Oudomxai also goes by Udomxai and also by Muang Xai, so I’ll save you the confusion of trying to book a room).

The bus leaves at 6:00pm. Because you’re a responsable traveler, arrive at 5:30pm and get told the bus actually leaves at 6:30pm. At 6:30pm the hotel receptionist will tell you to wait patiently and she’ll let you know when the bus has arrived. At 6:50pm the bus driver (or someone) calls her to say he is near. Now a car will take you to the bus station. (So the bus isn’t coming here? No.)

7:00pm: Get put into a taxi and driven to a dirt lot that might also be a bus station.

7:15pm A bus will pull into the station and your taxi driver will somehow call the bus driver to confirm he’s the guy. Notice a swarm of people attempting to board the bus, Each with their equivelent taxi guy by their side. The taxi guy is your ticket so don’t lose him. He’ll help you board the bus and hopefully tell the driver where you’re headed. The driver will add some check marks to your hand written ticket to acknowledge he knows where you think you’re going. Quickly board and claim a sleeper seat or you’ll be forced to sit on the floor. The floor is padded and clearly intended to be sold to passengers when seats run out. The bus is already mostly full with passengers from another location, so act fast.

7:30pm: Bus departs Sapa. I’m learning the meaning of “mountain time”, and try not react to the delays as I settle in. The sleeper bus compensates for its strangely short beds with disco LEDs.

9:00pm the bus will stop at a roadside village and the crew will disembark for a screaming match outside the bus for about 3 minutes.

9:05pm The driver and his mate will begin to carry bags of pears into the bus while most of the passengers are asleep. Not just a few pears- like- hundreds of pears. You’ll also hear loud thumping as more crates of pears are strapped to the roof of the bus.

9:30pm: Back on the road.

Midnight: Stop in the dark. Take on a few 50lb sacks of rice.

2:00am: Jolt awake to the speaker above your head suddenly blasting Vietnamese electronic music. Look around the bus and realize everyone else is frantic as well. Smash the buttons in the overhead console to get it to stop. After 5 minUtes, get up and go to the driver and gesture at your ears and roll your eyes. He’ll return the eye roll while reluctantly turning the music off. Three different people will give you a thumbs up as you stumble back to your seat, you’re a hero.

3:45am: Stopped in the dark. Get off to pee in a bush and notice we’re unloading pears. Scooters drive up, man on the roof throws them a bag of pears, scooters drive away. Pears inside the bus have also been unloaded but most passengers never wake to notice. It might be wise to keep an eye amongst your luggage underneath all the pears.

4:40am: A man will tap tap you and say “Udomxai!” Nod yes. “Come!” Try to grab all your shit in a sleeping pill stooper. Don’t forget your shoes. Walk to a beat up mini-bus parked behind and show the new driver the extra check marks on your ticket like they might matter to him. (They don’t). Only me, Hunter and a man from Columbia are on this bus.

5:00am: we’re off!

5-5:45am: Make a series of stops through town. A bus co-captain will stand at the opened door and jump out every mile to knock on doors where sleepy women will hand him non-description packages or miscellaneous bags of vegetables.

6:00am: Stop at a bus station in Dien Bien Phu. Accumulate more sacks of garlic on the roof and cover with tarp. Apparently garlic sacks are quite heavy so Hunter helps hoist some sacks up.

6:30 - 7:00am: Make another pass through town collecting more rice and heavy canvas sacks every few minutes. The bus smells like rice now, it’s raining. We’ve collected a few steel beams and a roll of chicken wire mesh in the aisle. Something very heavy loaded to the roof that took three men hoist up. Two Vietnamese ladies have joined us with tarp ponchos. They are holding limes close to their noses and scratching the peel with the nails.

7:10am: Sheet metal and mysterious long boxes. Some big tubes. Taking some time to secure the tarp. Our new lady passengers keep smelling the fruit in the palm of their hand and then spitting out the opened door as we drive. You’ll later learn, as they’re puking into plastic bags, that this was an attempt to prevent motion sickness.

7:20am: Getting more beams at the gas station, also gas. Hit the open road!

8:40am: Vietnam border exit control. Get passports checked and exchange some Dong for Kip. Run across parking lot in the rain so you’re wet for the rest of the trip.

9:15am: Cross Lao border patrol, get some shiney stamps. At the boarder a Visa for US Citizens is $35. We paid $50 to get our Visa’s in Hanoi attempting to avoid any scams, but nothing seems too fishy here. Maybe our preparation paranoia cost us a few bucks here, but the peace of mind was probably worth it.

9:30am: Reboard the bus and notice that all the goods inside the bus are underneath your luggage or under the seats. Pears, rice, and mystery goods have been are concealed. Don’t ask questions.

10:00am - 12:30pm: Stop at a small bamboo village and unload some garlic sack, ~200 eggs and a bag of onions. Continue making small stops to drop off your cargo throughout the afternoon. Relax in verifying that you’re not crazy, that the clucking was not in your head, there is a rooster in a box getting unloaded from under the bus.

1:00pm: Stop for your first Laotian meal of pork fat, rice and a beer. Later you’ll realize the prices you paid for said meal are quite high and you likely just bought lunch for the bus driver and his pals. Take it as good karma and move on.

3:00pm: Arrive in Oudomxai! The driver won’t tell you you’re here, so keep an eye out for signs. When you’re ready ask to be let out and the driver will open the door and slow down enough for you to get off. Lose you socks in the scurry.

Oudomxai is a small transit down. Grab a coffee or a meal and settle in. There’s a pagoda and potentially some hiking, but you’re mostly here to await tomorrow’s final bus journey to Luang Prabang. We ate at Souphailin’s Restaurant and loved every dish. The owner could not have been more pleasant and excited to have us, but be prepared to have a two hour dinner as she prepares every dish from scratch over a coal fire and will not let you help her. Order a giant beer and enjoy, or go for a walk.

Next day, 11am: The bus to Luang Prabang departs the North Station at 11:30am. Again, it’s mountain time, so no one really knows when you’re leaving. The buses are all free enterprises so as each van or bus pulls into the station ask the driver where it is going. When you find one to LP claim a seat and give him your ticket. Once the bus is impossibly full (20 seats, 33 passengers including children and one rooster in a box) the driver will take the tickets to the window and collect his cut for hauling you through the mountains.

12am - 6pm: The mountains are some of the most beautiful we’ve seen. You’ll have plenty of time to see them as this bus is running the same cargo scheme as all the others. You’ll make stops at villages to pick up and drop off various bags of veggies and rice turning the advertised five hour journey into about seven hours.

6:30pm: You’re still about 45minutes from LP but the bus will stop here. You have no choice to continue when the driver shuts the bus off and begins unloading your bags. Do as the locals do and clamor for a tuk tuk to the city.

7:15pm: Survive the ride on a scooter-turned-pickup-truck and pull into the main drag of Luang Prabang.

You’ve arrived!

Total Cost for 1 person, Sapa to Luang Prabang by Plane: Night Train to Hanoi: $30 Train Station to Airport (Taxi/Uber) $15 Hanoi to Luang Prabang: $180 Tuk Tuk from Airport: $5 =$230, 1night and ½ day of travel