Written 6th December 2012
The morning we left Namtha it was raining and dreary. We were taken to the bus station in a tuk-tuk and deposited next to the "V.I.P. Bus" which is a regular long distance bus (as apposed to a school bus). The bus left the station half an hour early.
The road was long, windy, and not fully sealed. Mist hung around the lush hills and valleys. We passed tiny villages perched on the side of the road. All the locals were shuddering the whole way. I could see vomit running down under the seats on the opposite side of the bus. We were told that we would be stopping for food and toilets but on the whole 6+ hour trip we did not stop for food. We also did not stop at any toilets. We did however stop twice to go to the toilet on the side of the road.
The first time there were some bushes that I could hide behind. The local women just pulled up their skirts in front of everyone and peed. I wasn't keen for this.
The second stop was on the side of a road where there had recently been roadworks. There was a steep clay wall on one side and a few metres of churned up clay-like mud on the other side before it fell away into a deep valley. All the locals whipped their skirts up once again but I spotted a concrete power pole about 80m down the road which I headed for and squelched my way over to. It was the kind that has two concrete sticks with a hole in the middle Not much cover for peeing. But I had no choice. It was pee there, pee by the bus in front of everyone, or don't pee, and I needed to go. So I crouched down, closed my eyes and told myself "If I can't see them, they can't see me!"
A few hours after that incident we arrived in Pak Mong where we hopped off the bus and caught a tuk-tuk with an older German lady to Nong Khiaw. We arrived as the sky was clearing and the mist was clinging like flimsy shawls to the scenic mountains that surround the village. It was a beautiful place! There is a long bridge that spans the river and the views from that point are spectacular.
We wandered along looking for guest houses but they were all full up until we came to one called Meexai which had one room left which we took. It was quite new which was good as there is no such word as maintenance in Asia! It was quite good because they had WiFi there and it even worked in our room (although we were closest to the office). It had a sit down toilet with a bucket flush which is popular with guest houses. I liked the mosquito nets. Mine was pink and Steve's was purple.
The morning we left Namtha it was raining and dreary. We were taken to the bus station in a tuk-tuk and deposited next to the "V.I.P. Bus" which is a regular long distance bus (as apposed to a school bus). The bus left the station half an hour early.
The road was long, windy, and not fully sealed. Mist hung around the lush hills and valleys. We passed tiny villages perched on the side of the road. All the locals were shuddering the whole way. I could see vomit running down under the seats on the opposite side of the bus. We were told that we would be stopping for food and toilets but on the whole 6+ hour trip we did not stop for food. We also did not stop at any toilets. We did however stop twice to go to the toilet on the side of the road.
The first time there were some bushes that I could hide behind. The local women just pulled up their skirts in front of everyone and peed. I wasn't keen for this.
The second stop was on the side of a road where there had recently been roadworks. There was a steep clay wall on one side and a few metres of churned up clay-like mud on the other side before it fell away into a deep valley. All the locals whipped their skirts up once again but I spotted a concrete power pole about 80m down the road which I headed for and squelched my way over to. It was the kind that has two concrete sticks with a hole in the middle Not much cover for peeing. But I had no choice. It was pee there, pee by the bus in front of everyone, or don't pee, and I needed to go. So I crouched down, closed my eyes and told myself "If I can't see them, they can't see me!"
A few hours after that incident we arrived in Pak Mong where we hopped off the bus and caught a tuk-tuk with an older German lady to Nong Khiaw. We arrived as the sky was clearing and the mist was clinging like flimsy shawls to the scenic mountains that surround the village. It was a beautiful place! There is a long bridge that spans the river and the views from that point are spectacular.
We wandered along looking for guest houses but they were all full up until we came to one called Meexai which had one room left which we took. It was quite new which was good as there is no such word as maintenance in Asia! It was quite good because they had WiFi there and it even worked in our room (although we were closest to the office). It had a sit down toilet with a bucket flush which is popular with guest houses. I liked the mosquito nets. Mine was pink and Steve's was purple.
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