The bus from Nong Kiaow to Xam Neua was packed. Not just with people, but with people transporting god knows what from one end of the country to the other. We had to climb over crates and burlap sacks just to get to our seats. I spent most of the 13hr journey leaning against a sack of oranges. This turned out to be luxurious compared to girl who had a sack of watermelons for a seat and to JB who could barely breathe due to odour that was wafting from the guy beside him. Luckily, the person next to me moved and JB was able to sit next to me so we could be uncomfortable together. Needless to say, not much sleep was to be had and we arrived in Xam Neua, a little Lao town about 3 hours from the Vietnam border, a little on the dishevelled side. We spent the rest of that day trying to wash off the bus ride and gearing up for our next leg of travel at 6am the next morning.

Up until this point, we had a good idea of how and where we were going; this leg was a little bit different. We were in one of the most remote areas of Laos, crossing the border at a point that had only recently been opened to foreign travellers. As a result, there was little information to be had in the guidebooks on how to make the journey to Hanoi. So we woke the next morning a little nervous as to how we were going to get to Hanoi once we’d crossed the border into Vietnam. We took a three hour ride in a converted pick up to the border through some of the most beautiful countryside either of us had ever seen. Laos had been one jaw dropping experience after another and our last morning was quintessential Laos.

Once at the border, we crossed with relative ease into Vietnam. On the other side, fortune smiled upon us. Just as we’d past through customs (a bamboo shack on the side of a river), a minibus from Hanoi pulled up with a group of French tourists that were heading into Laos. We were able to finagle a ride on the bus for it’s return trip to Hanoi, saving ourselves a lot of time, money and headache. We arrived eight hours later in Hanoi with our last 20 dollars in our pocket. Phew! (Did we mention that Laos only has one ATM in the entire country???)

3 Responses to “Xam Neua”

1. Dont forget to say hi to W. Bush. I think he’s there right now.

   Stay safe.

   Patrick

   posted by Patrick on November 17th, 2006 at 1:24 pm

2. You guys must be exhausted! This trip demands so much courage, just in knowing how to catch a bus! As usual, the photos are astonishingly beautiful and your stories, of another world. Be prepared to enter a draught-stricken Australia…from what I hear, it’s the worst in 100 years…. So Megan, did you get to visit any familiar territory in Hanoi? Love you to bits xo Mum

   posted by Mum on November 17th, 2006 at 2:19 pm

3. Hi Guys. I live vicariously through you evey week as I sit here at work waiting for my maps to save. What an adventure! Thanks for keeping us up to date and for staying safe.

   Hope you’re doing something fun on Thursday — we’ll miss you for Thanksgiving.

   Love,
   Tin

   posted by Tin on November 21st, 2006 at 9:17 am

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