~laos/transit/phonsavan/

Ok, there is far too much that has happened in the past week to get down in this blog, so i will just do my best to get the highlights in as best as possible. So we leave the beauty of a town Luang Prabang by bus, heading for the North East of Laos. The journey was long, and would require a night spent in a crappy little town called Phonsavan (which later turned out to be not so crappy - as you will see). It started off badly when we saw the bus - this rickety old excuse for a bus! Air conditioning consisted of 4 large fans fixed to the ceiling, positioned dangerously close to our heads... luckily all the wires were loose, and none of them worked! The journey took about 10 hours, and was a bit of a nightmare. Apart from the 'sore bum syndrome', 'bus sleeping paradox' and general 'bumpage up and downage', there was a rather worrying moment towards the end of the journey. Here's the low down:

The lonely planet explains how in the north east of Laos, particulary on Route 13 there have been a series of 'bus attacks', where bandits hijack buses and essentially shoot everyone. Although very rare, this is a bit of a worry! As soon as we get on the bus, we see a man with a machine gun sitting casually in the middle of the bus. I have never really been close to a real gun before, and naturally i felt quite uneasy. But he seemed to be happy, so i soon forgot about
him and got into my book. (A Heartbreaking Work Of Staggering Genius - Thanks Keith!). So, towards the end of the journey, the bus was stopped and two men step on in military gear, carrying machine guns also. The fact that they wore military gear meant nothing, as everyone seems to wear it.

Again i started to worry, and i could see fear in the faces of all the other tourists on the bus (about 3 others from Australia we later became friends with). But nothing worried me more than when one of the guys sat next to me. He placed his gun between his legs facing the ceiling. He was quiet, and kept nudging me, kicking me, and signalling and whispering to the other machine gun man! Scarey! I dared not look at him, but was happy the gun was pointing at the ceiling.

So, curious, after about 10 minutes, i decide to take a look at the gun. To my horror, as i turn round, i see the barrel of the gun is not pointed at the ceiling at all, but instead is rested on his leg and pointed directly at my head!!!! I've never felt so worried in my life! I'm afraid to say it was 'trouser changing time' for me! If i was sure the safetly was on, and the bus was smooth, then maybe i wouldnt have said anything. But Lao people are rather careless, and the bus was
incredibly bumpy, and although unlikely, then gun could go off at anytime!! So i asked the guy to move the gun, as politely as i could, and he just laughed, and thankfully moved it.. but not before showing me the magazine full of bullets! Thanks!! Panic over, they get off at the next stop, no attacks today. :)

But seriously, there is no real need to worry. These attacks are supposed to be political by nature, and so foreigners are never targetted. The attacks also only happen on buses, and since then we have been travelling on Route 13 on coaches only. More expensive, a little more comfortable and much safer.