From Attapeu/Laos to Da Nang /VN in 24 hours

Hi folks, when we were in 4.000 Islands (Southern Laos) in January we decided to change our original plan (4.000 Islands – Siem Reap – Phnom Penh – Saigon – Hoi An) after a look at the map. I noticed that Hoi An and Pakse were nearly on the same latitude. So why not go there directly instead of making the detour via Saigon? No sooner said than done we took a bus from 4.000 Islands via Pakse to Attapeu. The last leg in a chicken bus. Attapeu is in the middle of nowhere and a Thai girl on our bus told us there was a bus to Vietnam at 6 a.m.. We stayed at a hotel for 7 $ and had (a surprisingly good) dinner in Attapeu. Got up in the morning at five in order to catch the bus that was supposed to leave at 6 from the hotel. But to our annoyance – no bus came. The hotel staff’s English comprised only the terms ‘No!’ and ‘No, no!’

So we walked to the bus stand only to learn that there were no buses from there to Vietnam. They’d start at our hotel! Bloody hell! People at the bus stand were not very helpful, but a guy with a ponytail offered to take us back to the hotel in his van. On the way, he stopped at two houses. We guessed he was asking about transport to VN. But to no avail. When we arrived at the hotel, he offered to take us to the border in his car for a steep 100 bucks. I bargained him down to 80, and off we went. We arrived at the Lao border post of Bo Y at around 10 a.m. An officer gave us trouble because we had no visa. Neither my Burmese wife nor I needed a visa. Two hundred thousand kips made him forget about it. We walked to the VN border post of Ngoc Hi, and on the way, we met a Russian draft dodger on his visa run. The bank at the border was closed, a harbinger of things to come. The VN immigration guy wagged a banknote in front of our noses with a smile and said, ‘Happy New Year! – Another 200.000 Kip gone …

Outside, there was no transport except for two old men on motorcycles who offered to take us to Kontum, about 70 km away, for a hefty price. We were not especially keen to cover such a distance on a motorcycle –

but what can you do? To our surprise, they stopped in the next city and told us to get down and take the bus that happened to stop behind us. It would take us to Kontum. Despite being ripped off, we were glad to change the vehicle. We didn’t have enough money to pay the bus fare, but some friendly passengers changed two dollars into VN dong. Finally, we arrived in Kontum, and the bus driver asked me where we wanted to get down. I said ‘Da Nang, Da Nang’. After a few seconds, the penny dropped, and he brought us to a bus stand. Believe it or not, it was precisely where buses left for Da Nang.

However, a friendly young lady told us in broken English that all the buses to Da Nang were booked out for the next three days – Vietnamese New Year! Shit! Our only chance would be to sleep on the floor (!) of the bus. So I set out to look for a hotel – no chance, everything fully booked! Quite depressed, I returned to the bus stand where my babe was waiting for me, all smiles. She told me that two people had canceled their trip to Da Nang and that the young lady had offered us their sleepers. Provided we’d pay right now! But, as mentioned above, I had no money. I went to the next ATM – but my credit card was refused. Try the next one on the other side of a roundabout. Bingo! I ran back to the bus stand, and we got our tickets. We had a quick meal, and at 9.30 p.m., our bus left the station for Da Nang. And believe it or not, the whole aisle of the bus was full of people who slept on the floor! Lucky us! Even though I have to admit that my bed in the sleeper bus was way too short for me – some kinda torture. We arrived in Da Nang exactly 24 hours after getting up the day before. What a day it had been! Continued to Hoi An by taxi. After Hoi An, it didn’t get better. No direct bus to Saigon! So we had to travel piecemeal via Nha Trang (nice brekkie at Novotel and a walk on the Pacific beach) and the hill station of Da Lat (quite interesting!) before we finally made it to Saigon. For me, it felt like traveling in the good old days …

Riding the chicken bus
Lao/Vietnam border
VN propaganda posters
Get me outta here!
The beach in Nha Trang