Bus Station in Laos

[The_Traveler]

Travel in Laos is quite difficult.
Laos has no trains, very few airports, terrible roads and mostly local buses.
This is the bus office in Luang Namtha in the very North of Laos 5 years ago.
These fares in in Laotian kip - about 9000 to the dollar.
Note the distance and the number of hours.
Fares are in Kip which is about 9,000 to 1 USD

Buses are packed and luggage goes on top.

View attachment 191363

 

[Jeff15]

They must be grueling journeys in the conditions you describe.......

 

[The_Traveler]

They must be grueling journeys in the conditions you describe.......

The travel is exacerbated by the practice of just cramming the bus full. When seats are full, plastic buckets or chairs go in the aisles.
I sent some pictures to my son who is an experienced traveler and he replied with the text below.

"I took a bus from Vientiane to Luang Prabang. The bus began boarding about three hours late, and once everyone had settled in their seats, workers filled the remaining space with cargo. Not just baggage, but random bulk cargo filled up every space. A stack of 10 plywood sheets in the aisle slump against my arms and I was given a package of a dozen plastic salad colanders in a bag to keep on my lap.

The ride was more than nine hours long, and we pitched through the fog-stuffed mountain roads, stopping periodically to led off people and cargo. The bus emptied like a water cooler, the level of cargo gradually lowering as goods drained out into the darkness.

We pulled into Luang Prabang about dawn. A kid came on as soon as we stopped in the terminal, collecting the last bits of cargo, and took the colanders my lap."

That's 9 hours to go about 200 miles. (including a couple of pee stops.).
If I did this trip again, I'd hire a car and driver.

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