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This will give you an idea of local bus travel in the less developed parts of SE Asia.
There are VIP buses that travel long routes (8-20 hours), they are not supposed to stop between towns to pickup passengers. This was a local bus (4 hours total), once the seats are full, the aisles get filled, the steps get filled, no problem. The bus is full when there are no more passengers wanting to go.
Big parcels go on top, everything else under the seat or on one's lap. Chickens and ducks are in cages or tied up.
For some reason, Lao people are prone to motion sickness and it is routine to hear a yakking sound and see someone vomiting quietly into a plastic bag which they then toss out the window.
This counts as a paved road; a thin skin of gravel, spread by hand and with a layer of tar dribbled over it from a bucket with holes. Usually a hand pulled roller or occasionally an actual steam roller will make a pass over it. Big trucks chew up this layer in no time.
There aren't any real rules of the road. The white line is to mark the middle for those who drive at night. Often scooters and motorbikes will drive without lights because it is believed that saves gas.
And if you do have an intermediate stop, there are always Akha women (I think these are Akha) who try to sell trinkets (or weed). My friend is 6 feet so you can see how tiny these women are.
They walk down to this bus stop from hill villages.
The bus stops have toilets for the fastidious travelers.
There are VIP buses that travel long routes (8-20 hours), they are not supposed to stop between towns to pickup passengers. This was a local bus (4 hours total), once the seats are full, the aisles get filled, the steps get filled, no problem. The bus is full when there are no more passengers wanting to go.
Big parcels go on top, everything else under the seat or on one's lap. Chickens and ducks are in cages or tied up.
For some reason, Lao people are prone to motion sickness and it is routine to hear a yakking sound and see someone vomiting quietly into a plastic bag which they then toss out the window.
This counts as a paved road; a thin skin of gravel, spread by hand and with a layer of tar dribbled over it from a bucket with holes. Usually a hand pulled roller or occasionally an actual steam roller will make a pass over it. Big trucks chew up this layer in no time.
There aren't any real rules of the road. The white line is to mark the middle for those who drive at night. Often scooters and motorbikes will drive without lights because it is believed that saves gas.
And if you do have an intermediate stop, there are always Akha women (I think these are Akha) who try to sell trinkets (or weed). My friend is 6 feet so you can see how tiny these women are.
They walk down to this bus stop from hill villages.
The bus stops have toilets for the fastidious travelers.