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Broken down to Vientiane

Today we took the 'short' journey from Vang Vieng to Vientiane. We opted for a shared bus ride. The journey should have taken two hours maximum along the new Lao China Expressway. 

When we left the bus terminal it was clear the bus had a problem - the gearbox sounded rough and there were issues getting it into gear. 

But we were on our way! We were flying along the road until the driver pulled over suddenly and he announced we had broken down. So we all piled out onto the hard shoulder for an hour whilst they tried to repair a coolant hose that had split. 


A little regular maintenance is needed on this bus! 

Some backpackers lost patience as they had onward connections. They took their bags and walked off into the distance to try and hitchhike their way to the city. 

What else can you do but be patient. The driver said we would wait twenty minutes for a bus but that is Laos time and it was much longer than that.  

Eventually a replacement bus arrived but not before we had to walk our luggage down the hard shoulder for fifteen minutes before boarding.  So our total journey was more like four and a half hours 😂

It's my first return to Vientiane since living here eleven years ago. We are staying slap bang in the centre in Salana Boutique Hotel. We have a couple of days of sightseeing before we bid farewell to Laos and head back to Thailand. 


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