8.30 am sharp, as arranged the big new Toyota mini-bus rolled up onto the forecourt of the Jammee guest house----presented ticket, loaded my bags and we proceeded to an empty area just
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| Jammee guest house, Vang Vieng. |
off the main road. Several phone calls to the driver and another minibus with 14 young & pretty Chinese girls came along side. Girls & their big heavy bags duly loaded and off we went. An hour up into the mountains and after several more phone (from?) calls to our driver, bus pulled in and our driver asked specifically for my ticket. Bus was headed due north, I was to go due south to Vientiane. Visions of being turfed off the bus and being left to hitch-hike back to Vang Vieng, my starting point. More phone calls, a short wait and another minivan, going south, stopped---a quick transfer effected and off I went rolling back the way I had come. Question---- why had driver picked me up at
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| Shrine supermarket....... |
the Jammee and taken me the wrong way. I suspect that the financial allure of a full load of 14 Chinese ladies who wanted to go north, not just me heading south was just too great for him. Lesson learnt---on next mini-bus trip, I will hold my trusty old analogue compass in hand, until I can verify that we are generally heading in the correct direction. Anyway, all's well that ends well! I arrived in Vientiane safe and sound as the sole passenger of my second, very comfortable minivan. Cannot really complain as all my travel plans, air, hotel and bus have been 100% seamless. The joys of independent travel!
Signed into my pre-booked hotel in central Vientiane on a street lined with a good range of restaurants,
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| Sun shade not rain gear.... |
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