What I do not know in the early morning - the trip from Chiang Khong to Luang Namptha will be a ride through deep night.
For a month there has been no ferry, no stairs, no more hustle and bustle at the customs post. There is now a wide bridge, guarded by two showy buildings on both sides, through which one is now guided with cold precision.
The fact that the border post is now 10 kilometers outside of Chiang Khong means a massively more expensive tuk-tuk ride at naturally high, non-negotiable prices. And that a lot of people have lost their source of income (except for the tuk-tuk drivers, of course). Well then …
No man's land in Laos
On the Laotian side you find yourself in no man's land, a desert deserted landscape, and in all directions, be it to Houayxai or to the bus station, there is only tuk-tuks as the only means of transport.
A mixed bunch of tourists finally gets on the waiting, very rickety-looking vehicle, which drives us at a roaring pace to the bus station, where according to the trip table the bus to Luang Namptha should leave at 12.30.
A delayed look at the ticket
But think! It will be 13 p.m., then 13.30 p.m., except for us there are surprisingly few locals, which should actually make us suspicious. But there is a lot to talk about, you chat, laugh, exchange experiences, adventures, insights and experiences, some banal, others exciting and surprising.
We go out to eat together, return to the bus station to find everything exactly as before. The person in charge answers my question about the departure time by pointing four fingers, which seems ridiculous to me, because a bus intended for 12.30 simply cannot leave at four! It can, because a somewhat delayed look at the ticket reveals our stupidity. 16.00. Not a minute earlier ...
A Ride in deep Night
Not even a minute later, because the bus, which has been packed to the limit in the meantime, starts exactly around 16.00. It's quickly heading into the mountains, uphill, downhill, bend after bend. A drive through wild country, through light green forests, past fields, huts on stilts and such on the ground.
Not much traffic, the country is so poor that nobody can afford a car. But trucks, sometimes whole convoys, all on their way north, to China. It is probably only a matter of time before the route from Bangkok up to the southern provinces of China will be accessible via a four-lane motorway.
The bus is full, but with a changing line-up, stops in villages or at strange places where someone wants to get on or off.
The hours go by
Darkness descends on the land. It gets quiet in the bus, only the roar of the tormented engine remains as acoustic accompaniment, now and then the cry of a baby, the clank of a cell phone. A peculiar surreal atmosphere that I like so much.
A group of people who couldn't be more different, sitting tightly packed and motionless, some dozing, others gazing into the impenetrable darkness, but apart from the faint light of a house or the flickering chain of lights of a village scurrying by, it remains pitch-black.
Eventually - but contrary to expectations exactly after the specified four hours - we reach Luang Namptha tired, limp, hungry, but what the hell, we're here ...
P.S. Matching Song: Deep Purple - Black Night
And here the journey continues ...
