The happy feeling did not last long though because we had to get into the town center and then get another public bus/shack with wheels for 8 hours to Vang Vieng. When we arrived in town though we realised that all public bus services left in the morning, and we had missed them. Such a shame, I was really looking forward to being treated like transported cattle :)
Not wanting to spend another day in Luang Prabang we found a private minibus company that would take us in the afternoon for just under 10 quid. It was faster too, which meant that we would arrive in about 5 hours. I felt like I was cheating a little by taking this option but the feeling did not last long once I clambered into an ultra posh minibus with leather seats, air conditioning and more space than some hostels we have stayed in.
But the smug feeling did not last long when the bus broke down 1.5 hours away from Vang Vieng.
As we stood in the mountains watching the sun begin to set our driver opened the front of the smoking minibus and said in a very sure tone "overheated, we wait three hours". Our fast and speedy minibus suddenly did not seem like a very good idea.
Our driver did not want to give up on us yet though. He spotted a few passing trucks and waved them down till he eventually found an old man and his daughter driving this.
Which is how we found ourselves hurtling through the dark mountains of Lao on the back edge of a timber truck, in a storm, holding on for dear life and laughing quite a bit on the way.
bx
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