Getting There and Around

My cousins Franklin and Tresa McCallie once bragged that they took buses in Beijing. They spoke about the advantage of “traveling with the people” as a way of getting to know the country. Since Franklin is almost as tall as Yao Ming, he also attracted a lot of attention. Well, Franklin and Tresa, Katie and I have a challenge for you.

Ok, you start in Vientiane, Laos, and you have to get to Sukhothai, Thailand, which is on the other side of the country in one day—by ordinary conveyance. This is a challenge for The Amazing Race.

First you have to get to the border and cross the Mekong River, going through customs on the Thailand side. Oh, I forgot to tell you that you have to stop in Nong Khai and pick up the bags and stuff you left there. So now you have 6 bags between you because you added a bag of fabric in Laos and Supijit gave you a bag of dried Kaffir lime leaves.

The bus leaves Nong Khai every hour. It goes as far as Udon Thani, about two hours away. The driver pulls over and lets everyone out, oh well, on the side of the road somewhere. You ask “Sukhothai?” and the driver nods and points.

Beware the pointing finger!

It looks like he is pointing across the street. But there is clearly no bus terminal across the street. You ask someone else,” Sukhothai?” You never know for sure what you are saying and what they are hearing. A tuk-tuk driver acts like he knows what you need and takes all your bags and off you go.

Passing numerous lotus ponds and rice fields, he drops you off at a bus terminal and leaves. Again, you ask “Sukhothai?” More nods and selling of tickets and a pointing finger over there. You sit and wait.

On the way to the bathroom, you discover that the man taking up 3 baht for the toilet speaks English and tells you that the bus leaves in two hours and you are sitting in the wrong place—it’s over there—and he points.

The toilet isn't worth the 3 baht you gave him but you hope his English is. You move. A monk is sitting there, too, under a sign warning not to smoke.

The bus is not a Mercedes bus, but it has AC, curtains, a blanket, and water. You are in for a 6-7 hour ride over the mountains and through a national park. You are right under the TV which is playing the equivalent of Thai Country Music TV. At one point the bus is so full that people are standing in the aisle and someone is sitting on your arm rest. But you are ok with that because you are the one sitting in the seat.

Night comes. The CMT stops. The arm rest is free. Your water bottle is empty and you’ve eaten all of the boiled peanuts and sliced green mango you bought on the way.

At last, the bus comes to a terminal—it’s 11 pm. But you’re not in Sukhothai yet. It’s 60 kilometers away. You have a room in a guest house in Sukhothai waiting for you. It’s pouring rain, thunder and lightning. The next bus to Sukhothai leaves at 1 AM. There’s a taxi driver available who seems a little tipsy and doesn’t speak English. You read in Lonely Planet that there are hotels with “decent” rooms in this town that you know nothing of nor can you see where you are. People are shouting and telling you things in Thai because they can tell you don’t know anything and need their help, but of course they aren’t helping much at all.

What do you do?