no rae bus

About a year ago, we went on a nice free tour to the capital of the ancient Baekje kingdom in Korea. The only reason I mention it is because they had this contraption rigged up on the bus with a microphone and soundsystem. Everyone was encouraged to get up in front of the entire bus and give a speech. I'm not sure why, I'm not sure what about, but before I knew it, Taylor was shoving me towards the front of the bus to say my piece (she suspiciously never got up there herself). The only reason I mention this whole microphone bus situation is because it caused me to consider the idea of a No Rae Bus (Karaoke Bus). I think this kind of thing could really take off in Korea, especially considering the fact our ferry from Korea to China had a No Rae Bang on it.

Anyway, our bus yesterday between the provincial capital of Savannakhet in southern Laos up to the capital of the country, Vientiane, showed karaoke videos for the duration of the 10 hour journey. There was not, in fact, a microphone for people to sing with, but that didn't stop the teenage girl across the aisle from singing along with nearly every song. The bus soundsystem was severe, so strong that it made listening to your own music on headphones basically pointless because you always had those Laos/Thai(?) pop melodies sneaking in the holes and gaps in your headphones and leaking into any moment of relative quiet. The music here in Laos is thankfully much better than in Vietnam or China, with some "rock", but mostly just a little more funky on the pop songs. The karoake videos that showed behind the song lyrics were bizarre and hilarious. Often looking like high school film projects, they were a little rough, and usually showed some kind of story interspersed with shots of the artist and some ladies dancing awkwardly and superimposed over abstract psychadelic backgrounds. My favorite video portrayed a sketchy looking group of dudes pounding Beer Laos, paying for their tab with a gold necklace, and then the head guy taking off with one girl, and then switching her for another.

Well, the purpose of this post wasn't entirely to fill everybody in on the on-bus entertainment of one particular bus, but more a primer on our experience in Laos. First, most notable difference between Laos and Vietnam: pick-up trucks. In Vietnam, there aren't really even cars, just thousands upon thousands of motorbikes that are cruising and buzzing through any populated area at all hours of daylight (not so much at night). In Laos, there are still motorbikes, but many, many more pick-ups. Mostly bright, shiny new four-door Toyotas. This is a little confusing, because in most other respects Laos seems to be overall less affluent than Vietnam. In Laos, there is neither hustle nor bustle. The towns and cities are small, the pace of life slow. It is hot, and seems dusty and dry, though the stickiness of my skin at any time day or night will attest to the humidity. The dogs here look like they are made from mis-matched parts, with large heads and faces, long, strong bodies, all riding on ridiculously short legs. There is only one brand of beer in Laos (called: Beer Laos), and it is hands down the most delicious we have encountered on our trip.

Transportation in Laos makes me feel a little bit more like we're back on the real dirty, gritty, good travelling circuit. In Vietnam, there were just a few too many tourist buses full of backpackers for my liking. Crossing the border into Laos, we immediately had to walk 1km to the next town to meet our bus, which turned to be basically a straight-up Guatemalan chicken bus sans dashboard danglers and Jesus decals. We're talking old school bus, random agricultural products stacked and strapped to the top, back, middle of the bus, and food vendors coming in at stops hawking sticks of fried grasshoppers and suspiciously canine looking hindquarters. Sure, the air conditioning is more comfortable than the breezy broken window, sure the backpackers didn't chain smoke cigs the whole time, sure the metal bar right in the middle of my lower back wasn't the best, but this bus had flavor. Needless to say, our No Rae Bus was a little more luxurious than the chicken bus, but they still did bust out the plastic stools to set in the aisle when all the seats were taken. The tuk-tuks (taxis) here really draw comparision to Guatemalan transport. These puppies are decked out in colorful murals and paintings. They are also the burliest tuk-tuks I've ever seen, with grumbling diesel engines, wide plank seating for up to six people, twelve chickens, two 50 kg bags of rice, three backpacks and one guitar. Sometimes the tuk-tuk isn't even a three wheeled motorcycle at all, but just a truck with benches in the back.

The scenery from my seat in the No Rae Bus was spectacular. We started off in mostly flat country, travelling past small villages of bamboo houses on stilts. Under the houses were usually a hamock, motorbike, family of pigs, or family of humans taking refuge out of the sun. The forest here in truly majestic, with big, tall, rainforest trees straight out of National Geographic. The areas where the fields are cut into the forest only help to throw contrast onto the size and power of the trees. As we moved further north, the land began to rise up in sharp and sometimes quite tall hills and mountains, mostly off in the distance, dancing around on the hazy horizon. Staying in Savannakhet was our first meeting with the mighty Mekong, which is a strong and powerful river indeed. Vientiane is small, quiet, and lacking any buildings taller than three stories. It took Taylor and I about 35 minutes to walk from the river and center of town to the outskirts today, where those stilted bamboo houses were creeping back in. For all it's smallness, there is a very happening and cool vibe to the central city area. There is also a huge Arc de Triumph (sp?) inspired arch that is wildly out of place.