What a shit!

The stomach problems were still not gone. However, since there was a 12-hour bus ride ahead, I took some medication first. Departure was scheduled for 12 o'clock. However, there was no one to be seen where I bought my ticket. Well, as I said, I have a ticket and a bus will come. Two hours passed without anything happening. To my poor physical condition, now bad mood was added. Finally, at 4 o'clock the 'bus' arrived. It was a minivan, in which in Germany a maximum of 7 people would have fit. In Laos, 16(!) people fit in there, including two seats on beer crates in the aisle. I was supposed to sit on one of those two... I asked politely but firmly if everything was okay otherwise!? I can't sit in the normal seats because of my relatively long legs. In the end, someone else had to switch with me. Well, it didn't get any better, the track consisted of 10% asphalt, 10% gravel and 80% potholes. It was really the worst ride of my life so far. Because of the defective shock absorbers, my back hurt so much after an hour that I had to take a painkiller and I'm really not a wimp when it comes to that.

The good thing was that we arrived at our destination at 2 o'clock and the whole torture only lasted 10 instead of 12 hours. What a day, in between I could have really jumped at the driver's throat, luckily no one talked to me.

I had some space for the last 2 hours.

The next day the world looked completely different, thank god. Unfortunately, my visa for Vietnam was not yet here and I had to stay one more night in Sam Neua. After seeing everything worth seeing within 3 hours, I continued to recuperate for the rest of the day.

Since very very few tourists arrive here, I had a few nice encounters with some Laotians in the evening. The most interesting one was definitely at dinner, when I was called to the table of a small group, but no one could speak English there and nobody could or wanted to understand the Google Translator either. So it remained with thumbs up or down when it came to the food and a few more attempts to explain to the other person what you want.

The next stop was Vieng Xai, a small village where most of the Laotian resistance fighters hid from the attacks of the Americans during the Vietnam War. Already on arrival I was addressed in English by several children on the way to the hotel. Partly the sentences were memorized, partly one could surprisingly communicate quite well. Hey, what’s going on here? 30 km before, it was even difficult to communicate in the tourist information! Well, anyway. The three young people took me for a ride through the city on their scooter. When my tour of the caves started, we made another appointment for the evening.

The tour was quite 'expensive', but for 8€ you got a bicycle (well, at least something with two wheels attached) and a 4-hour tour. Again, it was the Americans who caused suffering to an entire country, and the Americans always get off too easily for my taste. But those who know me know about my antipathy. Just a few short facts on the side:

- The USA dropped 2000 tons of bombs per Laotian inhabitant over Laos.

- That was 2 million US dollars per day!

- During the war, the Laotians could not keep any animals, as American pilots were on the lookout for animals and bombed the corresponding regions.

- Caves were used as workshops, cinemas, hospitals, homes or government seats.

- There is an agreement to remove unexploded ordnance. Over 90 countries have signed it, the USA hasn't...

- Currently, one person in Laos dies every day from a bomb from the Vietnam War (at the time the audio guide for the tour was recorded). In Muang Ngoy, I heard two loud detonations. I had never heard anything like it before, even the locals were alarmed and moved out of their houses. We were told that it was either a defusal or an accident. I didn't find out or hear about it.

Everyone knows the Vietnam War, almost the same thing happened in Laos, you can find some interesting documentaries about it on YouTube.

In the evening, as mentioned before, I met the young people again. They drove me around and patiently fulfilled all the photo requests.

Afterwards, the three of them wanted to show me their school. What happened then is hard to put into words. About 150 children go to this school to learn English during the school holidays. For 40€, the children are taught English here for 2 hours a day, for 3 weeks. For families from the village, 40€ is a lot of money by the way. The children sleep in large dormitories (15-20 beds per room) and have to take care of themselves completely. That means that the 8-year-olds have to cook their own meals and do their laundry just like their 18-year-old classmates. It's incredible how independent and curious the children are here. As already mentioned, the teacher only teaches the students for 2 hours a day in different classes. After that, the children are on their own for the rest of the day. Most children learn for the rest of the day, play football or prepare meals.

After my arrival, a huge crowd formed around me and I was asked about my name, my origin and my job about 100 times. Then I got to know Brong, the teacher of the children, and was allowed to sit with him in class right away. Of course, up front, then the children were allowed to ask questions one by one and I spent another hour telling each child my name, where I come from and what my job is (the whole thing was live streamed on Facebook). In the evening, I was invited to dinner. I also agreed to stay for two more days to learn English with the children.

The next morning, Brong picked me up at 7 o'clock at the hotel. Then I talked to the students in the advanced class, which surprisingly was no problem at all. Basically, there are three levels, beginners, intermediate and advanced. At noon, I went with the students to a viewpoint, of course I paid the entrance fee, 50 cents per person...

At the viewpoint, you could have photos taken and have them printed on the spot. One student really wanted to have his photo taken, okay no problem. But what happened afterwards was more than uncomfortable for me. He had the photo printed out, bought a golden frame for it and was visibly proud. Unbelievable and a very strange feeling.

In between, we cooked together and in the evening I read with some students. The whole thing is hard to describe and I think the pictures can tell the story better.

The next day, I reluctantly went to the bus, as my visa for Laos had expired. Again, it was a strange feeling when more than 100 children waved goodbye. In the end, I would have liked to stay longer, would have liked to show the children more or spend time with them.

Bus riding in Laos seems to be a bad omen for me. Actually, I was expecting a relaxed bus ride, but the curvy route didn't agree with my seatmate. So I just saw out of the corner of my eye how he vomited into a small bag. With the temperatures and the stuffy air, I had expected something worse, but luckily it didn't smell. There was no more sleep after that and when the guy missed the bag, I was wide awake and ready to jump on someone's lap at any time.

Well, somehow I arrived in Hanoi and hope that the bus rides here will be a bit more relaxed. For the next few days, I will just go with the flow here, take care of a few things and enjoy freshly tapped beer for 19(!) cents.