Character building

Well that was one hell of a bus ride that's for sure.  We prepped ourselves really well, went to the minimart and got snacks and drinks. We have bought tickets on a sleeper bus which allows each passenger to stretch out.   Psyched ourselves up for a 22 hour journey but sometimes its all just beyond your control. We got picked up from our hotel at five pm and delivered to the bus station where we had a really rough start. After being rudely manhandled onto a run down cramped bogus bus we were kicked off and hustled over to another bus. Phew, we are rattled but its a much nicer bus and thus we are pleased. We head out of Vientiane,  Laos at 6:30 pm.  There is no bathroom on the bus but it stops from time to time which works out ok (although we were told there would be a toilet). We finally fall asleep on the bouncy, fast bus just after midnight. Around 3:00 am we are jolted awake by the driver braking and desparately fighting to stay on the road.  He has crashed through three orange barriers filled with water at a road construction site and has gone off the road. We hang onto whatever we can as the bus goes off the road and feels like its going to flip. Evacuated out of the drivers window (the door no longer opens) we spend the next five hours on the side of the road huddled around a couple of fires. At daybreak our rescuer arrives, a female passenger has called for help and arranged for an escavator. The bus is chained up and pulled back onto the road.  Minor repairs are made (replace the bumper and change a tire) and we all get back on the bus, minor bumps and bruises but nothing major thankfully.  We continue on our journey hurtling along at the speed of light to make up for lost time. Insane. We arrive in Hue, Vietnam at five pm, the exact time that was quoted to us originally even with the five hour delay. As my buddy Dan Farmer would say, 'Builds character! '

And now we are stoked to be back in Vietnam, totally didn't realize how much we missed it. It's cheaper and the food is way better! Plus we at the beach now and I can eat seafood!!!