Buses and Planes

It's a week of long trips. I left my guesthouse in Luang Prabang at 6am to catch a 6:30 bus. It didn't leave until eight and arrived in Vientiane at five. There, I changed to another bus which drove to the Thai border. I crossed the Friendship Bridge over the Mekong into Thailand and boarded another bus which drove through the night, arriving in Bangkok at 4:30am, some 22 hours after I set out on the journey.

I ate breakfast on Koh San Road, infamous backpacker strip, and then took a taxi to my hotel. By a strange coincidence, I flagged down the same driver who took me from Koh San Road to the airport earlier in the month when I arrived by bus from Ko Phi Phi and flew a few hours later to Phnom Phen. Last time he was on his way, after dropping me at the airport, to vote in the now infamous election. This time I secured an invitation to his family farm northeast of Bangkok.

Another long trip awaits me tonight. I fly in a few hours (departing 3am local time) to New York via Kuwait and London, arriving some 26 hours after taking off.