Bus Ride from Hell

I took the bus from Hanoi to Vientiane despite warnings.

Here are the details of my bus ride from hell:

Tuesday, 5:30 PM-Scheduled time of departure from Hanoi to Vientiane. A taxi picked us up at our guesthouse and took us to a dirt pull-off next to the highway. We waited for the bus until 7:15.

7:30 PM-When we filed on the bus we were ordered to the back because the front was reserved for Vietnamese. As I chose my seat, I noticed that under every one was a package or sack of unknown substances.

2:00 AM-We had already made a couple public urination stops but at this time the bus driver, bus company workers and Vietnamese passengers got off and drank until 5:30 AM.

5:30 AM-Drove to the border with a strong smell of alcohol filling the bus. Immigration did not open until 7:00 AM so we waited 30 minutes.

7:00 AM-Walked through the clusterfuck of Vietnamese/Laos immigration and customs paying a couple extra dollars for "fees" along the way.

8:00 AM-After the first couple of steps on Laos soil, right before we got back on the bus, a severed cow's head greeted us.

10:00 AM-The bus company workers unloaded the unknown packages at an official looking office. We sat around and waited for an hour. Then the driver took us to a shack for lunch; he leaves. We waited around for another two and half hours.

Wednesday, 7:30 PM-We were supposed to arrive in Vientiane at 11 AM. We arrived in Vientiane at 7:30 PM---eight and a half hours later than ETA.