The bus to Pan Thiet

Hello fellow travellers,

Before you scroll down for the pretty pictures, let me inform you there is none.

Sorry to dissapoint you but travelling isn't just about the locations and views. It's about the expeirence.

If you like a good story or a bit of a thrill then read on because I'm going to tell you how simply catching a bus was the most intense experience of my life!

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I forgot to mention in my last post that I'd booked into a new hostel. This one was a bit more like the previous hostels back in New Zealand and Australia and actually had other people I could talk to. Lets have a look at the rules.

That's right, you read it correctly. No killing! Well, that's good to know!

No nudie runs...great a party hostel.

Stealing - Well considering the theft stories I heard, it was good to see the hostel take this seriously.

This particular hostel had a rooftop where you could "relax" in the evening, so I went up to look at the view:

Not the most stunning in the world but you can clearly see where the money is. Still, it was a place to view the sunset in the evening.

There were few old men smoking up there which stank so I head down for an early night. Little did I know, I'd need the sleep more than I thought!

The next morning I woke up, had my breakfast, grabbed all my bags and made my way for the bus. This wasn't just a "bus trip" where I'd return the same day. It was a permanent move onwards.

I'd researched the location of where to go the night before so had little trouble getting there. A short 5 minute walk or so, no problem...or so I thought.

It was a relief to see other foreign people there. The floor was modern and shiny like an airport. Inside there were flat screen TV's and professional looking staff. Very touristy..

But then it all went well...different.

The whole time I was there, there was a 15-16 year old smoking a cigarette just causally leaning against the wall. He was wearing worn shorts, an unbuttoned shirt and a white, "wife beater" vest underneath. Basically he looked like a Cuban drug dealer (no offence Cubans)

He walked over to a few people and asked "Bus Pan Thiet?" To which everyone said no...appart from me. Pan Thiet was where I was heading. It's on the east coast of Vietnam, near the bottom.

"Follow me" he said as he threw his cigarette on the floor. He started walking across the road away from the bus station.

I didn't budge.

"Come" he said

"I'm getting the bus" I said

He walked over to me as if he was going to hit me. I slowly put my bag down.

"Bus right?" He said.

"Yes" And I pointed towards everyone else waiting for a bus where we already were.

"I take you, you follow" he said. He was getting frustrated.

"How far?" I asked. I wanted to know roughly how long it would take so I'd know when to kickstart my "self defense" part of my brain.

"5 minute" He said. I agreed and followed him with everything I had. My backpack, my suitecase, all my money, my passport. Everything.

7 or 8 minutes later we arrived at another bus station.

He told me "we're here" and pulled out another cigarette. This time it was different. No TV's, the floor had tarpaulin on it and cracks in the floor. The Google pictures were faded probably because of all the cigerette smoke and the only tourists were Vietnamese or Chinese.

I asked one of them "Pan Thiet?" "Yes" he said. The Chinese tourists looked as confused as I was.

Here's where it got out of control and could of gone badly wrong.

Along came a Green taxi. "Pan Thiet" the driver said. All of us at this spot were going.

Lets just recap. I walked to a bus station to get a bus, then walked to another, now I was getting in a taxi...to get a bus...yeh

They shoved all their luggage and my suitcase in the taxi and as many people as possible. All the Chinese tourists squeezed in but there was no room for me.

Then the taxi just drove off with my suitcase!

Luckily I packed the money and passport in my smaller bag which was on my back.

"What the fuck?" I said watching my bag be driven away from me. At this point I was seriously switched on and angry at the very least.

Another guy pulled up on a motorbike and said "come, we go".

"Go where?" I said trying to hold back my anger.

"Pan Thiet bus" he said.

I felt like I had no had no choice. I could still see the taxi in the distance.

"Ok" I said and climbed on the back. But in my head I thought "If you do anything or take me anywhere I'll snap your neck"

"Follow that taxi" I ordered as if I was in some sort of police action film.

But then the Taxi went straight and we went right.

"Where are you going?" I shouted. He didn't hear me because of helmet, engine and all the traffic.

He was driving fast so I didn't dare let go of the bike. But I was going to get his attention one eay or the other.

I headbutted the back of his helmet with mine, not giving a toss if it was inpolite or not. Afterall I'd already mentally prepared to do some serious harm to him so this was was about as polite as I could get.

He slowed down as I pointed towards the taxi then shouted "it's ok" and accelerated. We nearly got crushed by a truck as we weaved in and out of traffic and then he veered left into an alleyway.

This is it, I thought if he slows down I'm going to do as much damage as I can, steal his bike and get to an airport as quick as possible. My adrelinin was pumping so much I was willing to do it.

But he didn't slow down. I had to hold on due to the speed we were going.

I started thinking of alternatives. I came up with hopping off the back on a red light.

The trouble is a red light in Vietnam doesn't mean stop. It means "you should really make way for the other traffic but go if you think you'll make it"

All these thoughts raced through my mind but then we turned out the alleyway and onto the main road again.

There it was! The taxi with my bag being unloaded and the bus waiting for the remaining passengers! I.e Me!

The relief! Get me off this bike!

I thanked the guy who gave me a lift. He had no idea what I was willing to do to get myself out of there so I just waved and turned to my bag. Someone had already taken it and it was being loaded on the bus.

I made sure I was last on and headed to the back. Where I'd be laying down on a sort of top bunk reclined chair.

It was pretty comfy to be laying down but very weird especially so close to the ceiling. I was sandwiched between two people with two isles either side. It was like being in the worlds smallest passenger plane, but laying down.

I had no idea if there were any stops and if so, how many but it was a 5 hour bus journey so hoped there'd at least be one! That's right, I went through all of that just to lay on a bus for 5 hours!

Luckily I did a bit of food shopping and managed to buy the worlds smallest bananas to keep me going.

Thankfully there was one stop. It was only an hour in so not exactly ideal but I went to the toilet anyway. For some reason we had to wear theses blue flip flops off the bus.

When I finally arrived at the hostel I was surprisingly awake. I'd slept at least an hour on the bus so got some energy back.

That evening I met a some backpackers from all over. This was the first time I'd met other english speaking travelers. Some of which were actually english.

At first we played a bit of pool and then somehow I ended up playing "flip cup" a fun drinking game. I only did one round so got tipsy at best. This was the biggest game of flip cup I've ever played.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/P1sMfbhNdTs2WYhD8

Later on, everyone was heading down to the local bar. I refused at first because I was already tired but after hearing it ws a 5 minute walk I decided to tag along.

After a couple more drinks I decided to start to sober up. While everyone else was getting rediculously drunk I found a bed overlooking the beach. An actual bed, not a deckchair. A bed. Pillows, sheet, duvet the real deal.

So I made myself comfortable and watched the waves.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/PkpbY2ZYJYyh5scr5
It's wierd laying in such a relaxing location with a bar behind you belting out the latest tunes.

As everyone else was wasted and lost, I decided to head back and catch a bit of sleep before the drunken rabble came back. I heard a bit of commotion in the night and in the morning found out that there was a big fight by the swimming pool.

What idiots...

It was time to explore the area...