April 10th, 2024.
The counter lady at the bus station is giving high prices. The same prices I got at my accommodation, but those had a pick-up from the hotel. Counter lady seems kind, but there’s something off about this price. It doesn’t help that she’s talking with a tout outside the counter, who keep pocking me and asking where I’m going.
Kon Tum? Yes. Kon Tum? Yes. Gia Lai? No.
After counter lady gives me the price, the tout just stands there next to me. I cannot think properly like this.
I find a chair away from the tout, but he follows me, pulls my arm (at least gently), and offers me a bus to Gia Lai, with transfer to Kon Tum, for almost the same price as the direct route.
I should have bought it at the hotel, I thought. Could have saved the transport to the station. But these prices don’t make sense. I assume the hotel gets a commission, but why is counter lady giving me the same price? I decide to walk the back of the station to see if there are more counters, make up my mind.
I don’t find any counters, but as I walk by the buses, an older lady sitting next to a van asks me, “Kon Tum?”.
We use Google Translate to get the basic details. Still is challenging. It leaves at 12pm, just 5 minutes from now. How long does it take? She shows me her hand, counting with her fingers. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. I repeat the same motion, but more exaggerated, as to somehow indicate it’s traveling time. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, Kon Tum? She confirms. The price is lower but not that different. Still, I think to myself, I can trust this lady more, sitting calmly by a van, than someone trying to shove me into whatever bus is most convenient / pays more commission. Plus, older ladies always get more trusts points, they just seem more trustworthy.
The van is a 9 seater, comfortable. Lien is the name of the older lady, she is 60 years old. She rides in the back and her husband drives the van. At one point I think she tells me trough Google Translate she has a son similar my age, but the translations are sometimes off. The van carry mostly cargo. They stop to pick up a passenger and get more packages along the way. At one stop, they have to load a one-meter tall gas tank below the passengers seat. The other passenger helps the husband load up the tank. They “lock it” in place with a wood block. I think, if this van makes a sudden stop, this tank might crush my feet. I think about health insurance.
Lien has a mask that matches her hat. When she gets tired of the mask, she hides it under her hat. Not wanting to get sick as on the trip to Buôn Ma Thuột, I take a dizziness pill. That knocks me out completely during most of the trip.
On the way to the center of Kon Tum, they drop me off at my accommodation on the outskirts of town. Still half asleep, I book a room for two nights and rent a motorcycle to do some reconnaissance of the town. The bike’s a semi-automatic, it takes me a while to get the hang of it. Night falls. I feel tired. I buy some groceries and head back.
It’s 9pm, I have a Saigon Lager beer and a Dars dark chocolate bar.
Tomorrow, I’ll be exploring Kon Tum on the motorcycle, see how that changes the experience versus walking.
