April 13th, 2024.
Why do I put myself in these situations? Is it for the trill? Is it to prove that I can do it? My plan today is to cross the Vietnam border to Laos. I make no plans for the transport, I’ll just show up at the bus station, figure it out. I have no internet on my phone, and I think, “that’s how people use to do it”.
I get to the bus station at 9am. Online, I can’t find concrete information about companies, prices and schedules to get to the border. It’s an adventure, these Vietnamese bus stations.
I get at the ticket area, and there’s a main reception counter. I ask for Lao Bảo, the town bordering Lao on the Vietnamese side. The only bus today leaves at 12:30 pm, and it takes 5 to 6 hours to get to Lao Bảo. The border crossing closes at 6pm. What to do? Before I can think, there’s already a lady that wants me to go with her and wait for the Lao Bảo bus. While I hesitate, the counter lady keeps pointing and that lady and saying “Lao Bảo, Lao Bảo“. I try to think, but she just keeps saying “Lao Bảo“. I ask her a question, but she is fed up with me. “I don’t know”. She doesn’t want to help me. Thank you, and I walk away to look for another counter.
I need to get to Laos, I think, feeling like I need a change of energy from Vietnam. I get to another counter, and this other counter lady calls for the same lady that came for me before. Seem like it’s the only one.
“Hoo, hoo, hoo”, she barks at me to go to the bus, to wait, to get in the bus, to seat in the bus. Please give me a second, I say, but they keep their “hoo, hoo, hoo”. Soon I’ll be in Laos, I think to myself.
I’m close to Lao Bảo, the town for the crossing. It’s going to be 6pm, at which time the border closes for the day. Why do I do this? I’m not entire sure. Maybe it’s to feel alive, to jump into the unknown, knowing that I will have a way to solve whatever happens. It’s a way of reminding myself, I can do this. To push my comfort zone. The border crossing is closed. I walk around town and find a hotel to stay the night.
Tomorrow the adventure continues. I think of what could go wrong, of potential obstacles I will find. But for now, get some proper rest, be ready for tomorrow, you can solve whatever comes your way.
