Truck Stuck Mud

DSC12130 - Sawngthaew truck stuck in mud (Laos)
Originally uploaded by loupiote (Old Skool)

If you type "truck, stuck, mud" into flickr, the first shots that come up are all from Laos and there is a reason why!

Today we saw a new variation of the truck stuck mud phenomena. Our optimistically named VIP vehicle called King Bus came to a screetching halt about three hours into the journey behind a line of other vehicles which I am estimating represent about half of all vehicles driving around in Laos. In other words, maybe about 15. It turns out we had a double attraction. A giant truck carrying a bulldozer got stuck, which pushed a minivan to try to pass said truck, in turn also getting stuck, balancing near the drop off that begins about 2 feet away from the road and leads down into the rainforest. Nobody was hurt but the clusterfuck of the van and truck were blocking the entire mud bath road. Always clever, the driver of the truck decided to drive the brand spankign new bulldozer off a make shift ramp off his truck to lighten the load. It did not appear that he had ever done such a thing and a took a good hour for him to lift the shovels, play with the engine and work up the courage to go ahead with the plan. With some effort he managed to plunge the bulldozer off the truck, manuever the vehicle through the lake of mud past the truck, attached his own truck and pulled himself out of the mud. In the meantime about 20 people had managed to get the minibus unstuck by vigorously shaking it and simultaniously pushing it away from the drop off that it was hanging out on and within two hours we were back on our merry way to Vang Vien.

I was upset that unlike the way one would expect it in India no little lady had set up a sandwich or curry stand to capitalize off the gauking crowds, tourists and locals alike.

Minus some AC drip in the latter part of the ride and having the dubious honor to sit bitch in the last row on what is known to be a motion sickness inducing road, we have no complaints or accidents to report.

Vang Vien is rich in so called "happy" shakes, "happy" pizzas (and no they don't mean extra pineapple) and other "poppy seed" infused items. Given my big plan for tubing tomorrow I may have to pass. Girl's got to get her priorities straight and I hear Laon jails aren't so hot, or rather they are pretty hot but not so well equipped with food and things like that.