Lao public transit to the Buddha Park

Got up early before we were leaving Laos, walked 10 minutes to the morning market, asked for directions, walked another block and found the bus station. It was chaotic and crowded. I'm not sure if there were more bus passengers or vendors. Found bus number 14 and took a seat. Vendors came on and tried to sell snacks. The bus soon filled up and passengers began to stand in the aisles. The door closed and off we went.

It was sometime between the door closing and the first stop about 2 minutes later when more people crowded on that I began to doubt my decision to take the cheap (6,000 kip each way) public bus option to Xieng Khuan versus spending 160,000 kip for a private tuk-tuk that would wait for me until I was ready to return. Was it worth this hassle to spend only $1.50 instead of $20 for private luxury?  Yeah, because the experience was far more interesting.

I got to see a lot more on the bus and it's stops instead of whizzing by in a private ride. We drove past the BeerLao factory. We pulled into the Friendship Bridge border crossing between Lao and Thailand where most of he other passengers got off because they work in Thailand. I actually got scared the bus was going to cross the border because we were in a tourist bus immigration lane, but veered off at the last minute. After the bridge we went down a potholed dirt road. By the time we got to our destination about an hour later, it was only myself and a Chinese couple left on the bus. I learned the Lao word for "next bus" as I tried to ascertain how long I could spend before heading back into town to get my bags for our flight to Hanoi.

My destination was a place commonly referred to as the Buddha Park. The park was created in 1958 and contains over 200 statues of Buddha and Hindu gods. There is also a giant pumpkin with a demon mouth that one can enter and climb around inside, as well as a giant reclining Buddha.

The park was definitely worth the visit. The riverside location would have been nice to be able to hang out longer, but regardless, I am glad I went. The statues were very photographable, so I will refrain from saying anything more and let them speak for themselves.

Oh, except that I made it back to the hotel with just enough time to throw my stuff in a bag, wash my face and use the toilet before we had to leave for the airport.