Sheridan’s Blog

So we left Chiang Mai, heading for Laos. There are several border crossings into Laos, both overland and by air. Since we were approaching from the Northern area of Thailand, our best bet was road transport to the river (Mekong), then ferry across to the Laos side, then slow boat south into Laos. It sounds simple enough. We had read up on this venture months ago, and were actually planning on working this all out ourselves. It might seem simple, but when you factor in the lack of Thai/Lao we speak, and the hassle of exchanging various currencies (Laos operates in Thai Baht, US dollars, Lao Kip and some places even accept Euro), when we saw our hostel in Chiang Mai advertising a package tour that sorts it all out for you, we took it. It may or may not have worked out marginally more expensive, but it takes the stress out of it. The whole deal includes: 5-6 hour bus ride to Chiang Khong (border town), accommodation at said town including dinner, breakfast and a packed lunch the next day; transport to the pier, ferry ride across to the Laos side, Laos visa, and then 6 hour slow boat ride down the Mekong to Pak Beng (overnight accommodation at our own cost), and then another 8 hours on the ferry boat to Luang Prabang.
So to begin we get into this air-conditioned mini-bus around noon in Chiang Mai. It seats nine people, but logically really only has room for 6 or 7 if they are carrying luggage (which most of us were). So with our 7 people, 2 from Israel, 2 from Sweden and one from Holland, we set off
for the Thai border town of Chiang Khong. The little bus made a few stops along the way, and we loaded up on snacks, such as dried mango and other sugary treats. We arrived in Chiang Khong in the evening after a 5 or 6 hour trip through windy and steep roads. I don’t think the bus had any shock absorbers fitted, and some of the roads near the end were not in good condition. They probably weren’t actually roads, but areas where less things grew.
The included meals were all garbage, so we ended up eating elsewhere. The staff at the guest house were pretty crazy – this lady kept trying to sell us ‘visas’ for Laos, trying to make a few baht. I don’t think anyone took her up on her offer. And strangely enough, we all cleared the border within about half and hour and with no fuss, despite her warnings of a three hour wait. The guy at the Laos side was fantastic, telling us all how to fill in the forms and checking them, etc. He had obviously been in his job a long time. Then we got on the boat. There’s no special gang-way thing to walk up – it’s basically a plank of wood that you wander up to get on the boat. It’s not far to go, nor is it difficult, it’s just that when you’re carrying a third of your body weight on your back, one false move and it’s all over. Having said that, I didn’t see anyone go into the river. The seats on the boat were small wooden bench seats. We had purchased some cushions to assist us, and these came in handy. 6 hours felt a bit like 6 days at some stages. We arrived at PakBeng and headed to one of the first guesthouses. By this time it was pretty much dark. The guesthouse had no hot water, and no electricity after 6pm. It was quite a difference compared to where we had come from. It also makes getting up in the night and going to the toilet a bit of an extreme sport. Although the toilet was of the western variety, there is never any toilet paper (I’m a toilet princess – I need the paper), and the floor is perpetually wet as the shower doesn’t have a recess – it’s just over the floor and everything gets wet. And taps tend to drip. So you need to locate your shoes and then put them on before entering the bathroom, otherwise stand in an inch of cold water (hopefully water, anyway). Despite this, Pak Beng was a quaint little place. We stocked up on toilet paper (none on the boat, either) and food for the boat ride early the next morning. And then it was back onto the boat for the rest of the trip. Seats were marginally smaller this time.
Around 4.30pm we arrived in Luang Prabang. Finally. It wasn’t an unpleasant trip, it was just long. After a few false starts, we located a guest house that had hot water and a private bathroom (handy when your stomach is not dealing with the food changes all that well).

Luang Prabang has several French influences, namely because the French once had power over this region. A lot of the architecture is French, and French is spoken by some of the people. There are also a lot of handicraft markets, which is just fantastic. As in Pak Beng, nearly everyone you walk past may or may not like to sell you drugs, although there doesn’t appear to be a drug problem in town (I’ve been here less than 24 hours, what would I know?)
The other interesting thing is the currency: a can of Coke is around 9,000kip. A night’s accommodation is around 10,000kip. Food seems expensive in comparison to accommodation, perhaps due to the ridiculous amount of guesthouses in the area. And when you go out for a meal, you get this crazy bill that says something like 68,000kip. And you have to count it all out. And now there’s a parade coming down the street outside. But back to the cash – we exchanged a small amount when we got here, and we got a million kip. We were instant millionaires, it was insane.
Tomorrow morning we are getting the chicken bus (public bus which may have chickens or goats in it) to Vang Vieng. If we’re lucky, we may get to ride on the roof of the bus. It’s a 6 hour journey through windy and bumpy roads. I hope I don’t fall off the roof.
The national sport in Vang Vieng is tubing – riding a massive inflatable tractor tube down the Mekong river. We’re going to give this a go.

Today we went into a small mini-bus, which in turn went South, towards the Don Inathon (?) national park. The driving in Thailand is quite different to that in Australia. There is a lot more flexibility. It’s definitely an experience, and Tim has suggested we sit towards the back of the next vehicle we get into, so as to avoid seeing just how close our vehicle gets to the one in front, behind or beside. I think this might be a good idea. They have lines on the road, but driving on them/across them, minus the act of indicating or head-checking seems to be the norm here. I guess I’m not really one to criticise since I don’t come from here – so I’ll leave it up to them to do the driving.
We made it safely to our first stop, which was a waterfall. Our guide was most useful in answering questions and providing information about what/where/etc. Continuing further up the peak, we stopped at a pair of pagodas, created especially for the king on his 60th birthday (he turns 80 next month – happy birthday king). There was also a pagoda for the queen. We were warned that it would be cooler up on the mountain, and in hindsight it is a warning I should have paid a bit more attention to (15 degrees). They seem to be consistently up-grading or reconstructing the wats or other such type buildings, which is logical since many of them date back to 1600s or before. There also seems to be a lot of donation boxes around (probably helps fund said restorations), which is similar to many other churches elsewhere (Rome, London, Melbourne…) For some reason I had the thought that this was exclusive to religions other than Buddhism, but apparently not. Funny little paradox, given that one of the mainstays for Buddhists is the acknowledgement of the present as the ONLY time (they live in the now and don’t really have much time for the past or the future). But since we all live in a world where things come and go and fall apart, I suppose someone has to think about the maintenance of their sacred places. I have very limited knowledge of Buddhism, so I need further information. Like many religions, it has it’s loopholes, and if it is something people wish to believe in, and it provides them with something useful, then who am I to judge it, or them, for that matter?
We then went on to the highest point (or the highest sign which says it’s the highest point) in Thailand. It’s cold up there too, but the visibility was a bit better than a few hundred feet below (at the pagodas). There’s some nice walking trails around, and also a bit of information about the plants and animals native to the area. Strangely enough, one of their ‘rare’ plants, the rhododendron, grows freely in Australia but only up in the hills in Thailand, where it’s cool enough for it to not be burnt to ash by the sun or wilt from the humidity. Their other ‘common’ plants were of slightly more interest to me. On the way down the hill, we had a nice lunch (organised by the tour operator) consisting of vegetables, rice, fruit and fish. It was pretty good. Thailand is a great place to get a whole big plate of vegetables with rice. And since that’s mainly all we eat, it suits our needs perfectly. After lunch we visited another, bigger waterfall. We could only walk about half way up, but it was stunning nonetheless. Then we headed next door to witness the flowers (looking like chrysanthemums) which the tribes grow instead of opium. There used to be a lot more opium grown about the place, but since the 1950s (I think), due to political and public health reasons (or because of political reasons masquerading as public health reasons), the farmers were not allowed to grow it as such. According to our guide, the king has stepped in to help in recent decades, attempting to provide an alternative way of life for these people, and educating them in the growing of other crops, hence the flowers. The flowers are send to Bangkok, and possibly even further away, to sell.
We then visited a village of the Karen tribe. They had a little hut where some ladies sat weaving mats/scarves/etc, for the tourists to see. We had a bit of shopping and a bit of a watch of the weaving process, before the guide took us outside to see how they live. This was a bit weird. They were in their homes, cooking their lunch, etc, and we’re just standing there watching them. Some guy was taking multiple pictures of them without gaining their permission. It felt a little bit weird. I’m sure they are accustomed to it, and it probably brings money into their community, but it was still a little bit uneasy. I’m not sure I’d be all that cool with tourists coming up and watching me while I go about my business. Maybe there’s more to it, I don’t know…
Tomorrow we get on another mini bus (sitting nearer the back, perhaps) heading for Chiang Rai. From there it’s to the Laos border, and then a 2-day slow boat down the river to Luang Prabang. This is most likely the section of our trip that will lead us a long way from the civilisation we are used to, so it will be very interesting.

Arrived in Chiang Mai on the train. We got 2nd class seats on the train (a step up for us), even though it’s not much different from 3rd class. I think they keep the chickens back there or something. When we got outside the train station, Tim went into hard-core negotiating mode, and demanded a ride to our hostel (about 2-3km away) for 40B. The driver tried (quite lamely) to go for 50B, but Tim would have none of it. Soon we were lounging back in the little van-thing with bench seats in the back on our way to the hostel. For 40B. The hostel here is pretty nice. Has a big room with a bathroom and air-con, which is great. Free internet as well. The guy who runs the place (Sunny), is a library of information on the area and such. There are so many tours running out of Chiang Mai, being close to borders on both sides (Myanmar to the West, Laos to the East) as well as national parks and other adventurous things. Tour operators abound here. After checking in, we spent a bit of time wandering about in the streets, which featured markets here and there, as well as the odd parade going by, sometimes monks, sometimes kids.
The following day, we toured the local area to check out the temples/wats. They are constructed a little differently here due to a Burmese influence. We also stopped by th epost office to send presents home. It’s interesting trying to communicate the intricacies of post here. The postal workers spoke a little English anyway, making it much easier, but I daresay we will return home a lot better at charades. Each evening there is a massive night bazaar just a few blocks away, so we went and checked that out in the evening. It’s pretty big, and much cheaper than Bangkok. We have booked a tour into the Don Inathnon (not sure if that’s how it’s spelt) national park tomorrow, including a few waterfalls and some pagodas and other things. Should be good.

Today we played golf. It was hot. I am bad at golf. Tomorrow we head off for Chiang Mai on the train.

We decided it might be time to get out of Bangkok.  It’s a very hot, hazy and polluted place, as well as quite busy.  It can make the unaccustomed amongst us a little edgy and intolerable.  While I like the big cities as much as the next person, I am amazed at how quickly the nerves are frayed from the frequent badgering to do this and that. Bangkok is a city where the cabs hail the passengers.  You can barely walk 3 steps without some guy asking you where you’re going and if you want a ride.  I’m sure I’d get used to it, and probably even begin to utilise this, but when you speak no Thai and have very little idea where you actually want/need to go, it can get a little annoying.  You also can’t walk 3 steps without coming across a dog.  They’re just everywhere – hanging out in the street, at the street vendors, crossing the road, laying on the nature strip, etc.  There must be 3 dogs to each person or something.  At least they seem friendy (both the dogs and people). We caught an early morning train to Ayutthaya, which is about 2 hours or so north of Bangkok.  It gave us a chance to experience peak hour, Bangkok style.  Thank goodness for air-conditioning.  That done, we waited for the train to Ayutthaya.  The staff at the Bangkok railway station are extremely useful.  They have this gang of English-speaking staff who accost any westerner and see what they need, thus preventing the queue for booking a train from becoming unmanageable.  We found it exceptionally helpful.  They even tell you which train will be quickest (although the timetable we had kind of worked that out for us).  Anyway, the train was supposed to depart around 8.20, however, after a 20 minute wait, and then stopping regularly every 10 minutes, we eventually made it to Ayutthaya, which is a very cool place.  It’s population is much less than Bangkok, although you still get bombarded by the tuk-tuk drivers as soon as you step off the train.  I am simply unable to think clearly and make any kind of informed decision ater jumping (sweatily) off a train carrying a 20-kg pack.  Luckily, Tim had checked it all out, and we decided to hire a tuk-tuk driver for the day (3-5 hours, anyway) to drive us around to the main sites and help us out.  It’s really very good idea – he knows where to go, he drops you right at the entrance, tells you how much it costs (if anything) and then waits for you to return before taking you on to the next attraction.  All for 200 baht an hour, which is probably fairly reasonable.  It’s definitely not the cheapest way, but since the attractions are fairly spread out and it was a warmish day, it was the only way to go.  We visited several (maybe 6 or 7) temples, and took an abundance of pictures.  We also had a great lunch courtesy of our driver, who we asked to take us somewhere nice. He took us to a street vendor (possibly his mother’s!) where we had a really nice pad thai.  And it was probaby the best and cheapest we’ve had so far.  We have avoided eating from the street vendors thus far as we’re not entirely clear on how to communicate to them that we don’t eat meat, and since there’s no menu or price list, it’s kind of hard to tell them what you want.  But the driver helped us out on this occasion.

After lunch, it was a few more sites and then time to say goodbye and thanks to him.  Plus he had a cool goatee.  We then headed out to find some internet to obtain directions to our next hostel, since we were leaving for Lampang that evening.  We also dropped into the local tourist haunt (Tony’s Place) for a quick bite before catching the 9pm-ish train.  This is an overnight train, running all the way to Chiang Mai, I believe.  The conductors are very valuable – they wake you up and advise you which station to get off at.  Useful considering most of the signs are in Thai and we wouldn’t have any idea where to get off since the trains don’t really run on time.  We got off in Lampang pretty much on-time, and awaited our host from the guesthouse, who was to pick us up and transport us to his place.  The guesthouse is about a 10-minute drive from Lampang, and is a virtual palace.  We were simply blown away when we saw the room.  It’s 5* type stuff: the room is massive, the bed is the size of Texas, and they do all their own meals and provide tours at  very reasonable price.  When we arrived, they had a full-on breakfast prepared for us, and were most accommodating in every way.  The place is run by a couple, the wife is Thai and the husband is originally from Alaska, USA.  Themselves and their staff all speak a good amont of English.  We spent the rest of the day mainly chilling out, going fro a brief walk in the forest, watching some Thai TV (ie – sleeping on the couch in front of the TV) and then having dinner with the other guests (from Germany).  The it was an early night in the massive bed.  I practically had to get up, put my shoes on and walk for a good 20 minutes to reach Tim on the other side of the bed. It’s simply that huge.
The next day, we went out to the Elephant Conservation place, about an hour away. Our host drives us around in air-conditioned Honda /comfort. We watched the elephants bathe and splash all over the place/each other/anyone in the vicinity, then they performed a show, which involved lifting things, playing instruments and drwaing pictures.  Smart elephants.  Them we went for a brief elephant ride.  It’s pretty bumpy up there, not much risk of falling asleep.  The place was packed with young childre, most of whom were on school tours.  Many of them like to try out their English skills, so you nearly always get a ‘hello’ or some other simple words.  They are pretty funny.  We ran into a group of kids and their English teacher, and she stopped to chat with us (and with her students) and we all had a brief chat.  You could tell the kids were pretty pumped to practice their English skills. Then it was back to base for a small break before hitting the golf course.  Literally.  Having not really played golf before (well, not seriously) I tore up the course pretty badly.  And I think we’re going to do it again tomorrow.  It’s so inexpensive that for the 3 of us playing, we only had one set of clubs, so we got 4 caddys – one to take care of the clubs, and one each to hold our drinks.  It might sound nasty, but they were clearly having a blast as well (even the beer caddys), and they got paid for it, plus tips, so I daresay they’ll be there tomorrow. Apparently the next-door neighbour passed away here a few nights ago, so each evening there is quite loud music and chanting coming from next door to celebrate the departed’s life, and so on.  They all get right into it.  Apparently it goes for 3 or so days.  Then there’s a wedding…

It’s quite warm here so the motivation to write (or do anything, really) is quite low.  Yesterday we went to the zoo.  It was a nice day (ie deceptively warm) and this zoo was probably one of the best I have been to.  The grounds are set out in more of a botanical garden style, which is nice, and there are many places to stop and sit and have something to eat/drink etc.  They also have quite a variety of animals, considering the climate here.  There were penguins (from South America, apparently), bears, kangaroos and wombats.  What struck me as most odd was that in the majority of exhibits we came across, the animals seemed to approach us.  It’s like they thought they were visiting the human zoo, and they nearly all came right up to the fence/wall to have a look at the people.  Strange.

That afternoon was spent laying around, mainly due to the heat.  We may have ventured out for dinner later on, heat exhaustion has made me forget some meals.

The next day we decided to head into town to the river to have a mosey about.  The public transport system goes pretty much north and south but not actually into the parts of town (ie – the centre) we desired to visit.  So we caught the Skytrain, then the Metro and then the riverboat into town.  It was a bit of a hazy day, so the weather was warm but not scorching.  In our search for Khao San Rd, we got sidetracked by some tuk-tuk drivers (obviously working as a team to out-smart us), and had a slight detour of 3-4 hours.  Nonetheless, we made dinner in Khao San Rd, albeit both crabbier than intended.  The heat and lack of control over the situation (combined with lack of communication skills) makes everything that little bit more challenging.  But we made it back to the hostel in time to pack for tomorrow’s journey to Ayutthaya (and to meet a nice American chappie by the name of Russ.  By George, those Americans can talk…)

After a good night’s sleep, we got up early to explore the area.  It’s always fun trying to do so when you speak none of the national language.  Makes things much more fun.  Anyway, the weather was at a very stable warm/hot arrangement, and we headed off for the biggest outdoor market in the area, a bit north of where we are staying.  This place was massive, and you can get nearly anything there.  On offer, we saw – ferrets, squirrels (!), turtles and tortoises, an assortment of birds and cats and dogs.  Plus heaps of fish (in both an alive and dead format).  There was no real hassling or consistent badgering when you went near a stall, which was nice.  From there, we headed into town a bit more and had some lunch, before moving onto one of the temples on the old town area.  This place, also massive, contained a very ornate temple with a reclining buddha.  Naturally it was packed out, tourists and cameras everywhere.  And I don’t even think it’s one of the main ones.  Exhaustion prevented us from going to the next, bigger temple, having walked for over an hour to get there (and facing the same type of walk back to the station).  They have both Skyrail and Metro here (plus several buses), and I think the ticketing is diffeent for each one.  For the Skyrail, we got these Smart card things that you purchase and then top-up with funds when necessary.  Not being able to read or understand Thai, I don’t know if this is the best value option, since it seems to charge on a per-trip basis.  It may be better to get a daily pass if we know we’re going to be using it a lot in the one day.  It’s nicely air-conditioned and spacious.  The Metro, also air-con and also spacious, has a unique ticketing system.  We went to the ticket machine (and selected ‘English’ from the language list) and purchased a ‘token’ for the trip we were to make.  It wants to know where you are going, and then quotes you the price and, should you accept, takes your money and spits out a token, which is very similar to a button, minus the holes.  And it probably has a whole lot more going on inside it than your average button.  So you wander up to the gate and then ‘tap’ your button on the sensor and it lets you in.  As you get off the train at the conclusion of your journey, it askes for your token, you drop it into the slot and it permits you out of the station.  Weird. 

Tomorrow we’ll be checking out the zoo perhaps, or maybe the larger temple in the old town.  We’re here for a few days so there’s not really any need to rush.  On another note, I am so itchy I could take all my clothes off and rub against a very abrasive surface.  It was like this in London so I assumed it must have had something to do with the hardness of the water, but it seems to have travelled with me.  On top of it, we now have mosquito bites to contend with.  If anyone knows of a good remedy for excessively itchy skin, please hit ‘comment’ at the base of this post and tell me (I won’t publish it if you don’t want!).  I should be able to get my hands on nearly anything here – they still have all the normal shops.  Help me!

After a mammoth flight/flights, we have finally reached Bangkok.  The
flight from New York to London was mainly uneventful.  Remembering the
flight to New York, and how there was hardly any food, I stocked up and
had some chips/candy on hand to combat starvation and malnutrition.  
6 or 7 horus flies by when you’re tired and there’s nothing good on tv.  It was a bit sad leaving New York – I could have easily stayed there for another week or more.  There’s so
much to see and explore, although my digestive system was done no favours by my eating choices.  I can see why it might be easy to become overweight/obese in the US.  
When we finally got onto the aircraft, we were both dismayed to discover the in-flight entertainment system was yet another step down from our previous flight – no personal entertainment system.  At all.  No games, no tv.  Radio though, even if it was mainly in Thai.  The food/service was phenomenal – these people really go out of their way to
make you comfortable.  Every 20 minutes or so there was someone delivering water, juice or soda, and the hot towels were flying about too.  Might I say that even though we had no ‘personal’ tv screens/etc, I found the flight one of the most comfortable and professional I have encountered.  The landing was so soft and controlled that I barely noticed it had occurred, and our flight arrived quite a bit ahead of it’s scheduled time.  Thai Airways rock.   I managed a little sleep on the flight, and tried to make the most of it by killing time reading and watching the main tv screen.  Upon leaving the terminal in Bangkok, Tim and I discarded our ‘sweats’ or ‘jerseys’ (jumpers) into a nearby rubbish can.  Some guy however, was all ‘no, no…’ and he took it from Tim and began to put it on.  So I handed over mine and these guys were as happy as could be.   If only I had more clothing to give away, since it goes down so well here.
So we grabbed a taxi to what we thought was our hostel.  It wasn’t.  So we got another taxi to the correct hostel, which was considerably nicer than the first one anyway.  Since it was about 7am, check-in wasn’t until the afternoon, so we hung (and are still ‘hanging’
as I type this) on the roof terrace until we can get to our room.  We’ll
probably try to get a bit of a sleep in before going out to get some food.

Tim and I parted company for a good part of the last day, which is understandable, given that we had been living in each other’s presence 24/7 for a good while.  I took this oportunity to partake in some retail therapy and then back to the ice-skating rink to perfect my falling-down-in-public skills.  I managed to book a coach for the hour to give me some pointers on looking slightly less like a helicopter going down atop a mountain range.  Turns out I was doing pretty well in comparison to your brand new skater anyway.  And I didn’t fall over once.  I was hardly attempting any pirouettes, though.

Ice1

We caught a bus to the airport.  Luckily we got one earlier than we needed, since the usual 40-minute journey took about 2 hours.  New York was giving us a traffic jam as a goodbye present.  Remarkably, we made it through customs and immigration very quickly, and then wandered about for a bit before boarding the flight.  The in-flight entertainment system was a step down from the previous flight, which meant no games (but still the first season of Ugly Betty).  We were hoping the flight would land as scheduled, or early, as we only had a few hours to get off, go through security and customs/immigration, get our bags and re-check-in for our Bangkok flight.  With the notorious reputation Heathrow has for long queues and just general poor efficiency, it was a relief when the flight landed on time.   It was also a relief to check in to the Bangkok flight early.  A 3 or 4 hour wait ensued, while we tried to sleep and eat.  Then it was time for the next plane.  At this stage, I was beginning to lose track of what day it was, and indeed what time my body thought it might be.

New York is exciting enough as it is, but I had made plans to visit
Washington DC, since it’s fairly close to NY (about 4.5 hrs on a bus)
and it’s an opportunity to check out the White House, Capitol Building,
etc.  So we booked a bus, but due to ‘logistical’ problems, missed it. 
So we booked another one and went there an hour later.  No point in not
going since we already had a return ticket and hostel reservation.  The
guy on the Greyhound bus had the coolest accent ever.  He kept us
entertained for a good portion of the trip.  It was late afternoon when
we got there, so we quickly walked into the main town area to take some
snaps of the touristy sites.  It quickly got dark (and very, very cold)
so we headed back to the hostel for a very early night (around 8pm) in
anticipation of an early start the next day.  We got up in time for the
hostel breakfast, consisting of weird bagel-type things, cereal, fruit
salad, etc.  It costs $2, and you apparently have to get everything from
the buffet the FIRST TIME AROUND, otherwise if you go back in for
seconds you have to pay $2 again.  Several people had trouble with this
concept, which we found most hilarious.  Then we hit the town.  I have
to say that the pace in DC was quite slow.  I guess it’s not really
supposed to be a tourist place – it’s more of a business place, and the
vibe it put out reflected this.  We picked 2 of the many things there
are to see and went and did them. The first was the zoo, which, being
part of the Smithsonian Institute, was free (!)  It’s always better when
this is the case.  The zoo opens at 6.30am, and we were aiming to get
there quite early, but due to their bizarre public transport system, we
were inhibited from doing so.  But we did get there and see nearly
everything.  Probably the most fascinating creature was the armadillo. 
I would like one of these.  From there we spent a few hours at the National Air and Space Centre (also part of the Smithsonian), which included catching a show at the planetarium, in which I fell asleep.
Later that evening we had to catch our bus home.  We managed to find it
this time, and boarded without issue.  About 20-30 minutes out of
Washington, however, said bus braked heavily, then even more heavily,
and then collided with one or two other vehicles.  My first thought was ‘We’re going to hit something (which we did), and then I recall only gasping quite loudly (and I may have uttered a few choice words)  as an unseen vehicle hit the side of the bus right near where I sat, and then a truck, heading right for us, rolled over onto it’s side and came to a
stop.  All of this while, Tim had his arms around me and was speaking in a calm voice.  How he mananged this, I have no idea.  I guess this is what a man’s job is, and he has proven that he can definitely do it, there’s no doubt.  We came to a stop, and the dirver quickly turned his attention to his 10 or so passengers, none of which were hurt.  The
driver of the turned-over truck soon got out, and the traffic behind us began to bank up quite considerably.  The bus sustained only minor damage – it’s quite amazing that someone supposedly cutting a bus off can cause so much mess but result in no one being harmed.  There was a considerable delay, however, while the cops, ambulance and every sheriff within the tri-state area turned up and took everyone’s name/etc, and then the tow trucks arrived.  About 2 hours later, another bus came and we got on it (with trepidation), arriving (safely) back in NY around midnight.  Might I say that this second bus ride evoked no sleep or relaxation of any kind from me.  Funny thing was, I had just been considering motor vehicle accidents moments before the crash, prompted by the absence of seat belts on American buses (the ones I have been on, anyway).  The
following night, I had a disturbing dream, and so I have decided to stay awake from now on in an effort to prevent further carnage. 

bus driver