The local bus to Phong Nha
Go to the North Bus Station, find the red bus with the sign that says “Phu Vuc”, rego plate 73L9790. It leaves at 10:30am. You pay the driver 80,000 – 120,000 VND depending on his mood.
Those were the directions from the owners of the farmstay I was heading to. Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park was were I was headed. Recently opened up to tourists, the park has a series of massive caves and I wanted to check them out. I also wanted to get away from the busy cities for a while and see rural Vietnam.
Where was the North bus stop and what if the bus isn’t there? Putting faith in his instructions, I catch a cab to the North bus stop station. For a fare of the taxi meter of 103,000 dong, I give him a 500,000 note to change. He gives me back a handful of bills, totalling just over 100,000 dong. -__- Did he think I wouldn’t notice the difference? I’m starting to notice a pattern of people trying to short-change me in Vietnam. Did he just give me all his change, hoping it would be enough? I count and indicate that it’s not enough. He gets the point, looks at the amount on the meter as if he’s just noticed the thing, and rushes to a building to get more change for me. He comes back, and back and forth we count and recount, and after another round of changing money we finally reach an agreement. He’s still 7000 dong better off, but I need to find my bus.
I search the bus depot and after several false finds (turns out there are a few red buses), I find the one with the right sign and rego plate. Phew. But the sign on the window says 11:30…shit, I’m a hour early. Luckily the door to the bus is open so I climb aboard and make myself comfortable. 10 minutes later, a few Vietnamese guys come by. “Phong Nha Farm Stay?”, they ask. Yes!!
I sit and slowly the bus fills with other passengers and packages. This is the local bus…not the tourist buses I’ve been on so far. The guy in charge motions for me to follow him. Where does he want me to go?? I dutifully follow him into the station and he stops me in front of another backpacker. Her friend is at the ticket counter. Oh, I get it. He wants me to ask them if they are also going to the farm stay. “Are you going to Phong Nha?” I ask. She looks at me with shock and confusion, like I’m speaking Vietnamese. I repeat myself. Still not getting through. Maybe she doesn’t speak English, I think. Finally she understands that I’m speaking English to her. They are indeed heading to the park and caves, but are going to base themselves out of Dong Hoi instead. Later, I watch as they get on their bus and it drives off.
Finally the bus is almost ready to leave. A lady with a baby comes on board. She starts talking to me. I think she wants my seat. I turn to look behind me. There are loads of empty seats. I point to them…saying she could sit in one of those. No, she wants to sit in the front with the baby, I think. When I take no action to move, she plots down beside me to sit on the cooler. Okay. So she really wants my seat. Fine. I pack up and move to a seat a few rows back and she thanks me “com an”. The Vietnamese seem to really like sitting near the front. Through the journey to the Farm Stay, as more people board the bus, they all choose to cram near the front, despite there being many empty seats towards the back of the bus.
We drive with the door open the entire way. I realise the young guy organising everything is not actually the driver. He stands on the landing of the doorway for parts of the journey, like a train attendant, hoping on and off as necessary to let people on and off and to drop packages off. The bus seems to function as a delivery service of sorts as well.
Luckily, there is one girl on the bus who seems a little bit of English. Quynh moves to sit next to me eventually and we have a brief chat. She’s so nice and so happy to be practicing her English with me. She studies food engineering in Hue and is on her way home for summer. Her family lives not too far from the Farm Stay. This whole area is quite poor she says, but everyone is really happy. She leaves by wishing me well on my trip and good heath.
Finally, 4 hours later, the bus drops me off on the side of the road. There’s a sign pointing down a side road “Phong Nha Farm Stay”. I start walking with my big bags. There’s chicken running around, and piles of manure dotting the path. What have I gotten myself into?
