Take a ride on the Orange Popsicle Bus

When the episode regarding the Orange Popsicle Bus is retold over family dinners in future years, Karl will want it to be clear that it all started because I took my time getting ready. Our plan was to catch a bus from Nong Khai to Udon Thani and then another bus to Loei. When we finally reached the bus station, we learned that we had just missed the bus to Udon Thani but another one would come in 45 minutes. However, there was a bus that was going to Loei by a different route; west along the Mekong and then south through the mountains to Loei. It was leaving right away and should only take 6 hours to get to Loei. When we took into account the time we would have to wait for the Udon Thani bus and our connecting bus to Loei it was more than 6 hours. It was already 10:00 am and we had told Due’s parents we would be to Loei about 4:00 pm. So, we paid our fare and boarded the orange bus that looked like it had been on this route for quite a long time. The seats with minimal cushions and lack of AC caused us some concern but we decided that the scenery along this route would be more enjoyable anyway. In the picture, Karl is with our Tuk-Tuk driver and they are in front of an orange bus very much like the one we took.

The scenery was very nice. Along the first stretch of road that we traveled there were huge plant sculptures. Great care was being taken to grow and mold bushes into a variety of animals. We saw dolphins, turtles, giraffes and even a dinosaur. The best one was a group of plants made into two life-size elephants back-to-back and one with a rider. Sorry I don’t have any pictures to share; it was hard to get them from the bus. Soon we came to the Mekong River and we followed it for quite some time. When we crossed the Friendship Bridge the river looked low but here there were times when we couldn’t even see any water. I’m sure the river was somewhere between the huge boulders and sandbars. It reminded me that Due had once told me that during the dry season he could walk across the Mekong to Laos. We also went through many small towns and saw the traditional Thai style houses made of wood.

About 3:00 pm just before we were to turn south towards Loei, the bus driver stopped at a small bus stop along the Mekong. When we inquired how long we’d be there, we learned this was not just a bathroom break. There weren’t enough passengers (there were only 5 of us) and the bus driver was going to wait until 4:00 pm to see if more people came. Karl didn’t seem to mind he went to take pictures of the Mekong. I’ll admit I wasn’t too happy since I really don’t like these days of traveling and didn’t like the idea of this bus trip taking longer. I tried to make the best of it as you can see from the picture.

We finally got back on the road with only 4 passengers because one guy found another ride. As we wound through the mountains we did pick up more passengers. Based on the road signs it should have only taken us 1 hour to get to Loei but the bus had to go into low gear to get up the mountains and Karl thinks we were only going about 10 kilometers per hour. We made up some time on the way back down the mountains. The whole rollercoaster ride took us two hours and we rolled into the Loei bus station about 6:00 pm. We called Due’s parents and they came to get us. When we told them why we were so late, Due’s mom said they called a very slow bus a Popsicle bus. It is similar to our expression "slow as cold molasses". Karl calculated that we averaged 30 kilometers/hour on that trip! The picture is of the driver of our Orange Popsicle Bus.

Saturday evening we had dinner with Due’s parents and his sister. Due was still in Bangkok and would be taking an overnight bus to Loei. He had flown to Singapore for a short vacation. On Sunday, we went with Due and his parents to his aunt’s house for lunch followed by a trip to a local cotton weaving factory. The cotton is woven by hand with wooden looms and the fabric they make is really beautiful. Some of it is hard to distinguish from Thai silk. I got to pick out my favorite material for a dress. Due’s aunt, Toy, is a dressmaker and she wanted to make one for me! That evening we were back at Toy’s house for dinner and met more of the family. We also made plans for the next day.

Our plans began with a one-hour drive north following the reverse route that the Orange Popsicle Bus had taken. Due’s uncle Bunjong is a director at a small village school and we were going to a temple to see some of his students ordained as novice monks. Because Bunjong was a guest of honor we also got some special treatment and got to sit right in front of the soon-to-be novice monks. Boys between the ages of 12 and 20 can become novice monks and men 20 or older become monks. In Buddhism, you can decide to become a monk for a certain period of time or for the rest of your life. Almost all Thai men spend a little time as a monk at some time in their life.

After the ordination ceremony, we went to Banjong’s school where he had some work to do. The rest of us went onto Chiang Khan which is a small town on the Mekong River. This town has a border crossing into Laos, but only for Thai and Laotian and the transportation is a ferry boat across the river. At this spot in the river, there is enough water for boats. There is a nice little park with a shaded pavilion for looking out over the scenic Mekong. We all got a chuckle out of the self-service foot massage; a walkway made from river rocks. After eating a filling lunch and buying some tasty snacks for later, we headed back to the school. In the picture sitting next to Karl is Due’s cousin, Mon, and Due’s Aunt Tear who is an English teacher at Due’s high school and Mon’s mom is sitting next to Due.



We got a tour of the school with an invitation to come and teach English there on our next trip to Thailand. Bunjong has really done a lot for this school as he has arranged many programs to help the students. At the school there is a mini-market, barber shop, karaoke bar, car wash and more. All operated by the students to help them learn about different professions. Bunjong and Tear also arranged to get laptop computers donated for their library. Getting donations is one way they supplement the small school budget. The school has been recognized as a "Model Lab School". There is more about the school at the following websites: Principal Bunjong and Bunjong's Blog. They are both in Thai.

We ended the day with an "End of School" party at the school and all good parties include some karaoke singing. Due was asked to sing and he did very nicely. When it was our turn, Karl and I made all the teachers grateful that they don’t get very many foreign visitors. Our version of "Good Day Sunshine" was pretty poor! Before we went back to Loei we were presented with some very nice pictures made by the art students at the school.

The trip back to Loei went much faster than the ride in the Orange Popsicle Bus. We were glad for that because all the fun of the day had worn us out!