at the Ubon to wait Border

At the Bangkok, people generally know some English, albeit not fluently. However, in the Thai town of Ubon, people hardly speak English. This isn’t because the region is poor or underdeveloped—it’s quite the opposite. The area is well-developed, but English is just not commonly spoken.

We took a bus from the airport to head to the town, but we hadn’t purchased a SIM card since it wasn’t really necessary for our trip to Laos. Without a SIM, we didn’t have a clear idea of where to go. On the bus, we decided to head to the city center and check out a shopping mall there. Along the way, the bus made a stop, and most of the passengers got off. We, however, stayed on.

Eventually, the bus brought us to the shopping mall near the city center. But to our surprise, the mall was closed. In Thailand, shops don’t open very early in the morning, although they stay open until late at night. This particular mall was set to open at 11:00 a.m., and it was only around 8:30 a.m. at that time.

So, we got off the bus and grabbed some duck rice from a small shop in front of the mall. The dish was essentially rice topped with a piece of duck meat. I found it delicious, but my friends didn’t seem too impressed.

Realizing there wasn’t much point in hanging around there, we decided to head back to the bus terminal to catch a bus to the Laos border. At the terminal, I saw a bus heading straight to Pakse in Laos. However, just as I stepped away to relieve myself, the bus started to leave. Seeing our bus take off, we had to run after it, yelling. But the driver paid us no attention and kept going. We ended up stranded in the middle of town, looking like fools.

Long-distance buses in Thailand, especially border buses, aren’t the kind where you can just hop on and pay for your ride. You must buy tickets from a counter at the terminal before boarding. Once all the ticket holders are seated, the bus won’t stop for anyone, even if a desperate group of foreigners is chasing after it. That’s how strict the system is, and that’s what happened to us.

Embarrassed but determined, we decided to try for the next bus. However, we soon realized another issue. We were three people, but there were only two tickets available for the next bus. The following bus was in five hours, and it wasn’t a direct ride to Pakse either—it would only take us to the Thai-Laos border. This shared "dolphin bus"(Shared Van)  was scheduled to leave at 10:30 a.m., and it was just 9:30 a.m. then.

With an hour to spare, we wandered around the bus terminal, checking out food stalls, souvenir shops, and other little attractions. We also passed the time observing people, reflecting on impermanence, and making the most of our situation before our next adventure.