Were We Safe? Take A Look…
Travel isn’t about staying in your comfort zone, sometimes you just have to seize the moment to embrace a new experience. It’s not always about safety belts, health and safety and life jackets. Here’s just a few of those occasions…
We spent a whole day like this, sat on a blanket on a roof rack, clinging on to the struts for dear life as Khaled took us to various viewpoints in the desert. All the other similar rides were in the back of a pick up, but not Khaled, he just stuck us on his roof rack and sped across the sand, much to everyone’s amusement.
If you’re out in the Sunderbans mangrove swamps, way beyond where the roads end, and you need to reach the next island, you have no choice but to catch one of these. We took this very one, on its return journey, just as crammed. With our loaded backpacks between our knees, our centre of gravity tilted ever so slightly backwards towards the water. And there was nothing to hold on to.
You can find plenty of horror stories on the internet about bus journeys in Laos. So, what could possibly go wrong as we caught an ordinary cattle class bus from Nong Khiaw to Luang Prabang? How about being struck head on by a bus coming in the opposite direction?! This picture is the aftermath, the roof rack dislodged, having sheared off the top of the other bus on impact.
Seizing the moment is part of the essential travel experience. And sometimes you simply have to shift your decision making process just a little, and, with a bit of luck, it ends up like this…
11 Comments
Andrew Petcher
I wouldn’t fancy that roof rack ride for sure.
Have I felt unsafe? Once in Naxos when I took a beach buggy further than it was really designed to go, another time in the Black Forest driving a small car in a snow blizzard and finally climbing a church tower in Trogir that I called the ‘Tower of Terror’
Phil & Michaela
These are the things that leave us all with memories!
John and Susan Pazera
Its always a great adventure! Good for you guys!
Phil & Michaela
It’s where the memories cone from huh!?
Monkey's Tale
Maybe not safe, but makes for great stories! 🙂
Phil & Michaela
👍
Annie and Steven Berger
Great post. Can’t wait to be on the road again.
Joe
You are masters of multiple modes of transport. Hold on tight!
wetanddustyroads
Oh dear, that roof rack ride looks a bit ‘unusual’ 😅 … but what wonderful stories you could tell afterwards to everybody back home!
Phil & Michaela
It was certainly a fun experience, not sure what the insurance company would have said if we had fallen off 😂 Thanks for reading, so glad you enjoyed the story. Jordan is a fabulous country and we certainly want to go back and explore more.
MrsWayfarer
What an adventure!