Bus Abandonment

How does a person get left behind by a bus taking a pit stop?

Very easily when no one is watching out for her or noticing her empty seat.

After spending over 26 hours on buses (12 hours on 5 different buses from Siem Riep, Cambodia to Bangkok, Thailand where I had 10 minutes to catch the last night bus from Bangkok to Phuket) I emerged from the bathroom to discover an empty parking space.

My stomach dropped. My bag was on the bus and I was already late arriving to Phuket- it was nearly 10 a.m. Saturday and Kevin would be expecting me.

I had no idea if the bus had a name or company, I only knew it’s destination.
Fortunately I always keep my most valuable possessions on me, so I wasn’t relieved to feel my passport and some money in my purse.

But I what was I supposed to do?

I was stranded, not sure where I was, sweating under the blazing sun with dirt and dust everywhere, staring uncomprehendingly at the empty space where my bus should have been.

“Did you see the big blue bus heading to Phuket?” I asked a group of Thai men standing nearby, one of whom had given me directions to the bathroom when I first stepped off the bus, so I hoped he would recognize me.

“Oh bus gone.” He said.

“Well, can I catch it somehow or contact the driver? My bag is onboard and I should be,” I replied pathetically.

One of the guys lead me to the bus information stand, explained my situationa (I was very lucky he knew a bit of English), and soon I was on the back of a motorbike chasing down my run-away bus.
We caught the bus 2km up the road, and I gave the bus driver and innocent grin as I slid into my seat.

Only 200 km to go.

(The bus adventure took a total of 30 hrs, about 9 different vehicles with varying degrees of leg room and air-conditioning …what a ride.)