Full Bus, en route to Pakse, Laos, 2005 by Phil Douglis

Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Two: Travel Incongruities > Full Bus, en route to Pakse, Laos, 2005

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30-JAN-2005

Full Bus, en route to Pakse, Laos, 2005

A typical Lao bus, brimming with passengers and their baggage, hurtles down the road just in front of us. I shot this picture through the front window of our own small bus. Many of these passengers are visiting backpackers en route to Pakse, the largest town in Southern Laos. There is a double incongruity here – the bus seems to be dangerously overloaded, with little thought given to the passengers safety. Such a small vehicle, loaded with so many passenger, baskets and baggage, presents a scale incongruity. Yet the people on it seem to be quite comfortable with their precarious situation. For some it is probably a great adventure. There is always incongruity in a situation that appears dangerous or difficult, yet is somehow being enjoyed at the same time.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ20
1/250s f/4.0 at 51.6mm iso80 hide exif

Full EXIF Info
Date/Time	30-Jan-2005 09:06:56
Make	Panasonic
Model	DMC-FZ20
Flash Used	No
Focal Length	51.6 mm
Exposure Time	1/250 sec
Aperture	f/4
ISO Equivalent	80
Exposure Bias
White Balance	(10)
Metering Mode	multi spot (3)
JPEG Quality	(6)
Exposure Program	program (2)
Focus Distance

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Phil Douglis		19-Jun-2007 15:31
Happiness is relative. I think they are glad to get where they are going, but I don't think they get much pleasure from this journey, Alina.

Alina		19-Jun-2007 14:23
Maybe it looks terrible but everybody is happy to be on that bus.

Phil Douglis		11-Nov-2006 01:35
Thanks, Ade, for noting the incongruous body language of the man with his back to us at left. He makes a nice counterpoint to the only other person whose back is to us -- the fellow at upper right. Together, they weave a nice diagonal through the vehicle.

Guest		10-Nov-2006 19:46
Wonderful. I love the guy on the left who is wrapping himself around the corner:-)

Phil Douglis		17-May-2006 19:36
Thanks, Deedee, for the comment. It does not show up here because I have had to disable all comments from non pbase members due to an increase in spam messages. But I am copying your kind words and posting them below. Tell your husband that I enjoyed my visit to Pakse -- the people were very kind to me there. "this is very nice, my husbands family is from pakse"

Phil Douglis		07-Mar-2006 17:39
You make a good point about cultural differences and expectations here, Rod. Risk is relative. To some this appears dangerous. To others, it is simply an accepted fact of life. To me, it was strikingly incongruous, but it would certainly not appear as incongruous to that fellow hanging on at left.

Guest		07-Mar-2006 15:45
A wonderful teaching example, and a wonderful photo that speaks volumes. I also love the incongruity of this massive open area, and the human population (in the photo) are all concentrated into tight quarters. Mo is very correct. Travel like this reminds me so much of how poor people travel on top of trains in Indonesia (as they can ride for free, or next to free) and in India. Often some will fall, break legs, and even die, but they see the monetary savings, and the ability to get from outskirts of major cities to inside the main city worth it. I read an interview just yesterday on The Jakarta Post's web site. One man, after breaking both his legs after falling off top of a train traveling from his kampung to Jakarta said he will keep riding trains this way. The man in your photo on the left strikes me as having this same mentality. If he fell from that truck, I am certain he would be trying the same again. It just goes to show how much risk a person will take for something they see as worthy.

Phil Douglis		20-Aug-2005 22:38
Good point, Rama. It is almost a metaphor for the way people can bring many different attitudes to a journey, yet all are eventually destined to arrive at the same place at the same time.

Ramma		20-Aug-2005 19:12
Almost everyone on the van seems to be looking in different directions,some straight up, some to the left, and some to the right. But yet they are all heading in the same direction, and maybe the same Destination !

Phil Douglis		17-Apr-2005 19:15
You read this picture very well, Ruth. I can see that the incongruities inherent in overcrowding have prodded your own imagination into overdrive. That was my intention. This picture does more than just characterize local travel in Southeast Asia. (You will see similar sights yourself on your upcoming trip to Cambodia and Vietnam.) Although quite dangerous, this situation can also be seen as very humorous. Humor is almost always based on incongruities. You are right, Ruth -- the driver of this bus probably has no idea what is going on behind him at this moment in time. Out of sight, out of mind. And these people, outside of the lady in the headphones, probably have no idea of how they silly they look to us, either. Pictures such as this one, revealing things to our viewers that the subjects themselves are presumably unaware of, are almost always rich in incongruous relationships.

ruthemily		17-Apr-2005 19:02
i find this really comical. the first thing i spotted was the roadsign and how it reflects the shape of the ridiculously over-loaded van! the guy clinging on to the left hand side makes me laugh, he makes me think that perhaps all these passengers have just lept on and the driver has no idea they are there. the guy in the pink shirt is looking at him as if to say "what on earth are you doing?!" as if his own position isn't at all out of the ordinary (which seemingly it isn't in this area!) i like how the 2 people actually sitting "normally" inside of the van, are the two who look like they could be locals. the lady is looking at you and has a smirk on her face as if to say, "yes, i know what you are thinking..."

Phil Douglis		12-Mar-2005 00:27
Thanks, Lara, for pointing up still another incongruity here -- how we cling to our old habits even when in the midst of a once in a lifetime experience. You are right -- she is oblivious to where she is, and what she is doing. She might as well be back in New York, right?

Lara S		11-Mar-2005 23:05
I cannot get over that in the midst of this typical image of the overcrowded dangerous bus is this woman listening to her walkman, being completely oblivlious to the weirdness of her travel choice. I love this...

Phil Douglis		08-Mar-2005 23:05
I welcome your comments, Clara, even when they simply echo the feelings of others. Everyone seems to be picking up here on the fascinating cultural blend aboard the bus, while I was concentrating on the incongruity of a dangerous overload.

Guest		08-Mar-2005 16:47
I always post my comments before reading others' comments. That explains that I just coincide with a similar observation.

Guest		08-Mar-2005 16:44
Another detail of incongruity that I like is the at least 2 western passengers of the bus. We learn that there's a blend of cultures, modern and old, developed and underdeveloped. (More: The western girl is listening music through her state of the art headphones).

Phil Douglis		07-Mar-2005 17:50
Thanks, Tim, for those two observations. It never occurred to me before that elevating a woman above the heads of these men might be offensive to Lao sensibilities. So this image is making a statement about cultural perceptions as well as travel logistics. I don't think Western culture will ever take over the ancient cultures of Southeast Asia, it will certainly influence them to a degree. I enjoyed the point about the "road narrows" sign -- that graphic indeed underscore the tight squeeze we see here.

Tim May		07-Mar-2005 16:23
Before we went to Laos I read some guide books and one of them mentioned that it is culturally abrasive for women to be above the head of men. I though of this when I saw this image because it adds to another "meaning" which hits me when I see this picture - the way that Western culture seems to be taking over. Also, a detail I notice - the road sign in the corner seems to give a graphic representation of what is happening on the tuk-tuk.

Phil Douglis		27-Feb-2005 20:24
That's why I chose to post this image, rather than another, Mo. It is the incongruity of Westerners behaving like locals that makes this a substantive image.

monique jansen		27-Feb-2005 08:49
It could be a very typical scene of transport in any third world country, but because you picked a truck loaded with Western travellers instead of locals, the image becomes more than it is on first sight.

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