Thailand beyond solo backpacking: April 2013

On a Friday morning at about 7:00am headed to Danang new bus terminal at the far end of Dien Bien Phu Road.

Took a xe om for 40,000VND,hopefully to catch the 8:30am direct bus to Vientiane in Laos.

As seen here is the VIP sleeping bus that was already at the parking bay.Only a handful of passengers were around possibly due to weekday.

There weren't any ticketing counters as this signboard was displayed in front of a snack stall facing the Danang - Vien Chan bus lane.

Looked like bus departure of Nguyen Phuoc Bus Company from Danang three times a week on odd days while the reverse from Vien Chan is on even days.

The bus conductor will be sitting on a stool beside the coffee table and travelers have to buy bus ticket from him .The fare was 520,000VND with lunch and dinner break included.

Gia Lai is located in central Tay Nguyen Highlands and shares a common border with Cambodia.
The provincial capital is Pleiku.

Buses available:

Sleeper bus Hanoi Ben Xe Giap Bat <=> Ben Xe Gia Lai costVND 420,000 time 28 hours

Bus(2x2) Hanoi Ben Xe Giap Bat <=> Ben Xe Gia Lai route via - Ninh Binh - Thanh Hoa - Vinh - Dong Hoi - Dong Ha - Hue - Da Nang - Tam Ky - Quang Ngai - Pleiku (Gia Lai) Local cost VND 280,000 time 28 hours.

Bus(2x2) Ben Xe Trung Tam Da Nang <=> Ben Xe Gia Lai cost VND 130,000 time10 hours.
Sleeper bus Ben Xe Trung Tam Da Nang <=> Ben Xe Gia Lai cost VND 160,000 time10 hours.

Van Ben Xe Khach Trung Tam Qui Nhon <=> Ben Xe Gia Lai Non stop cost VND 70,000 time 4 hours.

Minibus Ben Xe Khach Trung Tam Qui Nhon <=> Ben Xe Gia Lai cost VND 65,000 time 4 hours.

Van Kom Tum <=> Ben Xe Gia Lai Local cost VND 15,000 time1 hour.

Van Ben Xe Gia Lai <=> Ben Xe Phia Nam Nha Trang cost VND 120,000 time 9 hours.

Van Ben Xe Gia Lai <=> Ben Xe Khach Daklak Non stop cost VND 75,000 time 4 hours.

Bus(2x2) Ben Xe Gia Lai <=> HCM Ben Xe Mien Dong VIP cost VND 150,000 time12 hours.

Minibus Sekong <=> Ben Xe Gia Lai route from Sekong via Attapeu - Pleiku (Gia Lai)

Futa Buslines fares

Minibus Da Nang <=> Ben Xe Gia Lai route via Vinh Dien - Tam Ky - Quang Ngai - Pleiku (Gia Lai) Local cost VND 110,000 time 10 hours.

Travelers wishing to head for Savannakhet in Laos can use this minibus non aircond available 09:00am one trip per day only to Lao Bao immigration point.

Local buses and minibus to Lao Bao near Savannakhet is available parked behind the red color bus.

A half empty sleeper bus departing 15 minutes late after loading tons of goods and merchandise on the bus roof top.

The first sight after about 10 km journey was this rolling rugged mountains beside Bau Tram Lake.
This lake is north of the Hoa Khanh Industrial Park in Lien Chieu District.
Hoa Khanh area houses many garment factories such as the South Korean Daewon company and also Dacotex Group providing employment to thousands of local girls and boys.

Danang is classified as an industrial zone with port facilities to handle container traffic and a number of supporting light industries.

Passing through the narrow road in Hoa Hiep Bac hilly zone enroute via the Hai Van Pass Tunnel.

Extracting river sand for construction purpose.

Clusters of small commune along the Hai Van Pass.

Hai Van Tunnel ( Hầm Hải Vân) is the longest tunnel in Southeast Asia , across the Hai Van Pass , connecting the province of Thua Thien-Hue Province to the city of Da Nang in central Vietnam .

Opened way back in year 2005 and has a length of 6.5km.

Hai Van Tunnel is located on the National Highway 1 starting from km 984 near the town of Lang Co, which runs on a peak at km 904 which is 475m higher than sea level and ends at Km 914 north of Da Nang about 20.45 km from the city.