SCARY REAL LIFE
For Lydia Prior, 31, from Hemel Hempstead, the wheels on the bus were not turning – they were combusting...
Heading to the parked sleeper bus, Ihad a four-hour journey ahead of me.
Having spent the majority of the year travelling with my partner Dan, 33, this was nothing new.
We’d travelled to Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Hong Kong and South East Asia.
And on Sunday 20 August last year, we were heading from the bustling Ho Chi Minh City to Mũi Né in Vietnam.
It was the first bus we’d taken in Vietnam, and it was asleeper bus –meaning that there were individual bays all separated by curtains.
Taking our seats, Ispent the first two hours editing videos for my YouTube channel.
With my laptop and filming equipment in my handbag, the rest of our belongings were in the belly of the bus.
However, as I finished up and relaxed back into my chair, Isuddenly heard ahuge bang. I can’t really describe the noise, but at first Iassumed the driver had hit astray dog.
Beside me, Dan had opened his curtain and was looking out the back window.
‘I can see black tyre marks,’ he said. ‘It looks like it’s burst.’
The driver had begun to slowly pull over to the hard shoulder.
‘We should get off here,’ Dan said.
Pulling our stuff together, we weren’t in any sort of panic.
Only as we gathered our bags, just five minutes after the first bang, a second bang erupted through the coach.
The second tyre had gone.
The back end of the bus dropped down onto the tarmac, causing everyone to fall.
The front of the bus was now higher than the back.
Tumbling backwards, I had to grab hold of my cubicle bed for support.
Iwas terrified –the sudden bang had really shocked me.
There is something really wrong with this bus, I thought. Something bad is happening.
People were screaming after the second bang, and had started collecting their stuff to get off.
Only, it was still quite slowpaced and to be honest none of the locals seemed that phased. Looking out of the window behind me, Dan saw something really shocking.
‘Lydia, look,’ he said.
The bus was on fire. Ahuge flame had curled around the back of the coach, licking the windows.
It was coming from underneath the bus which meant one thing –we were standing right on it.
Oh my God, this bus is going to explode, Ithought in fear.
‘Fire!’ Iscreamed. ‘Fire! Fire! Fire!’
I was screaming like crazy woman, but as the only English speakers on the bus, no-one understood what Iwas saying.
