What It's Like on $10 Sleeper Bus for 15-Hour Trip Shocks Internet

A video of a woman showing what it is like on board a $10 sleeper bus for a 15-hour journey in Vietnam has gone viral on TikTok.

The clip was posted a week ago by Remy (@remygumbs) and has received over 334,000 views at the time of writing. A message overlaid on the clip reads: "What to expect on an £8 [around $10] sleeper bus [in] Vietnam."

The footage shows various interior shots of the bus, with seats reclined to be nearly flat. A voice in the video later says: "You pay £8 so don't expect luxury..."

A caption shared with the post reads: "We got lucky every time as we traveled in low season. Overall LEDs was the highlight."

While traveling by bus might not be ideal for long journeys, Americans seem to prefer it for their work commutes.

In a 2019 survey by the American Community Survey (ACS) conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, 46.3 percent of all public-transportation commuters (about 3.6 million people) reported the bus as their primary commuting mode.

Subway or elevated rail was found to be the next most common mode of transportation, reported by 37.7 percent. Long-distance train or commuter rail was found to be the primary mode of transport by 11.8 percent of commuters, while 3.1 percent reported traveling by light rail, streetcar or trolley.

A voice in the viral clip says, "you can't have your shoes on," when boarding the bus. The footage shows a person placing a pair of sneakers into a plastic bag, with a ticket seen in their hand.

As the person boards the bus, the voice says: "Not gonna lie, we always got lucky and we always got the back seat." The camera pans down a narrow aisle on the bus, with several rows of reclined seats on either side.

"You pay £8 so don't expect luxury," the voice adds, as the camera shows closeups of the seat. A person is seen tucking their legs into a small compartment near their feet.

"You expect a f****** blanket, which is fine, and a water bottle and maybe some air-con [air conditioning] if you are lucky. Our air-con always worked," the voice says, as a person is seen adjusting a blanket over their legs while lying down.

"Everyone always complains about these sleeper buses. But when you're paying £8, what'd you f****** expect?... it's literally £8 for a 15-hour f****** journey. I think that's a bargain," the voice adds.

The clip shows what appears to be control switches for air vents before later showing a view of other passengers lying back in their seats.

A person is later seen lying down on a darkened bus lit up in low, pink-tinted lighting, with blue lights along the edges of the window. "This is how it is at night; it all lights up. It's like a little LED disco going on... quite relaxing," the voice says.

"Yes, it does get uncomfortable... just wanted to show this sort of angle of the bus..." the voice adds, as the clip shows a front view of other passengers before the video ends.

Several TikTok users were surprised by the viral clip, with some saying the ride actually looks comfortable.

User sophie x wrote: "i would honestly sleep quite comfortably there tbf [to be fair]."

The original poster replied: "Yeah it's fine! Better than trying to sleep upright."

Michael_ 1199 posted: "£8 didn't seem too bad for what you get tbf."

Dylan Ebili commented: "Am I being weird or does this look ridiculously comfortable."

User zo wrote, "...looks so cosy," while Official_Si added: "planes need this layout."

Thatboyagain90 asked: "15 hour journey? How do you get on stepping over people when you need the toilet?"

The original poster replied: "You don't step on people there's a walk way? And also they stop off for toilet breaks :)"

Zxne_._ wrote, "I'd be so worried about hygiene," and the original poster replied: "Take some [disinfectant] sprays you'll be okay."

Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment via TikTok. This video has not been independently verified.

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