Vientiane, Laos

Laos...actually Lao PDR which stands for People's Democratic Republic is located to the north and northeast of Thailand. It is separated from Thailand on the north by the very famous Mekong River. The southern capital is the city of Vientiane and is located a short distance once you cross the river into Lao. The government is actually a soft form of Communism as a result of the change of government back in the mid 70's after the war with the Communist Pathet Lao who was backed by the North Vietnamese. This "secret" war took place in the shadows of the Vietnam war and as a result not many people in the U.S. were aware that is was even taking place. Now, thirty some years later this city is host to many travelers and tourists. It's very quiet and peaceful with many quaint French restaurants and bakeries. With the presence of Embassies of Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand it is a destination and makes for a good stop-over for trekking back-packers and tourists making the circuits to these other close by countries. In fact, our trip to Vientiane was motivated in part by wanting to do some immigration business that required several visits to the Thai Embassy.

Our trip began Monday evening with an overnight express train to the northern border Thai city of Nong Khai. To start with Phyllis was not all too happy when we found that the only sleeping berths that were available were the upper ones. This meant she would have to climb the short ladder to her berth and since she usually has bathroom trips several times a night she indeed was not thrilled. However we didn't have a choice as we didn't know in advance when we were going, so we had to take what was available. Oh well...helps build character you know. I'm sure she wouldn't agree. Anyway, train departs about 8:30 and is scheduled to get in the next morning about the same time. Ended up though we were two hours late so that extended the trip to 14 hours. 14 hours on a roller coaster ride as Phyllis describes it was not to her expectations or enjoyment! I have to admit though she held up and did quite well under the circumstances. I couldn't resist taking a picture of her in her berth. As you can see, she's tolerating it very nicely...or not.

After arriving in Nong Khai we catch a ride with a "tuk-tuk" which is a hybrid of a motorcycle and a "song tail." He drops us off at the Thai border where we clear customs and immigration before taking a short bus ride across the Mekong River via the Friendship Bridge. This is somewhat of a lengthy process as there are many people doing the same thing. We had no problems with getting our departure stamps in our passports for leaving Thailand. We did have somewhat of a wait for a bus to take us across to the Lao side for immigration processing. While crossing the bridge I noticed that the Mekong was quite swollen and moving rapidly due to all the rain we've had so far as it is at the tail-end of the rainy season here. They've had more rain than normal and as a result numerous border towns on the Mekong have experienced heavy flooding. This was evident in Vientiane as one of their main streets runs parallel with the river and the street was lined with thousands of sand bags to aid in keeping the water back.

Once we arrived on the Lao side we filled out our visa application, and our arrival/departure forms. Then we joined the many standing in line and once we made our way to the window we gave them our forms and US $35 each for an entry visa. They take the forms and tell you to take a seat. Mind you...this is all outside, so, no air-conditioning. However, it's not too bad as we've grown accustomed to the heat anyway. After about 15 minutes or so someone at another window calls your name while holding the passport open to you picture so you'll know it's you. They usually cannot pronounce foreign names very well. So the clue is to look for your picture. Hey, it works. After receiving our passports back we check the visa stamps which takes up one of your entire pages of your passport. They give you 2 weeks. Next, we pass through the next station where they stamp you into the country which shows the date you're entering and the date that you must leave by. Finishing with this we're off and running again. Catching a small mini-van we're off for the city which is about a 20 minute ride or so.

I had researched several hotels before we had left Bangkok so we didn't have any problem as to where we would be staying. As it turned out we stayed at the Chanthapanya Hotel which was quite beautiful. The exterior as well as the lobby was constructed primarily of teak. The exterior doors as well as the lobby had lots of ornate carvings. The entire staff was quite pleasant and accommodating. Albeit we were not staying in what was considered a ordinary cheap Lao hotel. Their currency is the "kip," and at 8,500 kip to the dollar the room ran about 382,000 kip which converted was $45 US a night. Not being familiar with Lao like I was Thailand and not knowing the language we thought it best not to seek out cheaper accommodations. After visiting the city though, I don't think that would have been an issue. As they are quite similar to the Thais in their Buddhist culture.

By the time we had checked in it had started to rain. It was a little disillusioning as we had brought our golf shoes and attire with hopes of playing golf. I had researched that before leaving and found that there was indeed a couple of golf courses that were available. So with the rain we were wary that it might continue for several days. Anyway, the rain did not deter us from exploring part of the city. That evening with umbrellas in hand we set out walking. Discovered that there were many French style restaurants and bakeries, as well as many foreigners walking about. I have a suspicion that there are many ex-pats that make Vientiane their home. You can sort of tell who the locals are at many of the places. We found a very nice multi-story bar/grill that was packed with foreigners. We figured this must be the place for good beer and food. Our first order was beer Lao which they are famous for. Like Thailand, they have very large bottles. One large bottle accompanied by two glasses filled with ice and you're set for the evening. After having a nice dinner we stopped by a bakery on the way back to the hotel where we shared a slice of "Mississippi mud pie." Still raining we made our way back.

The next morning we arose early to find that the rain had subsided and looked as though we were going to have a beautiful day. We wanted to be at the Thai Embassy by eight o'clock, half an hour before they opened. I had heard that depending on the day of the week and the number of people showing up for visas there could be a long line up to 50-100 possibly. We certainly wanted to avoid that if we could. After having breakfast at the hotel, which by the way was included in the room price, we bargained with a tuk-tuk driver to take us to the Embassy and wait while we completed our business. As it turned out we used him for the remainder of our stay. He was an older man in his late sixties who spoke good Thai, and had lived through the war in Laos. Being that I had spent a lot of time in Thailand during the mid 70's we had a lot in common to talk about. When we arrived at the Thai Embassy we were pleasantly surprised as there were only about 8 people already there before us. However, before 8:30 arrived there must have been about 30 or so that formed the line behind us. As we were standing in line we noticed that there was a large black man standing behind us, and as we were standing there an Asian man came up and stood behind us and in front of the Black man . We turned to look at him at the same time as the Black man tapped him on the shoulder and pointed to the end of the line. The young Asian, I think he was Lao, reluctantly took his position way back in the line. I spoke to the Black man referenced what had just happened and found that he was from Nigeria and currently living in Pattaya, Thailand. He spoke excellent English. He was having some visa work done reference his business there in Thailand. It's interesting to also note that at border crossings and at embassies there are lots of "scammers." Always looking to prey and make money from unsuspecting people that are not quite sure of the processes that they need to go through. In fact, our tuk-tuk driver rescued us. The immigration official did not want our original documents that we obtained at the American Embassy, told us to go out and get copies made. Once we had them we could come back and not have to wait in line. He actually kept our passports and other paperwork that we had submitted. Once outside the embassy we were immediately surrounded with Laotians that were asking if we needed copies made. I thought that rather strange that they already knew, but I answered "yes," and they said that they could get it done for us at a price of 1000 baht. I suspected right away that this was going to be a scam. For one thing, having a few copies made doesn't cost no 1000 baht which is equivalent to US $30. And then they proceeded to say that they had to go alone, we weren't allowed to go with them. That they would take the documents and return with them and the copies. As I was telling them that there was no way this was going to happen our tuk-tuk driver showed up. He knew what was happening. We quickly left, went back across the street to his tuk-tuk and from there he took us a few hundred meters down the street to a small business that made copies. We got the copies made for for less than a dollar. Returned to the embassy, and turned them in. All was in order and we were told to come back the next day after one o'clock in the afternoon to pick up our passports. Then off we went back to the hotel.

As the day was turning out so beautiful we decided to change to go play golf. Talking with our tuk-tuk driver we found that he knew where the golf course was that we wanted to play at. Again, after negotiating a price with him he agreed to take us, and return four hours later to pick us up. The course was about an half hour ride from the hotel, and we had a quick stop for him to fill up with gas at a Shell station. In true fashion he took us right there. We paid our green fees, and our caddy fees, rented our clubs and we were off to the first tee. The price was comparable to that of the courses in Thailand with one difference. The courses in Thailand are a lot nicer for about the same amount. However, it was a beautiful day with a bright blue sky, and plenty of sunshine. We were happy "campers."

The golfing started out a little slow and questionable as our caddies were not very friendly and didn't have a word to say. However, after a few holes when we shared some of our dried apricots with them they took on a whole new aura. Suddenly they had nice big smiles and were friendly. At one stop between holes I bought them both Pepsi's. Over here they pour the whole bottle into a plastic bag, pop in a straw, then tie one end of with a rubber band so that it can be held with the fingers and then hung on the pull cart. Notice the picture with Phyllis and the caddies as she is holding her Pepsi. A few more dried apricots and we were all one big happy family. Come to find out that the young girl caddy could speak some Thai. But my caddie the tall boy could speak very little. He was quite pleasant and actually a little funny. It must have been on the final few holes when I noticed him limping a little. He had on these old white golf shoes with metal spikes. It wasn't long after that he had taken one shoe off and was inspecting it. The sole had come apart back by the heel and he could actually peel it forward towards the toe. Being now that he couldn't walk with them on he removed them and continued on barefooted. He didn't seem to mind and it didn't dampen his spirits as he continued on with a nice smile and attitude. All in all we had a great day on the course. A couple of interesting pictures taken on the course was of a worker cutting the grass. Make note of his lawn mower. The other was of a young family that was doing some landscaping.

Coming up the 18th fairway as we're approaching the green here comes our tuk-tuk driver walking out to join us. Right on time!Even though our score wasn't the greatest and that was partly due to the length of the course. For Phyllis it was close to 5900 yards, and for me it was over 6700 yards. Too long for a couple of old retired farts!

After returning to our hotel we enjoyed a cold Beer Lao next door at a quaint outside restaurant.

After 4 hours of golf in the hot heat there is nothing more refreshing than an ice cold beer served in a frozen mug filled with ice! And...Beer Lao packs a punch! Following was a refreshing shower and nap.

The next day we returned to the Thai Embassy picked up our passports as they were ready. After which our tuk-tuk driver took us to the Lao border. It was sort of like leaving a new friend. We said our good byes, I paid him and included a nice tip which brought a smile and a look of appreciation. From there we proceeded to get stamped out of Lao. Caught a bus back across the Friendship Bridge and to the border of Thailand. Passing through immigration was smooth, in fact, when I spoke Thai with him he became quite friendly and pleasant. As with most immigration officials they are not usually the friendly type. So this was indeed a pleasant experience. Even though Lao was nice it was nicer being back in Thailand.

After catching a tuk-tuk to the train station I acquired our tickets to Bangkok, and once again the only sleeping berths available were the upper ones. However, this time I was able to get the berths across from each other in the center area of the car. This was important as we had learned from previous trips that if you were towards either end of the car then you would experience the "roller coaster" effect as Phyllis would say. The suspension is worse, the noise is much louder and the people traffic is greater as they move from car to car and the door leading to the outside between the cars is continually being opened and closed and usually with a "bang." We found being in the middle the ride was so much smoother and much quieter and, there are less diesel fumes than being close to the door. Takes a while to learn these things but when you do they can make a big difference. Although Phyllis was still up much of the night as we had eaten at the train station at an outside food place. She had commented that her fried rice didn't taste very well and ended up only eating about half of it. She shouldn't eat any of it as she made a few trips to the bathroom in the middle of the night to get rid of it. Listening to her describe being in that tiny bathroom while the train was swaying back and forth was incredible. She is amazing. I didn't find out about this until the next morning. It took her a few days to recover but she's back at 100% now.

We had about a 3 hour wait before leaving for Bangkok. The time went by fast as we met three other American men that were also headed back to Bangkok. Two of them live in Chachoengsao which is a city located about an hour east of Bangkok. One of which has lived in Thailand about 19 years. We had quite the interesting conversations while waiting. They have invited us to visit both of them and have extended an invitation to show us the city in depth as well as housing opportunities that would be available to us should we decide that it would be a good place to relocate once we decide to move from Bangkok. So...stay tuned as that may be another adventure in itself. While sitting there at the food store I snapped this picture of a small boy sitting on the table pretending to cook.

We arrived back in Bangkok on Friday morning and made our way back to our condo via the MRT subway and the BTS Sky Train. It was nice being back home with time for Phyllis to recouperate and get ready for the next one.