I've decided that I'm done with Thailand for now.
From the hostel we signed up for a mini van to take us to Chiang Kong, the border town for Laos, and see what we could get up to there.
We lucked out on the van and got the seats right at the front so we got a whole bunch of leg room. So it was Nisha, Selena, & I and then the rest of the van was filled with 8 other guys from the UK and the driver. This was one of the best road travel trips I have had so far. The driver let one of the guys plug in his ipod so we were listening to more western tunes and we had the most random conversations the whole time.
Along the way the first rest stop we went to was part of a cashew nut factory. I was really surprised how big the fruit was and how small the nut you got was. Inside there was a huge room with samples of all different flavours of cashew nuts and of course i tried them all and didnt buy anything.
The next stop we made was at the white temple. More in the next blog post.
After that they dropped us off in Chiang Kong and we had to make our own way to the other side. As you walk down the boat ramp there is the passport office on one side and a food stand on the other. Very rustic. The guys in the office were really really nice, making jokes and laughing and whatnot. not like the usual border offices. The stamped our passports and we were officially departed from the country.
We had to get a longboat across the Mekong to the Laos border office. It was weird not being in any country. Just the no man's land in between the two.
The border guards on the Laos side were not as friendly as the Thailand side. There was like 5 of them in the office and it still took forever for them to process out passports. Well they actually just had them sitting on a table while they stood around and talked to each other and we waited outside with our bags in the heat. But i guess they can do what they like cause you are the one trying to get into the country. There was a $42 fee for Canadians but it ended up $43 cause it was after 4pm which seems to get you a late hours processing fee? Lame either way.
Officially in Laos now though!
From the hostel we signed up for a mini van to take us to Chiang Kong, the border town for Laos, and see what we could get up to there.
We lucked out on the van and got the seats right at the front so we got a whole bunch of leg room. So it was Nisha, Selena, & I and then the rest of the van was filled with 8 other guys from the UK and the driver. This was one of the best road travel trips I have had so far. The driver let one of the guys plug in his ipod so we were listening to more western tunes and we had the most random conversations the whole time.
Along the way the first rest stop we went to was part of a cashew nut factory. I was really surprised how big the fruit was and how small the nut you got was. Inside there was a huge room with samples of all different flavours of cashew nuts and of course i tried them all and didnt buy anything.
The next stop we made was at the white temple. More in the next blog post.
After that they dropped us off in Chiang Kong and we had to make our own way to the other side. As you walk down the boat ramp there is the passport office on one side and a food stand on the other. Very rustic. The guys in the office were really really nice, making jokes and laughing and whatnot. not like the usual border offices. The stamped our passports and we were officially departed from the country.
We had to get a longboat across the Mekong to the Laos border office. It was weird not being in any country. Just the no man's land in between the two.
The border guards on the Laos side were not as friendly as the Thailand side. There was like 5 of them in the office and it still took forever for them to process out passports. Well they actually just had them sitting on a table while they stood around and talked to each other and we waited outside with our bags in the heat. But i guess they can do what they like cause you are the one trying to get into the country. There was a $42 fee for Canadians but it ended up $43 cause it was after 4pm which seems to get you a late hours processing fee? Lame either way.
Officially in Laos now though!
Nice tree house. And very fitting that you would have a bright green visitor.
ReplyDeletethe crazy things that happen to foreigners.
ReplyDelete$43, $1 extra because it's past 4pm?
uncanny!
hope you're enjoying yourself.
i'm loving the posts,
marissa
Kierra swam here in the Mekong River across from Laos for the Mekong River triathlon Asian Cup 2007.
ReplyDeleteThe swimmers came out of the water pretty fast, apparently it does not taste very good.
Really? Thats crazy!
ReplyDeleteI cant even imagine what that water would taste like, who knows whats in it.