Laos Arrival
Posted by Stuart at 02:48 PM on October 15, 2002Rupert and I have made it safely to Vientiane, Laos after an easy one-hour flight from Bangkok. So far today we have walked around town visiting a few temples and spending some time at the Thai consulate working on my visa application. We are heading to check out the Mekong River (the border with Thailand) tonight.
So far I really like what I am seeing here. In many ways it reminds me of Siam Reap, Cambodia. Just as in Cambodia, as we flew in to the Vientiane airport it looked like we were going to land in a rice field. Luckily a paved runway showed up underneath us just in time. The airport was small, but airconditioned, and the immigration and customs process was very smooth.
Life here definitely moves at a slower pace -- even slower than in Thailand. The traffic is not very heavy and consists of anything from old Russian cars to brand new Mercedes, as well as motorcycles and bicycles. The streets are dusty but not too trashy; the buildings along them are a mixture of Thai/Laotian style, Chinese shophouses, and French colonial. Most everyone we have dealt with speaks at least a little bit of English, and all have been very nice and helpful.
Our plans are to stay in Vientiane for a few days until I can get my visa, then head north to Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang. By the time all of that is over, it will be time for me to head back to Bangkok and start my teaching job on the 23rd.
Mellow Vientiane
Posted by Stuart at 01:09 PM on October 16, 2002So far our time in Vientiane has been very mellow. We walked along the Mekong River last night watching the sunset and sampling Thai/Lao food and drinking "Beer Lao". Later that night we met up with some friends of friends from Bangkok and they took us by motorbike to a bar/restaurant called "Smile Beer". It was a typical open-air establishment very similar to other places I have been such as the Riverview restaurant in Chiang Mai that I visited with Tu and Tee. This one was on the banks of the Mekong and was full of young Lao people (we were the only Caucasians there) eating and drinking beer and singing along to the loud American and Thai pop music.
Prices in Lao are even cheaper than in Thailand. We find it hard to spend more than $3 total for our two dinners, or more than 50 cents for a beer. Even having said that, I am sure the prices we are paying are outrageously expensive to the Lao people. Our friends who we hung out with last night (who both have college degrees) make about $25 a month, which according to our guide books, is an average salary here.
This morning I stood in line for an hour in a blazingly hot sun to get my Thai Visa, and this time they took my paperwork and money and promised to have my Visa ready by tomorrow. Perhaps this nightmarish red-tape fight will be over soon.
Big Pile of Money
Posted by Stuart at 01:48 PM on October 17, 2002At this moment my pocket is bulging with a huge stack of three different currencies of money. No, I am not rich (by American standards at least), it's just that Lao money (Kips) are exchanged at 10,000 kip per 1 US dollar. Similar to Siam Reap, Cambodia, both US dollars and Thai Baht are accepted everywhere. Unlike Cambodia, however, the local currency is also accepted.
After waiting in line in the hot sun again today, I am now the proud owner of a Non-Immigrant B Visa to Thailand. I noticed that it is still a single-entry visa, so to avoid the problems I had trying to leave the country last time, I will have to try to get a multiple-entry visa when I get back to Bangkok and before I leave for Sydney at the end of the month. I will also have to do the paper work needed to get my work visa. Then (and only then) will I be done. I think.
