Originally written Saturday October 16, 2004

We awoke early and spent an hour packing all our belongings into our packs, ready to cross the border into Laos (pronounced L-owww as in owww, I just hit myself with a hammer, except with l infront). We paid our bill at MutMee (2624 BT, or about 30? a day CDN for food and lodging) and hooked up with Marvin and Rebecca with whom we had arranged to take a tuk tuk to the ‘Friendship Bridge’ [one of only 2 bridges to cross the Mekong, the other in China or so I am told]. As usual, the tuk tuk driver tried to scam us a little and get us to get our visa’s from travel agents along the way so he would get a commision. We wouldn’t have it and he reluctantly dropped us off at the bus station where we were to await a bus that would take us through Thai Customs, over the bridge, and then drop us of at Laos customs.

We had to pay extra because it was a ‘holiday’ so instead of the bus being 10 bt, it was 20. When the bus came, everyone and their dog jumped in. It was ramjammed. We deposited our packs at the front of the bus and found seats. Honestly, there was no more than 4 inches between the lip of one seat and the back of the next. Good thing the journey was only for a couple of minutes! From the bus station we drove for about 3 mintues to the thai border post where we got out and waited inline to get our passport exit stamp. No bag searches for anyone. Once again, we jumped back on the bus for the ride across the bridge which looks kind of like the Sunshine bridge in Flordia. Once accross, we found all the visa applications and dutifly filled them out including the portion of the form ‘race’. We then paid 31 US dollars each for the 15 day visa (it was an extra dollar because of the weekend). Once we got the visa, we waited inline for an official to type our passport and visa into a computer. Then we waited inline to pay 10 bt for some reason. Then, we showed our passports to a guy in a desk, and we were in Laos!

Our first communist country, and our first visit to the 3rd world! Laos is one of the worlds 20 poorest countries. From the border entry point, the 4 or us split a cab into Vientiene, the Capital of Laos (cab ride was 50 bt each). The ride was made in an old 1960-1970 Toyota with no working gauages or seatbelts. It was also made at breakneck speed down a pot hole filled higway passing nearly everything on the road including but not limited to: people on all manner of bikes, other old cars, trucks, really big trucks, really really old 1950’s trucks, chickens, cows, oxen, push carts laden with fruit, and people just walking.

We arrived at our designated guest house, the Thawee hotel in the early afternoon. Our room was nice and small, but it had a fan and a nice hard bed with a tv full of Thai soap opera’s. We soon headed out to explore the town and find the bus station to figure out tomorrow’s journey to Vang Vien. After a short walk though town we arrived at the bus station, figured out that busses left all day, and found some bread to munch on.

Heading into the markets, we exchanged bhat for kip (the laos currency) and went shopping for needed supplies (calculator, and sunglasses). With the exchange rate, I was walking around with over 100 000 kip in my pocket, all in bills. Probably the only time I’ll ever be able to walk around with 100 000 of anything in bills. Easy come easy go, with said calclator and sunglasses purchased we were back to 0 kip. After the market we walked to the Laos version of the Arc D’triumph which was unfortuneatly under construction/ upkeep as I guess there is some bug ASEAN summit here soon and they want everything looking swank. The thing is hard to describe, I snuck a few photos but all the police around and it being all walled up made me nervous so we got out of there.

We headed back to hotel to shower and then to find some food. Decent but good meal with my new favourite drink, mirinda. After dinner to bed, and to watch the thai version of Pop Idol, which was way better than what we have (they get a live band and each guy was singing 3 songs and running aorund on stage whipping the crowd into a frenzy).