Memory

    Posting that picture at Vientienne yesterday brought to mind that trip to Laos which ended abruptly. It started with me flying to the former royal capital of Luang Prabang, north of Vientienne. Leaving Luang Prabang by bus I stopped for some days in Vientienne. Again leaving by bus the plan was to follow the Laos side of the Mekong River to the south tip of Laos. 

    Arriving at the city of Takhek got off the bus for short stay. This was before the days of portable laptop internet connection. When I went to the local internet café it was non-operative and they said it wouldn't be fixed for two weeks. They recommended I take the ferry across the river to Nakhon Phanom, Thailand to find an internet. That's what I did with unintended consequences.

   Returning to Laos I was refused reentry because they'd stamped my passport expired. There were only three places to get a visa for Laos, the airport in Luang Prabang, and in Vientienne at the Thai border and at the airport. With an airline ticket from Vientienne I opted to take a bus there. The bus took me to Udon Thani, by the Laos border where we did paperwork for Visa to Laos.

   Another bus took us to the border and dropped us off and we walked across and through customs. Thinking the bus would meet us at the other side I left my bags on it. Only to see it turn around and return to Thailand. There was a European on the bus who spoke Thai who alerted an official who called the bus company and the bus came back with my bags.

  The problem was that I was now legally in Laos. So I walked back across the border to the bus and retrieved my bags. But, now I'm in Thailand and I've already cleared customs in Laos. All of the customs personnel were focused on the road side of the customs house. There was a wide gap between the customs booth and a building. So, looking as nonchalant as possible, I successfully walked the gap to the Laos side and caught a taxi. End of that adventure! 😀

Takk for alt,

Al