Laos

I got myself to the Chiang Rai Bus Station. Now, I was actually advised (by everyone) to get on a bus to Vientiane, Laos in order to renew my visa at the Immigrations office which is not open on the week-end. That's why I left on Sunday morning. I had visions of traveling overnight all the way along the border to reach the "Friendship Bridge". But...

When I got off the bus in Chiang Rai, this lady kept waving me towards her bus which she said was going to Laos and would get there in two hours! Two hours. Less money. I think that bus only cost 65 baht. So, what the heck.

I got on the bus and called one of the teachers to get her advice. I told her I may as well get a one-month visa and save all the time and money going to Vientiane. She seemed to agree.

On the bus, I met a dear young lady from the Netherlands who had actually gone to school in Breda, a little town where I had stayed in an old farmhouse many, many years ago. We talked about the terrible things going on in Europe and I mentioned that ladies were safer traveling in Thailand and Laos these days than they were in Europe. However, she was meeting up with a friend and that was a good thing.

I don't know why border crossings need to be so complicated, but, for some reason they do. Not as complicated as they used to be, though. You used to have to take an overnight ferry to cross the border. Now you just go to the border town, where tuk-tuks pick you up and take you to the border crossing, from which we needed to take a shuttle bus to the Immigrations Office where I was required to pay $41 US just for the priviledge of staying overnight in a little town which I think was called Don Khon.

To get to the little town which was 14 kms from the Immigrations, it cost 100 baht. The skinflint that I am, I was seething. But, of course, what choice do you have? Although there were guest houses all along the way, the "song-tow" took us right into town, where the electricity was off!

He dropped me and a couple off at "Sabaidee Guest House" which was clean and had hot water (when and if the electricity ever came on). So, I left my backpack and went to look for dinner. I was told by the desk clerk that there were "lots" of restaurants down the street. There were, at most half a dozen but none of them seemed to be cooking food or even making sandwiches. It was a bit eery.

Although the sun was still up, there was a dusky, silent, sort of dazed feeling in the air. It felt like being in an Alfred Hitchcock movie or like one of those really old crime mysteries. It was quiet. I realize that when there's no electricity, there's no music, not much noise and everyone seems pensive, waiting for the electricity to come back on so life can go on as usual.

I found a restaurant with dark table cloths on dingy tables buzzing with flies where a very slow waitress finally approached me to take my order. When the food came, it was obvious the rice had been sitting in the pot for a while, getting cakey. But I was too hungry to worry about it.

The town was loaded with Westerners, some of whom seemed to be residents. The river was beautiful. The town was very old-fashioned with clap-board houses and red dirt along the roads that rose up in puffs of smoke as vehicles churned past.

I went back to my hotel, accidentally fell asleep and woke up in the dark, wondering where on earth I was. Then I set my alarm for 8 and fell asleep again. Before the sun rose, a thread of light appeared under my door telling me that the electricity had returned. Hallelujah. But, it was too cold for a tepid shower, so I just went back to sleep.

After an "American Breakfast" which is French bread, one fried egg and some cold-cuts, I caught a tuk-tuk back to Immigrations. From there, you take another Shuttle bus to the border and from there, a tuk-tuk to Thailand where you can catch a bus to your preferred destination.

I took a bus to Chiang Rai and treated myself there to a foot massage! It was lovely! In fact, it was a little taste of heaven. It made me think I should get one once a month.

Now, I'm back in Mae Sai, sitting in my fully electricity supplied room with Wifi and very hot water. So, it's time for a nice hot shower to get off some of that travel dirt!

One more month in Thailand!