Trip Map

Monday, March 24, 2008

Days 98-100: Vientiane, Lao

By Mary

The trip from Udon Thani to Vientiane sucks. The procedure itself is not very difficult, and simply involves a bus to the Thai-Lao border, a visa purchase, and then a bus or taxi ride over the Mekong River. A simple matter, one is told, of two hours.

Don’t believe it. It takes all day long, and is torturous. I don’t know why the guide books lie to you, but they do. The “bus,” such as it is, has very little in common with what one normally associates with the vehicle. It does have wheels, and seats, and an engine, and one-and-a-half as many passengers as seats. The vehicle’s air conditioning thoughtfully does not interfere with one’s sweating, and as it travels about as fast as a motorbike, tourists will have plenty of time to regret ever wanting to see what Lao is like.

Then there is the matter of “getting to the border,” and “acquiring a visa.” Such transactions are relatively straightforward in most places, but not in Udon Thani. Here, after spending so much time on the crowded bus in close contact with your neighbors, you are abruptly dropped off about a kilometer from the actual border. Magically, a taxi appears, and proceeds with no delay in the opposite direction from the border. Don’t worry, though, because the driver will eventually stop at a travel agency, where any number of people there are happy to give you a visa for 5 times the official price. Once you have expressed no interest in paying more than is required, the taxi driver will suddenly realize that, in fact, the travel agent’s shop was not what you meant by “border,” and will take you to the official border recognized by both countries. This misunderstanding, unfortunately, will mean extra taxi fare. The driver, of course, is so very sorry.

Once at the Thai side of the border, things mostly return to normal, and you can purchase a Lao visa without more than the usual hassle and long lines. But you will not be in a good mood. Especially if you discover when you get to your hotel that your camera has been left behind in Udon Thani.

Vientiane is a nice place. We had giant fruit salads and giant smoothies twice each day at the local Western-world expatriate hangout, a café called Sabaidee Coffee. Because the city is so small, we were able to see a great deal of Vientiane even though we were only there for a few days. One highlight was Talat Sao, a gigantic day market that is the size of a megamall. It is three floors high, and covers an entire Manhattan-sized city block! Once there, we bought lots of beautiful, hand-woven Lao silk scarves. By this point, Dave and I have perfected our bargaining techniques, and we ended up with a really good deal.

We spent one afternoon in the Lao National Museum, the bulk of which is devoted to the successive wars and occupations fought in the region. The exhibits, lots of guns and swords, are very graphic, and the descriptions are even more so. For example, several rooms are filled with guns displayed in glass cases, with small white placards identifying them as “weapons used by Americans to kill Lao people.” Other displays had knives “used by the French Army to torture and destroy Lao people.” There were also grenades. It was very interesting, and not a little depressing.

I refused to see any more temples, but a lot of the other buildings had interesting architecture. One building that should get special mention is the Lao version of l’Arc de Triomphe, locally known as the “vertical runway.” It is made out of concrete, given to the Lao people by the US government for the construction of an airfield. The Lao government took the concrete, and made the Arc instead. Dave and I climbed to the top, and got a great view of the whole city of Vientiane. Eventually, we went to see a temple, because it was the Lao National monument. But I went under duress, and we each had a milkshake afterwards, so it doesn’t really count.

The trip from Vientiane back to Udon Thani was, incredibly, worse than our journey there. But we got the camera back! Also, I had two doughnuts, so net positive overall.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

wow that is a crazy travel story. sorry about your camera!

Anonymous said...

Mary, I love you posts, so honest and to the point!