BANGKOK TO LAOS

BANGKOK TO LAOS

Usually I stay over the Khao San Road side of Bangkok, usually at Rambuttri. I love the chaos & carnival of Khao San Road. Every night is a circus with different performers from all over the world, arriving & departing at all hours. Banter bounces along the street with hawkers calling out to attract punters, tourists cringing at the deep-fried scorpions, backpackers laughing at someone's new fake dreadlocks, fake tattoo, fake identity, drinking competitions, vendors & punters alike, are a part of the nightly circus. And it's entertainingly different every night.
Some see it as squandering & squalid.  But l love it.


Anyway this time l decided to try over the other side of town. Lots of people stay in Silom or Siam area to avoid the nightly noise of the Khao San Road.  Yes it was closer to the big shopping malls & close to the sky train system. But for me, it was dull. I like everything laid out in front of me, Im not 'into' the search for Bangkok's best anything. For me it's about convenience,  the best & cheapest food vendors in Bangkok, the cheap cocktails, the diversity of restaurants & bars, all packed in close with extremely competitive prices. In Khao San you literally walk outside your hotel or guesthouse & there is 80c Pad Thai & the backepacker's favourite, banana pancakes. The markets are selling absolutely everything that you could possibly want & not need, at almost any time of the day or night. Khao San Road is convenience shopping. I will never stay over the quieter side of town where lm forced to search for a reasonable feed & there is no such thing as a $2 cocktail. It is void of any humour or atmosphere. And the traffic is absurd. At least Khao San Road is a traffic mall.


Well after being stuffed around at the Vietnam Embassy, all embassies are the same all the world over. Customer service is definitely not one of the prerequisites  of an embassy worker.
I decided to visit Bangkok prison hoping to leave some toiletries or visit an Australian prisoner who may not get many visits from family a long way away. A British mate did it after reading 'The Damage Done' & recommended that it was a good thing to do.
So l was a bit scared visiting the prison, dont know why. And when the taxi left me, I wanted to bolt. The smell from the canal between the men's & women's prison was making me retch. The prison looked just like I magined or maybe saw on television.

It was pretty bad from the outside.
Then I bravely walked in to where others were waiting. Every sign was written only in Thai. They really dont cater for foreigners, I thought that was probably a good thing. I couldnt find anyone that spoke English. Then someone took me to an office where a kind Thai guard told me in English to visit my own embassy first. She didnt think it was so strange that I wanted to help out a fellow Aussie.


 So the next day I visited the Australian Embassy. It was far more difficult to enter than other embassies. But it was very lovely with water features & abstract Ausrralian art. I did notice that the clock displaying Canberra time was incorrect by an hour and was obviously permanently set to daylight savings time. Anyway l was informed by an officer that due to the Australian privacy laws, it would be impossible to contact any Australian prisoner. And even though she agreed that conditions there were extremely horrid, she again explained that there was nothing she could do to help. I am still shaking my head about that. I am guessing that all privacy & dignity would be thrown out the cell door after one night spent in the infamous Bangkok Hilton. And I am betting that some soap & toilet paper would be much appreciated. I left a bit disappointed. Someone was missing out on a small gift because of our Australian laws which obviously dont protect people like the Bali 9 or Shapelle Corby.
And besides I had wasted time & taxi-fares. Next time I will try & visit a farang (foreign) prisoner from Britain.

So I went straight to Hua Lamphong station, Bangkok's main train station, and booked a sleeper up to Nong Khai, a Thai town on the border of luverly Laos. Left at 8pm, arrived 8am, cost 750baht, about $25.

 I enjoy train travel & choose it when ever possible over a bus. They are quite comfortable with a privacy curtain but the toilets on board can be pretty grotty. I like to walk around & visit the club car for dinner & a drink. And the rickity rocking of a train is a lulling  lullaby to sleep.

From Nong Khai station, it's a short tuk tuk trip, 20 bht (60c) to the border. Stamped on the Thai side of the border, then a 15baht (50c) bus across to the Laos immigration where you are required to pay $30 US for a 30 day visa. I handed over a $50 US note but they claimed they had no change so was forced to pay in Thai baht, 1300 baht, which is a 400 baht rip off! An extra $13! And yes they had change in baht! Not till later after filling in forms, waiting in queues & generally standing around in the heat, were we herded over to the gate into Laos where I saw a Money Changer. Probably get ript off rates from there as well.

Then a longer 50 baht tuk tuk trip into town, Vientiane.

I've been to Vientiane many times & have enjoyed the night markets & night life there. Also the Pha That Prabang Pagoda is well worth a visit. The most important monument in Laos, believed to house some of the ashes of Buddha brought down by travelling monks over 2 thousand years ago while spreading the teachings of the Buddha
.
So l pushed on to get to Vang Vieng, another 4 or 5 hrs north, cost $5. Laos will accept US dollars, Thai baht or their own Laos Kip. In fact on receipts, the price is printed in three currencies.
I eventually arrived by nightfall, in dire need of a hot shower & a cold beer. I was glad that l had pushed on through to Vang Vieng when I woke up the next morning, greeted by the magnificent view of the mountain kaasts. Breakfast on the balcony of fresh mandarine juice, omelette & baguette, cost $3.20.
I love loverly Laos.