It was 8.30am when we both started to wake up. I was mildly confused when I realised the time.
I thought Tom said he was going to set a 7am alarm, what he thought he'd said was actually asking me to set the 7am alarm.
So there was no 7am alarm, but no harm done. I had a restless nights sleep & once awake, I just wanted to be on the road.
By 10.40am we had packed, eaten breakfast & stowed a salad sandwich for lunch later.
We walked the 2.5 kilometres to the old bus station, also known as bus station 1. This was the same bus station we arrived at when travelling from Chiang Mai. The walk to the bus station with our bags on, after yesterday's leg workout was killer!
I thought Tom said he was going to set a 7am alarm, what he thought he'd said was actually asking me to set the 7am alarm.
So there was no 7am alarm, but no harm done. I had a restless nights sleep & once awake, I just wanted to be on the road.
By 10.40am we had packed, eaten breakfast & stowed a salad sandwich for lunch later.
We walked the 2.5 kilometres to the old bus station, also known as bus station 1. This was the same bus station we arrived at when travelling from Chiang Mai. The walk to the bus station with our bags on, after yesterday's leg workout was killer!
Once we arrived, the ticket booth operator for the local bus's pointed us in the direction of our bus. We didn't need tickets & the next bus was leaving at 11.30am, in 8 minutes time, which was Perfect!
The bus was about as local & authentic as they come. With wooden floors, basic ceiling fans & doors that stayed permanently open. Thankfully it wasn't very full & the 2 hour journey went by quickly.
We were dropped off by the side of the road, near the turn off for the border, after the bus attendant checked that we were going to Laos today. There was an elderly gentleman with a North American accent, in the back off the local bus that also got out with us & we all shared a tuk tuk to the border post. Going through the border was very easy & quick. The immigration points for both Thailand & Laos are at a newly built friendship bridge 4 (Bokeo bridge) that goes over the Mekong River which separates the 2 countries.
Once we passed through the official stuff on the Thailand side, we paid 20 baht each for the government bus that will take us across the bridge. There was a 30 minute wait for the bus while the drivers ate their lunch. The bus might have looked nice on the outside, but finding a clean seat proved to be a challenge. Every seat had severe stains, like people had urinated on them... anyway, it was less than a 5 minute journey to cross the bridge.
Bye Thailand!
At 2.22pm we crossed the bridge & were officially in Laos!
The official Laos procedure required us to fill in 2 very poorly translated form's, that were our VOA applications. We then had to pay $30 US for the visa. The officer examined all of our US notes & refused to take all of them because they all had minor tears, bends or stains. She wanted brand new notes. Thankfully there was an exchange who swapped all of our US notes for newer ones at a cost to us of 0.75 AUD.
Once we had our Laos entry stamp & visa, another shiny sticker that took up a whole page & looks really official (my favourite!) We could pass through.
Straight after the last security point, we could see a pre paid took took service, it's spelt 'took took' in Laos. We both got tickets to our hotel for 20,000 Kip each. We read lots of reviews about people who did the border crossing before this official friendship bridge opened & got ripped off hardcore by the locals who would ask for 50,000 Kip per person!
It was a 12km journey in the back of a ute that had a canopy & we were dropped off a hundred metres from our hotel. Checking in was easy, walking up the stairs to the 2nd floor & room 210 with our packs on & our tired legs, was not. My legs were like jelly! Today's effort has really compounded on top of yesterday's work out.
Our room is more comfortable than recent rooms, but we waste no time & set off in search of lunch/dinner. We find a nice place about 1 km away that had river views & vegetarian options. We tucked into bowls of stir fried greens with mushroom, rice & had fruit smoothies.
Walking back to our accommodation after food was nice. Laos feels & looks exactly like what we imagined South East Asia to look like.
There's hens with chicks running around everywhere, dogs & cats are in every direction you look & you can constantly hear roosters. Everyone has some sort of vegetable garden growing near their house, there's no fences, lots of patios & hammocks with locals sitting together in groups.
It's very simple & life looks peaceful.
Once we had our Laos entry stamp & visa, another shiny sticker that took up a whole page & looks really official (my favourite!) We could pass through.
Straight after the last security point, we could see a pre paid took took service, it's spelt 'took took' in Laos. We both got tickets to our hotel for 20,000 Kip each. We read lots of reviews about people who did the border crossing before this official friendship bridge opened & got ripped off hardcore by the locals who would ask for 50,000 Kip per person!
It was a 12km journey in the back of a ute that had a canopy & we were dropped off a hundred metres from our hotel. Checking in was easy, walking up the stairs to the 2nd floor & room 210 with our packs on & our tired legs, was not. My legs were like jelly! Today's effort has really compounded on top of yesterday's work out.
Our room is more comfortable than recent rooms, but we waste no time & set off in search of lunch/dinner. We find a nice place about 1 km away that had river views & vegetarian options. We tucked into bowls of stir fried greens with mushroom, rice & had fruit smoothies.
Walking back to our accommodation after food was nice. Laos feels & looks exactly like what we imagined South East Asia to look like.
There's hens with chicks running around everywhere, dogs & cats are in every direction you look & you can constantly hear roosters. Everyone has some sort of vegetable garden growing near their house, there's no fences, lots of patios & hammocks with locals sitting together in groups.
It's very simple & life looks peaceful.
We plan to spend our time in Laos doing lots of hikes, hiring bicycles & getting fit again. The landscape looks incredibly picturesque & we can't wait to be further south in amongst the rice fields, waterfalls & mountains.
The view across the river is quite pretty & in the distance on the Thailand side, we can see the silhouette of a giant buddha. To get to the restaurant we walked past a Buddhist temple, with a long set of stairs & dragons leading to the temple.
Once back at our hotel, we are both exhausted & lie in bed for the rest of the evening before falling asleep.
- Alli
Once back at our hotel, we are both exhausted & lie in bed for the rest of the evening before falling asleep.
- Alli
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