On the way home I went to Laos.
In this text, [] indicates there is an accompanying photo. The pictures are at
http://www.pbase.com/wwll/laos
US$1 = 9600 kips = 33.19 baht
I have two passports but two visas for one country is highway robbery.
Laos is the only country in Southeast Asia I have not visited. When I went to the Laos Consulate in Hong Kong to get a visa, the choices were HK$240 for one in my Hong Kong passport and HK$300 in my US passport. I chose the cheaper.
I was in the International Bus [] from Udon Thani in Thailand to Vientiane, Laos, available only if you have a valid visa to Laos[], and we got off the bus to enter Laos. I had entered Thailand on my US passport and they would not recognize the visa in my Hong Kong passport. Laos Immigration wanted me to get a visa-on-arrival for another US$35. Here was the bus getting ready to go through and the visa-on-arrival window was out to lunch. When they came back 15 minutes later, I had no passport photo! That cost an extra US$1. The Immigration guy even spoke to me in Chinese! On top of all this the Laos side wanted an ‘entry fee’ of 10 baht.
As I waited for my visa an expat living in Udon Thani who is making a visa run for his Vietnamese girlfriend befriended me. He speaks Thai.
Entering Laos, I found the International Bus had long gone, with all of my stuff. This expat got us into a tuk-tuk for the ride into Vientiane. Thirty minutes later we arrived at the Bus Station in Vientiane. My first efforts to check with the ticket office proved futile but I found the bus and the drivers eating lunch inside. I claimed my bags with a big sign of relief. A tuk tuk driver had helped me find my bags and I was only too happy for him to run me to the guesthouse for US$6, a ride that cost me US$1 on the return.
My second objective of going to Vientiane was to try some French cuisine.
My first meal after arriving was at a sandwich joint. Smoothies are popular and there is a whole row of shops that offer them. I decided on a pate sandwich and a Beer Lao. The lady took an 8-inch baguette and toasted it lightly in a brazier set up on the sidewalk. Like Vietnamese sandwiches we see everyday in Los Angeles, the sandwich had vegetables with the pate. With a beer the cost of the meal was US$1.50. At the shops a big bottle of Beer Lao is US$0.10.
Several people recommended l'Opera and it is just 25 meters down the street from my guesthouse but I do not like Italian and did not try it. I went to Restaurant Le Provencal which is about 20 meters from my guesthouse. I had an entrecote and a carafe of red wine. The steak was thin but cooked rare as I wanted. The green pepper sauce was excellent. French fries and Nicolize ratatoule came with the meal. The red wine was full-bodied and nice. I started al fresco but some raindrops drove us inside. The bread was very ordinary and no butter was offered. The total was US$12.
Lunch the next day I went to le Nadao, with the address given simply as on the west side of the Victory Monument. I asked the people selling tickets at the Victory Monument and found it. It is simply a converted house. I ordered Australian steak but got an entrecote in black pepper sauce. Once again the steak came rare as ordered. It was accompanied by a small potato puff, some juliennes of carrots and greens. A hot broche and salted butter came. I ordered a glass of house red and found it to be very good, probably a generic Burgundy. Service was excellent. The total was US$10.60. It was a memorable meal.
For my last dinner I decided to go back to Restaurant Le Provencal. I had the pork chop cordon blue and a carafe of red wine []. The pork chop was overcooked and tough. The sky kept dry and I finished dinner under the stars. The total was US$12.50.
At Mali Numphur guesthouse breakfast is included and is served in a courtyard []. They give you choice of two items, plus beverage. The first day I had the tuna sandwich [] and the second day I had the beef sandwich. They were okay but nothing to write home about. Coffee was okay but refills would have been nice.
Sights
I started at Wat Si Saket[], the oldest building in Vientiane. It is the only building to survive the Thai invasion of 1824. It is a rather simple Buddhist temple in sad disrepair. Outside the temple there is a roofed cloister containing thousands of Buddha statues. []
I walked up Lane Xang Avenue to Patuxai, but first I passed the Morning Market and went inside. This is like the Russian Market in Phom Penh and has hundreds of kiosks selling everything from clothing, clothe [] and appliances. I stopped for a cup of Lao coffee and did not finish it.
Patuxai [] looks like the Arc de Triomphe in Paris but was built with cement donated by the USA for an airport runway. The roof has interesting murals [].
Overall, Laos appears to be quite poor, gritty and undeveloped. Most houses have corrugated iron sheets for roofs. It reminds me of Phom Penh about seven years ago. The people are not particularly pretty or well dressed.
There are a surprising number of white tourists. I would say 90% of the people I recognize as tourists are white.
My line at Immigration to exit Laos was very slow moving. At the kiosk I saw the officer watching a video on half his screen and processing passport on the other half. This is Laos.
Trip cost summary
Bangkok to Udon Thani on Thai Air Asia US$34.57
One night at Charoensri Grand Royal Hotel, Udon Thani US33.81
International Bus Udon Thani to Vientiane 80 baht = US$2.41
Second visa US$36
Laos 'entry fee' 10 baht = US$0.30
Tuk tuk (shared) from border to Vientiane 50 baht =US$1.50
Tuk tuk from Bus Station to Guesthouse 200 baht = US$6.02
Two nights at the Mali Numphur Guesthouse US$36
Tuk tuk to Bus Station 10,000 kips = US$1
International Bus 22,000 kips = US$2.29
Tuk tuk from Udon Bus Station to Airport 100 baht = US$3
Udon Thani to Bangkok Don Muang on Nok Air US$29.10