Laos

Aaron and I on the tuk-tuk going back to Thailand.
Some young monks.
A Lao public service announcement!
Some Lao and/or Thai men crossing the friendship bridge.

The next day, Heather and Aaron and I decided to head for the border and go to Laos. I was excited to go back to Vientiene, the capital of Laos. I’d been there once before, but due to a delayed flight, only got to spent part of a day there. We went up to Nong Khai, a small city along the border where there’s the Friendship Bridge that connects Thailand and Laos. According to the guidebook, it’s on the 2nd bridge to cross the Mekong. Going through Customs took quite a while. First we had to wait for close to an hour on the Thai side and then about an hour to get our Lao visas. Once we finally got into the country, we got a tuk-tuk (a 3-wheeled covered go-cart, basically) and got going to Vientiene. We only had a few hours, so we quickly embarked on a walking tour of the center of the city. In such a short time, we managed to see quite a bit, including a market, the US embassy, four wats, a bunch of Buddhist monks, and the Mekong, as well as eat some lunch and have some ice cream. The last time I was in Laos, I really really liked it and after being back again, I can’t wait to return! I think that Laos today must be what Thailand was like 20 or 30 years ago…really laid back, friendly, and warm.

The next day, we had to say goodbye to Gecko Villa and head back to Bangkok. I had a 2 AM flight on the 11th back to Seoul and when I arrived, it was snowing…quite a change from the 80 degree weather in Thailand! I’m going back to SE Asia this summer and am so excited to see some of the same things I saw this trip as well as new stuff!