Holiday Snaps - Day 4. Getting there and away

Champasack to Chiang Mai in 26 hours

So I was told it was easy. Easier than trying to work out flights and connections and other ways to travel.  I was told to have my bags packed by 6.30 as the staff were going across the water to the market and I could catch a ride.

The Southern Lights - Bangkok

Camilla and Julie in the Big Smoke

We thought we'd take a trip to Bangkok. The Big City. The City of Angels. Krungthep. Bangers. Feel some city vibe, taste some fancy food, see some sights, shop a little, wander some soulless, over-cooled hallways of mega shopping centres. Maybe even catch a movie.

We did all that, and more.

A Week Off For a Water Fight

Lao New Year (Pi Mai)

It is a time of spiritual and physical cleansing, visiting temples and blessing statues. It's also all about drinking copious amounts of beer and shooting the crap out of everyone with a water pistol.

One Night in Udon

Take me down to UD town

Udonthani is a large regional city in the northern part of the eastern bit of Thailand. I've been there a couple of times, usually just passing through or for an afternoon of shopping. It's about 80 kms away but it takes 2 hours by bus (lots of border-crossing paperwork).

This time it was an overnighter... an adventure of discovery. I needed some burning qustions answered:

Thailand for a day

Last Sunday we went to Thailand for the day. All three of us, Martin, Clara and I had to exit and re-enter Laos so our visas would tell the truth. So we made a day of it.

It was Martin's birthday so we planned a day of shopping and nice lunch. We started early, only to find it wasn't quite early enough. The 8am bus was fully booked. We waited for the next one.

20kms from the bus station in the centre of town is the Australian-built "Friendship Bridge" where you can drive across the Mekong. Here's a picture of the immigration checkpoint where we had to get off the bus, queue, fill in forms, pay some money, queue some more and get back on the bus.

Immigration - leaving Laos

 

Now I can't say I wasn't told

 

Then we crossed the Mekong into another country.

Welcome to Thailand

 

Am I just biased or does the grass seem greener on this side?

 

It kind of looks the same but it's different. The tuk tuks are prettier, the shopping centre is more modern and the shopping is cheaper.

Pretty Tuk Tuks

Modern, western-style shopping centre in Udonthani

Thailand even has Daddy Donut. Does it get any better?

We ate at a Korean BBQ restaurant that used a sushi train system. We cooked our food on mini barbies on our table. I'm not sure what I was supposed to do with the sliced mango though.

Korean BBQ train

 

Sushi and Korean BBQ for birthday lunch

 

So we shopped for a few things -I bought a hairdryer, shoes, handbag, I looked for clothes. I got fitted for a bra standing in the middle of a department store over my T-shirt in front of hundreds (or so it seemed). I spoke Thai and remembered words I haven't spoken in 15 years. I mixed some Lao in there by mistake but no one seemed to mind. Thais love a good laugh.

But the best find was a wool shop!  With real wool and knitting needles and crochet hooks! There was even a knitting class in progress. There were some mean looking cable knits in progress on that table. Outside it was a steamy 38 degrees - but that didn't stop those fast-flying needles. I chatted in Thai to the shop girl about cotton mixes and the price of wool and darning needles and it felt a little bit like home!

 

Wool! In Thailand

The knitting class in progress

 

Rushing home to the border crossing that evening we enjoyed a trip in this cute little vehicle:

Cute Thai Tuk Tuk

 

We got our visas, ran into a friend and travelled home in the back of a songteaw (little-truck thing with roof and seats in back). It was a big day, I was stuffed. But international travel can do that to you.