A quick visit to Laos - Part 1 The Journey to Pakse

I previously mentioned that on my birthday, Khamma and I were in Laos.  Actually, to be more precise we were in Pakse, which is in the south and about one hours drive from the Thai border at Chong Mek.

On occasions whilst waiting for a bus to somewhere in Ubon’s busy bus station (opposite Big C), I had an urge to jump on the ‘International Bus’ to Pakse and see what was going on over the border.  I visited northern Laos about five years ago and with Dave, where we travelled for three days on the river Nam Ou from Luang Prabang to Phongsali close to the Chinese border on local cargo boats.  It was a wonderful river trip into the heart of the Golden Triangle, and I spent most of the time thinking about the movie Apocalypse Now!  About the scariest thing to happen though was the trussing up of pigs for transport to market, although we did spot a local with an AK-47 slung on his shoulder.  Anyway, I digress….

The bus leaves Ubon at 9.30 in the morning.  You can only book your ticket at the time of departure and you obviously need your passport.  The ticket clerk enters your passport details into a ledger, and issues you with a ticket.  The cost is 200 baht.  There was plenty of room on the bus, but I think it gets crowded at weekends and holidays.

Once on the bus it is about one and a half hours to Chong Mek.  On the journey, it is worth filling out the immigration forms if the bus company hands them out, otherwise make sure you have your pen handy for later.  There is a great market at Chong Mek selling clothes, snacks and all the usual stuff, but you do not have time to wander round.  The Thai border station is in the process of being upgraded, and will be a fine building when it is finished.  The bus driver will ask you to leave the bus to enter Laos on foot.  Going through the Thai border is simple enough and is similar to the process at the airport, just a short queue and a patient wait (Ha Ha!!).

Walking through no man’s land, you can sense you are entering a country where the apparent affluence is not as great as that found in the country you are leaving, which is not exactly flush either.

The real fun starts at the Laos Border Control.  Signage is non-existent at worst and misleading at best.  But, that’s part of the fun.  As Johnny Foreigner, you are required to pay US$35 for a visa, and everybody has to pay 50 baht for an entry stamp in their passport.  Eventually, after a confusing fifteen minutes or so, you are free to walk into Laos and back on the bus.  There is a moment of panic when you think the bus might go without you, but the driver counts everybody out and everybody back in.

I love border crossings.  As we entered Laos, we quickly saw the similarities and realised the differences.  Khamma was pointing at the rice fields and the houses and said ‘same Thamuang’, but there was less sparkle about the temples and the roads were not quite as good as Thailand.

We reached Pakse and the sight of the Laos-Japanese Friendship Bridge across the wide river Mekong.  The building of the bridge in 2003 has created a trade route into Thailand from southern Laos and transformed Pakse into a vibrant commercial city.

Even so, I thought Pakse presented an air of promise that something was about to happen, but of what it was not sure.  It was like an actor frozen on the stage and staring into the footlights, knowing he should be doing something, but for the life of him could not remember.  First impressions are often wrong, as were mine on this occasion.

Once off the bus, we had to find the hotel, but first we needed money.  The Laos currency is kip and there are about 13,750 of them to the GB£.  Unusually, the main currency exchange is the Western Union money transfer office rather than the bank.

With a fat wallet containing nearly 1,ooo,ooo kip (I wished it were GBP) we caught a taxi to the Champasak Palace Hotel.

It was at this point that Khamma realised the local dialect was the same as hers and should speak quite freely to the locals.  A fantastic asset to have that would save lots of bother during our stay.

Our Friendly taxi driver.  Passengers sit on a seat under the canopy.

The magnificent Champasak Palace Hotel