8/16/10 (chiang rai)
Jon CarrChiang Rai - Huay Xai - Luang Nam Tha
Transport day. I must say that I really enjoy traveling the world but transport days are rough especially when you get into the more rugged countries. Annie and I were headed to Laos on this day and we had a lot of kilometers ahead of us. We woke up at 6:00am and quickly packed. We planned to take the 7 o'clock bus to the border town of Chiang Khong for entry into Laos. The bus was first come first serve and left every hour. It is easy to see why people use backpacks for extended travel because it can be difficult to navigate with roller suitcases. The wheels get caught in street cracks and we are constantly lifting up and down on staircases and curbs. Not the most ideal and our bags have taken a beating as a result. Annie quickly made each of us a peanut butter sandwich before leaving for the bus station and then we made the two block trip to the old Chiang Rai bus depot. All the buses we have ridden to this point have been large VIP buses. You see similar luxury buses roaming the countryside in the US. The buses from here on out would be what looked like an old converted school bus not built for my six foot two frame. We loaded our suitcases in the back and squeezed ourselves into the springy seats. The bus ride lasted a few hours as we stopped in many remote villages to pick up passengers along the way. The trip went smoothly. When we arrived to Chiang Khong, the bus dropped us off in the center of town and we had to catch a tuk tuk to the Mekong river to cross into Laos. Annie quickly jumped into her negotiator role and grabbed an additional French backpacker named Fabrice to get us a better rate. The ride was 40BHT ($1.33USD) for the both of us. We loaded our luggage into the tuk tuk and made the short trip to the river. We went through immigration for our exit stamp from Thailand and then rolled our luggage down the concrete bank to the river. We were directed to a narrow long boat and loaded our luggage. The long boat ride was 80BHT ($2.66USD) The river was a muddy brown color and we were quickly shuttled across to Huay Xai, the Laos border town.
Our first stop was to get an entry visa at the immigration office. Getting the visa would give us some foreshadowing of our experience with money in Laos. Annie handled all the details and actually had to negotiate a price with the officer. This is traditionally a cut and dry experience but in Laos, it is open for negotiation. The visa was supposed to cost $30USD each but the officer said it would be $35. Annie tried to argue with the officer but didn't want to cause problems. When the officer returned our passports he gave us an extra $5 back so in the end it costed us $65.
Next we needed to coordinate a bus to take us to Luang Nam Tha and at a concrete table next to immigration we met a friendly Laos man who offered to take us for 400BHT. Annie and Fabrice decided to walk down the street to see if they could get a better offer while I chatted with the bus broker. Annie came back after five minutes with tickets for 300BHT each and we were on our way. Luang Nam Tha is a remote hilly region in northern Laos who promotes eco tourism. They offer many jungle treks and kayaking tours and it made for a good first destination. The bus trip was going to take three and a half hours and we were assured the roads were good. Annie had paid extra money to get us on a minibus, which is basically an extended mini van. The bus crammed twelve people inside and it is a tight fit. Annie and I made our way to the back and we were on our way. Much like our other rides, the bus played very loud Laos music over the speakers. It is so loud, it is often difficult to hear music played from an iPod through headphones. We started our ascent to the hilly northern region and one of my favorite new sayings is there is no straight road up a mountain. The area was very beautiful and the road was lined with bamboo houses elevated on stilts and domesticated animals such as water buffalo and pigs. The road twisted back and forth with many sharp curves that our diver raced around. The asphalt was broken up by many large potholes and huge chunks had completely eroded into gravel. The back of the bus was stuffy as the load music blasted in my ear. I started to get queazy as we bounced and swayed along the rough road. Everyone was asleep around me as I started to get the familiar sensation as my mouth began to water uncontrollably. I was going to be sick. I quickly woke up Annie and moved her out of the way to stick my head our the rear window and surprisingly deposited my morning breakfast along the Laos countryside. This was the first time car sickness had gotten to me and caught me off guard. Fortunately no damage was done and I felt better after the experience. After another hour we arrived at the Luang Nam Tha bus station. The English speaking guide stood up and told us we were to get off here. If we wanted a ride to town, it would cost an additional 10,000Kip ($1.25USD). Annie and Fabrice quickly challenged this informing him they had been assured we would be dropped off in the center of town. They went back and forth until the whole bus was silent and after a few minutes we were on our way again. Power to the people, we avoided another Laos money scam. After a short drive we arrived in the town center where all the passengers exited and went their own directions to find accommodations. Annie had located a place via her internet planning and we quickly identified it and settled in. The rate was $8USD for the night and it was a fairly modern guest stay.
After a quick lunch, we took time to relax with an afternoon nap. Later that evening we explored the night market of this sleepy small town and had a nice traditional hill tribe dinner consisting of bamboo with fermented crab chili sauce at a restaurant near our hotel called The Minority. We also enjoyed the local and famous Beerlao for $1USD for a large bottle. After dinner we retreated back to the hotel and planned to spend the next day deciding on a trekking adventure.
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