from the Land of 10,000 Lakes to the Land of the Morning Calm: Journey from Thailand to Laos

My journey to Laos was off to great start. I conked out in the back of the van for most of the ride, with the occasional backpack falling on me. We stopped at the Wat Rong Khun (also known as the White Temple) in Chiang Rai which was weird. I can only describe it as a modern, avant-garde wat. It was pure white, with a sea of hands, skulls hanging from trees and pictures of Micheal Jackson and Osama bin Laden. Unfortunately, due to my lack of sleep, my zombie-self didn't notice the murals of Micheal, Osama, and President Bush. It was a cool wat, but I was too pooped to care. "Wat-ever" is the perfect way to describe my mood at that point, a wonderful phrase coined by my new German friend, Tim.

We FINALLY made it to Chiang Khong, a sleepy town on the shores of the Mekong River. We spent the night at the Boom House which had a stunning view; you could see the river, people going along their daily lives, and across the river, was Laos! Tim and I sat on the patio, drank cold Chang beer, and drowned ourselves in the beautiful sunset that graced the two neighboring countries. I would also like to note, the room I slept in was bigger than my apartment in Korea, AND it had a full sized bed. I hadn't slept in a full sized bed since America. I rolled across the bed until I got dizzy.

My feet, Chiang Khong, Thailand, the Mekong River, and Huay Xai, Laos on the other side!

We woke up the next morning and trucked it over to another area on the riverside, then walked over to the immigration office. I booked the entire package (ride from Chiang Mai to Chiang Khong, bed in Chiang Khong, 2 day boat to Luang Prabang, and a couple meals) from my hostel in Chiang Mai. It probably would have been cheaper if I booked everything separately on my own, but it was so much easier with the boat and visa situation to book it as a package, so I would recommend doing that. The process of exiting Thailand and entering Laos was simple and disorganized. The immigration offices in both countries were just little buildings with window booths. Here's how it went down: went to immigration office (window), got exit stamp from Thailand, took tiny boat across river to Huay Xai, got Lao Visa sorted (for this, you fill out a form, give the window money, leave your passport, wait around for them to holler your name), then we went to another area of Huay Xai along the river, purchased beer and food for the journey, and boarded our boat.