And so it was time to leave Vietnam and head into Laos. It was a totally painless border crossing. Well, except for the $30 visa (didn’t even need to bribe anyone ;)
The border guards did look at me a little oddly with the tear – or at least point it out (and yes, I do like to worry – if I don’t have something to worry about then I’ll worry about not having something to worry about.. sad life really ;) hehe. The other thing is, and I’m not sure if it’s a peculiarity of Irish passports (doubt it) but the cover harp symbol on my passport is totally faded – so they often look at the passport, turn it over, and again, and then ask me where I’m from.
Either way, cruisy border crossing, 8 hour bus ride passed smoothly (even with no A/C), and we arrived into Savannakhet.
Then there was a decision to be made.. see Laos only give you a 15 day visa if you get it at the border.. (you can get a 30 day visa – for the same price – if you apply in advance..(worth doing this if you have the time)). So after looking in our guide books decided to head straight on North to where the good hiking, climbing, rafting etc. was. Booked on the 8:30 pm bus (another 9 hours on a bus) and set off to look around the town.
Then there was an even more important decision to be made.
Which was which (or really, how many) ice-creams to get. First magnum (classic) I’d had in months, and it went down a treat, oh, and I had a triple-choc cornetto too (because I am a pig) Mhairi opting for a vanilla-choc cornetto.
Wandering around the town – we happened across a stadium and thought there might be a game on we could watch. Inside we saw a thousand or so – maybe 2 – people dancing about.
It was the end of the boat racing festival. The tradition is that during the rainy season – the Naga (mystical serpents) come out of the waterways and inhabit the earth. This festival is held at the end of the wet season to entice the naga back into the waterways so that ploughing etc. can commence.
Leave a Reply