At Last it's Laos

We’ve made it at last.  We’ve been talking of coming here for the past three years and finally arrived here in Vientiane this morning.

Yesterday (16^th) we went to the Gem Centre in Bangkok and had a wedding ring made to match Lucy’s engagement ring – we assumed that we would pick it up at the end of our holiday but the salesman assured us that he could get the ring to us at our hotel in Bangkok before we left for the train station.  

The ring duly arrived and after five months I finally got to place the ring on Lucy’s finger – we’re really pleased with the ring which is a perfect match.

Having got the ring we headed for the railway station but couldn’t get a taxi for love nor money – so we headed for the Silom subway in a bit of a sweat.  There’s still a high level of security on the subway and our bags set the metal detectors off and we had a bag search.  Luckily, the subway was the right move as it took us right into the main station.

 We bought essential supplies for the night train – 6 beers and a bag of crisps – and headed for the train.  I was a bit apprehensive of the second class sleeper arrangements but again it turned out to be an enjoyable experience.  We met Martin, a lad from Stoke who has just finished four months volunteering in Cambodia, a Dutch couple from Harlem and a Norwegian.  As the train pulled out at 20.00 we headed to the buffet car and had an enjoyable and boozy night.  Trains are a fantastic way to travel and are so much more sociable than flying.

Last orders were at 11pm and we headed back to our bunks for the overnight trip to Nong Khai.  Top bunks, which are cheaper cost about £12 in second class – they were clean and comfy although the air con was a tad frosty which made the dash for the toilets a bit of a chore.  Let’s just say that the toilets were as expected (squat and bum gun). 

We slept pretty well and got up about 7.45.  As we left Udon Thani, the bottom bunks were changed back to seating and we enjoyed a couple of cups of coffee and an odd breakfast. 

 

We arrived in Nong Khai at about 9.00 and boarded a local train crossing the Friendship Bridge and on into Laos.  The visa arrangements were straightforward if a little slow and we then jumped a cab for the 25 km drive to Vientiane. 

Finally got to a hotel with working wifi so back blogging soon

xx