You're Going to Laos Tonight!

A little over a week ago, a representative from my program called and told me that I would need to leave Thailand that night and head to Laos because my 90-day visa was about to expire.  All of our sponsoring schools were supposed to be working on our work permits/visa extensions, but the short story is my school dropped the ball.  SO- with three hours notice (I’m a planner so spontaneity isn’t my strong point), I headed to Bangkok and caught an overnight bus to Laos with Katherine, another girl on my program who was in the same boat.  By some crazy coincidence, Katherine is Armenian as well…is there some sort of conspiracy to run Armenians out of Thailand?!   Hmmm J

Despite the reasoning behind the trip, I was pretty excited to go to Laos, and knew I was going to stay the whole weekend even if Katherine didn’t want to do so.  A lot of people have told me to go Laos, but it wasn’t necessarily on my hit list of Asian countries, so it worked out well that I got to miss two days of school AND have somebody else pay for the trip!   Luckily, Katherine had planned to stay the whole weekend as well, and our journey involved a 9-hour bus ride, 2-hour Laos visa process (you need a visa to get into the country), and a 1-hour Thai embassy visit (to apply for our new Thai visa) before checking into a hostel around 11am.  All visa processes were pretty straightforward, and there were a ton of people doing the same thing. 

The passport retrieval line at the Thai embassy

After checking into our place, Katherine and I toured the capital city of Vientiane.  It was bigger than I thought, and though I barely slept on the overnight bus, I wanted to see as much as possible that day.

Ruins at Buddha Park

Katherine and I look so small on this huge reclining Buddha!

Wat Pha That Luang (Golden Temple)

Patuxai- built to honor the soldiers who fought to protect the country from foreign invasion.  Resembles the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.  Oh how I miss you Europe!

The view over Vientiane from the 7th level of Patuxai

We hit the night market for food and shopping, a rooftop bar for a little taste of the scene, and then called it a night fairly early because the next day, we headed to Vang Vieng, a town in Laos known for its fun bar scene and crazy tubing adventure.  It’s a pretty little town nestled between beautiful mountains, and it surely lived up to its reputation.

Town shot

Katherine and I at the Bucket Bar with new friends

Our tubing crew

Tubing from bar to bar along the river

One of the bars

Sunset- the pictures don't do it justice

I would have liked a couple of more days in Laos (I feel like I say that about every place I visit) because I would have liked to have seen the Blue Lagoon in Vang Vieng, as well as checked out a nearby town called Luang Prabang, which seemed to be a popular destination for travelers.  At least I got a taste for the place though, and if I don't make it back there, I'll be okay with that. 

This past weekend, a couple of friends from my program, as well as other teachers we have met along the way, went to the Silverlake Music Festival (http://www.silverlakemusicfestival.com/).  The headliners were Incubus, Seether, and Owl City, and along with some other American bands and many Thai bands, the all-day event proved to be a good time.  I stayed in the (cheesy) beach town of Pattaya with my South African friend Eva, and the rest of the group met up with us at the show.

The view over Pattaya from a rooftop restaurant

Our whole crew at the concert; the only time the entire day that everyone was in the same spot!

It's hard to believe that I only have three weeks left of classes, one week of finals, and one week of grading before I'm finished with the teaching portion of my trip!  There's so much I want to see and do in Thailand before I start traveling to other countries, and I'm starting to panic.  I keep telling myself that I can't see and do everything and that I have to make the most of every experience.  Time is certainly flying!!  Until next time....Sawatdee kah!