I am getting kicked out of Thailand tomorrow. But it wasn’t because I did something naughty this time. My visa’s expires tomorrow and I need to make sure I cross the Thai borders before I get in trouble. So I need a new visa; I need one that doesn’t require me to take a plane flight back to Bangkok and one that allows me to stay in the country longer than 30 days. I attempted to get my non-immigrant B visa in Cambodia but was bitterly denied because I lacked the necessary documents to apply. Sadly, I left Cambodia empty handed and nearly empty pocketed. I was peeved at my school’s inability to organize and prepare their teachers (or just me) for their visa runs. No apologies. No compensation. Nothing. On top of that, I came back to school early because I was required to teach that Friday. But of course, no one told me that we didn’t have school that day after I rushed back to Bangkok. I could’ve spent more time in Cambodia.
This time I decided to travel to Laos. I heard it is supposed to have a more tolerant Thai embassy. Upon hearing that many foreign teachers have successfully gotten their visas from Laos, I was more confident I would be able to get my visa this time. However, I actually don’t know anything about Laos. It seems to be a mysterious and overlooked country as it is rarely mentioned in history books, popular travel destination ads, and current events. All I know about Laos is it is a country north of the Thai borders and a country heavily bombed during the Vietnam War. Nevertheless, I was excited to explore this unknown territory and get better acquainted with this forgotten country.
My school wants to extend my contract for another year. They seem to like me and they claim the kids like me. I don’t know why though. None of the staff members have ever seen me teach and I always get mad at the kids. Well, not always. It's just when they cheat; a rather familiar act for my students. But I guess I’ve made a good enough impression that they would want to keep me around for another year. It’s a lot to think over though. One whole year of living in Bangkok. One whole year of teaching in a system in which kids never fail. I don’t know if I take all of that for another year. On the other hand, one whole year of a full time job and good salary. One full year of actually knowing what I’m doing finally. One full year of getting to know the kids who are unexpectedly starting to grow on me. It’s hard to turn down a guaranteed job offer especially considering if I return home I won’t have a teaching job waiting for me. It is scary to choose doubt when you have certainty right in front of you.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t given much time for consideration. Less than a week before I had to leave for Laos, my boss handed me a one-year contract and told me that I had to sign it in order to get my non-immigrant B visa. I was really confused. Why do I have to sign a one year contract in order to work for one more month? I didn’t want to sign it. I still haven’t made up my mind about staying yet. But she told me that the one year contract was the only way I would be able to get the proper documents for a visa. Why couldn’t we have done this when I first started? Why can’t the contract just be a couple months? Why do I have to sign a full year contract that doesn’t even start until April of 2012? I had so many questions but not enough time.
So I have two options. I can get kicked out of the country in a couple of days, forfeit my TESOL certificate, salary, and job, and head back to the States months earlier than expected. Or I can sign the one year contract and figure out what I want to do afterwards. Without thinking it over enough, I spitefully signed the one year contract. Yes, I’m bound to this school for the next year. We’ll see. Maybe I’ll start liking the school a bit more over the next month or so. After signing the contract I should be able to get the right documents to bring to the Thai embassy in Laos. Finally, I can get this visa situation over with. This was definitely more complicated than it had to be.
During the week, I began to get really excited about my upcoming travels. Whenever I’m about to go on a trip over the weekend or during the week, I always tell my students. I really like telling my students about my travel experiences and will usually begin or conclude my classes with my adventures. The story from my trip to Ayutthaya was very exciting to tell my M2 kids since the Ayutthaya kingdom is the one I teach them about. As I discussed how troublesome it was trying to make my way around the kingdom, I would also playfully place blame on them by saying, “I went there for you guys so you can learn about Ayutthaya and look what happened! This is how much I like you guys!” I told some of my classes about my forthcoming trip to Laos. Some of them meekly asked, “You are leaving? For how long?” I was so touched to hear these concerning questions come out of their normally unresponsive mouths. That is until I realized that some of them had these malicious smirks on their faces as they assumed that their teacher being out of the country means they don’t have work. I did make a point to keep them rather occupied during my travels.
It was a couple hours before I was supposed to board a bus to Laos and I still don’t have my visa documents. This is Thailand. It figures since everything in Thailand is done last minute. After repetitively telling the staff that I had to leave the country by Thursday, I thought that would prompt them to run my teaching contract through the education system sooner. But they forgot to process my contract so they didn’t have my visa documents ready by the time I had to leave the country. I couldn’t believe it. I was upset. I signed a one year contract and don’t even know if I can get my visa. Now I had to wait for my contract to get all proper signatures before leaving town. It was already an hour past the time I was supposed to leave school. I was afraid I wasn’t going to make the last bus to Laos. I still had to go home, pack the rest of my bags, and make it over to the northern bus terminal, which can sometimes take almost two hours in rush hour. I was getting stressed out, knowing that I would not make the border in time if I didn’t make the last night bus.
After getting my contract signed, two hours of traveling, and five different modes of transportation, I reached the Mochit Bus Station. Finding my way around the station was intimidating. I’ve been to this station several times now but never realized how big it really was. Three floors completely packed with vendor booths all selling tickets to different locations across Thailand. They all look the same. White signs and booths with blue Thai inscriptions. Not too clear for an English speaker. After getting several employees to gesture me directions to the correct booth, I received my ticket to Nong Kai, the border city and point into Laos. I was astonished to hear that the ticket was only 300฿ ($9) since I heard that the ticket could range from 700-900฿ ($21-$30) for a seat on the sleeper bus. Uh oh! I have to expect a pretty low grade bus with that price I’m sure. With all the stress I’ve endured, I didn’t care about the bus quality at this point. I just wanted to get to Laos as soon as possible. And of course it worked out in the end. It always seems to work out in the most dramatic of ways. Last minute but nevertheless, I caught the last bus to the border.
February 3rd, 2012
What have you ever heard about Laos? Where is Laos even located, right? Some of you might already know a lot about Laos but I don’t think there are too many people that do. I’ll even admit that all I really knew about the country was its geography and relationship to Thailand. That’s about it. Isn’t that terrible considering that I teach a subject called Southeast Asian History? I swear I am a good teacher. However I still have a lot to learn. This is a reason why I wanted to come to this country. I want to learn more about Laos.Laos is considered the forgotten country among the Southeast Asian clan. Though heavily bombed during the neighboring wars of the 20th century and commonly shunned for its Communist alliance, the country remains a natural beauty with pure nature reserves and lighthearted and carefree people. Laos is also sometimes considered a sleepy country. Its vibe is almost nonexistent as everything moves like the pages of a nearly vacant flip book. Laotians or Lao people are just as sleepy and laid back as their country’s reputation. The Laos enthusiasm is comparable to waking a child who doesn’t want to wake or a coma victim not yet ready to be revived. Well, the coma victim may be too extreme of a comparison but you get the point. Maybe it’s because Laos has been forgotten for such a long time and just recently been discovered as a popular tourist spot for backpackers and nature thrill seekers alike. And Lao people haven’t yet been brought up to speed. The only tainted and flamboyant part of this peaceful country is sadly the tourists. I’m not excluding myself unfortunately. During my time here I definitely played a part in disrupting the peace.
This time I chose not to tell my parents that I was traveling to Laos. Last time I told them about my travel plans to Cambodia, my parents thought I was going to be auctioned off into the human trafficking industry and/or die. So this time they are going to find out about my journey via blog posts. I really didn’t have time or any patience left for another Skype intervention. I’m tired as it is.
The bus to the border took a lot longer than expected. I took the night bus to Nong Kai, the border city to Laos. I was projected to be at the border by five in the morning. However, I didn’t arrive at my destination until ten in the morning. It was a dreadful bus ride or at least that’s what I am assuming. Once I found a spot on the bus and reclined my seat, I was fast asleep for almost 13 hours. Everything in between was foggy. I was too tired to move or really wake but I had some help along the way. With every stop we made, this beautiful Thai woman would gently wake me and chaperone me to the bathroom at each pit stop. I never asked for her help but she found it her duty to get me to the toilet each time. And I was too tired to resist her persistent guidance. It was strange having her hold me tightly by the upper arm dragging me across each pit stop. She never said a word to me. She just gave me an utterly concerned smile. I think she thought something was terribly wrong with me. I honestly don’t think I truly woke up during any of those breaks. I missed out on the pitch dark scenery of the disregarded regions of Eastern Thailand (the area of my supposed original residence and school site) but I made it to my destination safely.
The Trolls of the Lao Border. After a long voyage across the border, I reached Vientiane with my on-arrival visa. If ever making this same crossing, bring US dollars for your on-arrival visa. They gave me a bit of a hard time and tried charging me a lot more money when I attempted to use Thai baht. They then made me wait almost an hour at their office to try to exchange my money. I guess they prefer USD at the border. Nevertheless, I exchanged my Thai baht into Lao money, which is called kips. The exchange rate is about 8,000 kips to 1 USD. Although most Thai food and commodities are cheaper, buying in Laos wasn’t too badly priced. It is still cheaper than the States. For example, Lao coffee can cost about 16,000 kip ($2) and a meal can cost about 25,000 kips ($3).
The City of Sandalwood. Vientiane is the capital of Laos. It is a quiet and unruffled city alongside the prominent Mekong River, a river that runs through six different countries of Southeast Asia. Vientiane looks a bit like France at times. Some parts of town you can see Renaissance influenced structures with simply fashioned arches and columns and even lamps and street signs with a hint of romanticism. In other regions, you can see thatched roofs, wooden and eroded buildings. And then you see Asian people, or more specifically Lao people, reminding you that you are in an alluring country of the East. There isn’t too much to do in Vientiane as it has just a select few accommodations (or at least budget accommodations) in the main city center and even less attraction sites. Most people use Vientiane as a passing city, one in which you can rest for a day or so before moving on to bigger and greater things. Unfortunately, I felt this to be nearly true although I did have a rather positive and inspiring experience from my short visit in this city.
After applying for my visa, I was driven back into town with another traveler. He was this older man from Russia that had ‘creep’ written all over him. I wouldn’t normally say this so liberally but his mannerisms were just not that acceptable, at least to my standards. I think he thought I was up for sale for the night as he continued to follow me into each hostel I scoped out. As he continued to give me suggestions on which places he favored, I gradually stopped being responsive and cheery. I was hostel shopping for a bit looking for the cheapest price. But it was difficult. Vientiane isn’t the best place to find cheap accommodations. But, then again, I have pretty cheap living standards. Bed bugs, stained bed sheets, and the orgy of travelers I would be sleeping with (hostel/dorm room style). Bring it on! All I wanted was a place to put my bags down for one night so I can explore the city and leave the next morning. My price range was about 40,000 kips to 80,000 kips ($5-10) a night. Most accommodations were $15-$40 a night.
As I was finding quotes for each hostel, the Russian man continued to follow me, claiming that he was interested in the same hostel. When I would ask the reception for their price and a description of their room, they would describe the basics: shared bathroom, five person shared room, and a key that may or may not work on the storage cabinet or door. Inconveniently, the Russian man would give in his input and tell me that it wasn’t good enough. I told him that I was okay with this and that he should find a place that accommodates his preferences. But he continued to follow me, suggesting places that cost $30 a night and trying to reassure me that $30 wasn’t that expensive. I get the feeling that he wouldn’t have paid for my share of the room if I were to join him. Uh, I feel nauseous even making that comment.
I finally found a dorm room for about 40,000 kips a night and I was really excited to put my bags down after almost a day of traveling. The Russian man was still tagging along and he continued to tell me that I should get a private room with a bathroom. I wonder why. I told him I was fine with this and he began to get slightly annoyed. He repeatedly stated, “I like my comforts way too much to stay at a place like this.” I was really annoyed and I wanted him off my back. I told him to find another place. He stormed off, possibly disappointed that his prospect didn’t want to share a private room. I was relieved when he left. Finally, he’s gone. I don’t have to deal with that creepy guy anymore. After settling in, I was excited to take a shower. It’s been a couple days now since I’ve washed myself. So with the combination of humid weather, expended and sweat drenched clothes, and greasy, slicked back hair (I knew I should’ve bought some baby powder), I didn’t look or smell too appealing. I went down to the reception to ask for a towel when the Russian guy approached again. He rapidly and nervously stated, “My room number is 534 by the way. I can show you around and take you to coffee in the afternoon. Laos has good coffee. Do you know how long will you be here?” I turned down all his blatant approaches and at last, he left me alone.
Immediately after liberating myself from the Russian man, I met a nice English fellow named Andy. It was nice to be talking to someone who seemed to be about my age and someone who wasn’t trying to buy me for the night. I don’t even know how we started talking though. He was looking at travel destinations in Laos at the travel agency located in my hostel’s reception. I asked him a question about it and that was it. We talked nonstop for hours about everything and anything. It was strange; meeting a complete stranger and being able to have a comprehensive and uninterrupted conversation with him. Although I think I was initially trying to escape the disturbing Russian man, I ended up having such good time with Andy.
We decided to explore the city together. After my first taste of Lao cuisine and Lao beer, we blindly made our way around the city. Without the use of a map or even a destined point of interest, we frolicked around the city without a care in the world. Then, it started to pour. But it didn’t deter us. We continued to truck around even as our clothes became completely drenched and our feet entirely immersed into water.
Patuxai. I thought I was in France for a second. Aside from the uniquely Lao inspired surface design and painted murals, the structure is very similar to Paris’ Arch de Triomphe. This famous Laos attraction was definitely a site to see. It is a touch of French influence left behind from the former colonizing power. But it was mainly built as a memorial and remembrance for the Laotians who died in battle for their country. A long pathway of flower patches, charming street lamps, and a two-laned leads you to Patuxai. It might have been more classic appearing if the entire scenery wasn’t soaked and showered in rain. Andy and I had to take cover under this structure. And so did everyone else. The rain did not seem like it was going to stop so we took our time to explore the building.
Pha That Luang. Before coming to Laos, I did some research on what to see in Lao’s capital city. When I came across a picture of this temple, I was completely astonished. It was beautiful and unlike many temples I’ve seen in the past. And I’ve seen a lot of temples now. This temple is a famous landmark for Laotians. It is a place of worship for Lao Buddhists and is significant for the legend behind the making of its structure. So turns out Buddha’s ashes were brought to all parts of the Earth and placed inside 84,000 separate stupas. So as a spiritual connotation, this temple was given 84,000 separate points to portray the many pieces of Buddha. I immediately penciled it into my notebook as a must see. But when I got lost in the city, I didn’t believe I would actually discover it along my journey. 
As the rainfall gradually ceased, Andy and I finally made our way out of a coffee shop we used as shelter. In the distance, we saw this bright golden light gleam across the deep blue and black of the mucky skies. I recognized it. I was so excited. It was Pha That Luang! Well, at the time I couldn’t remember the name or its significance at the time so I kept on exclaiming, “It’s that thing that I wanted to see with the big golden things and it’s very famous in Laos I think.” Sounding pretty intelligent, don’t I? I dragged Andy to the site, although I do believe he was a willing follower in my obsessive rampages for tourist attractions. The site was closed since it was so late. But it was okay. I knew that I was coming back to all these sites on a much sunnier day.
We were very lost but still happily wandering around. It has been almost nine hours since we started traveling around the city. We were both tired and surprisingly my foot became scuffed and bloody from the combination of water, chaffed skin, and a whole lot of walking. After going in a couple circles, we finally got back to main part of town. We had some delicious food and then took off for Laos’ eminent night market along the Mekong River. It was hard to find though. And when we finally found it, the market consisted of three vendors. It was kind of a trivial night market. I was confused but maybe it was for the best. I really didn’t need to be spending money anyways. Food, pictures, and memories are the best souvenirs, right?
Vientiane is an early bird type of town as everything closes down by 11 pm. Unfortunately we didn’t realize that until after we got to a bar called Sticky Bar. Right when we ordered our drinks, they were closing up. Before I left the bar, I poured my whiskey drink in an empty water bottle to take home. Then I went back to my hostel. But when I arrived, the hostel was closed. The entire entryway to my hostel was completely gated off without an opening in sight. All my belongings are in that hostel; my contact lenses case, clean and dry clothes, and the prospects of a desperately needed shower. The streets were completely deserted and all other hostels were closed already. It’s not like I had enough money in my pockets to be able to afford another place anyways. I knocked on the gated door a few times and waited but there didn’t seem to be anyone there to help me. I didn’t know what to do. I did see a couple provocatively dressed women and men walking the streets. I mean I haven’t showered in a couple days and I resemble a taller and semi-girlish version of a disheveled Oliver Twist. There might be some takers out there.
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