Welcome to Laos
My Cambodian visa was about to expire so I needed to leave. Next country on my list was Laos. So I bought the ticket from Siem Reap (Cambodia) to 4000 islands (Laos). Of course, they told me to get the transport to Don Det, one of the islands. In the tuk-tuk, I met two funny guys from France and Belgium. So I was happy that I was not travelling alone.
So we left Siem Reap around 8 am in a minivan. Of course, we stopped for late breakfast and toilet but everything went well until we arrived into Stung Treng and the driver pulled up the car and sent us out with our backpack. There were quite a lot of people waiting for transport to Siem Reap, so different direction. We were sitting patiently next to the restaurant where there was also the agency office. We spent maybe one and half hours of waiting and shaking hands with an old Cambodian man constantly walking around and asking for attention. In the time of coronavirus, this is not the best way to spend the afternoon. Anyway, it was getting late and we started losing patience. The border is open until 6 pm and it was after 4 pm and we had still more than 40 km ahead. Nobody really cared what we were waiting for so when we asked for the bus to Laos they looked surprised. Luckily after ten more minutes of waiting, a taxi came to pick us up and take us to the border. The driver’s knowledge of English was very limited so we had to be satisfied with his gestures showing us the direction to Laos.
The border from Cambodia to Laos must be crossed by foot. We were literally there at the last minute. Passing the Cambodian border was easy, we got a stamp, smile and wish of good luck. And then we were in between Cambodia and Laos. The land of nobody and everybody. Walking towards Laos I said something that almost becomes true because the Universe always fulfils our wishes. Speaking to Kien, the french guy I said, that it would be super cool to camp here, between the countries. Anyway, Laos office was almost about to close so as well as the visa fee we paid an overtime fee and some other money, which I am not sure who they will end up with.
Happy to get the visa, we looked around and did not see any bus or tuk-tuk waiting for us. So we asked the immigration officer to call the agency to ask for the tuk-tuk. Do not worry, the tuk-tuk is coming in twenty minutes. Alright. So we set down on the road and waited. After a few minutes, a guy came to us exchanging dollars and Kipps. His rate was the same as in the bank so I changed some money and we asked him to help us and to call the agency. Of course, we got an answer, that tuk-tuk is coming in twenty minutes. After half an hour of waiting, we kind of started doubting, but we're not losing our positive attitude. Actually, the Belgium guy was upset and angry but we were only laughing, listening to Arabic music and planning where to camp. I was all for camping in front of the immigration office or on the way to Cambodia. After maybe an hour a van arrived driven by a not very friendly driver who said he was not from the agency and he would charge 10 dollars per person. First, I started to bargain but he didn't accept this. So we let him go to the car but I came after maybe 20 minutes with the suggestion that we pay “only” 2 dollars each. However, we changed our mind about paying him because we had already bought a ticket, which was not the cheapest one, so we refused and preferred to camp there. So he left. We were there again alone with one boy from Pakistan waiting for the nonexisting bus. It was getting very dark and late and we were missing water and becoming hungry. So we set out to find water and maybe a place for camping. Fortunately, after maybe 400 metres there was a restaurant, whose owner spoke English very well. So we ordered our first Lao food and asked her to call the agency. Of course, the answer was so obvious, the tuk-tuk is coming in 20 minutes. We could not laugh any more. But, yeah, after maybe 40 minutes of waiting a car came, driven by a pretty drunk guy, who came with a nice apology. It was a woman’s day, so everybody in Laos was celebrating. So, in the end, it was our big mistake to travel on Sunday, the 8th of March. Surprisingly we got to Nakasong and there was already no boat to Don Det, all the captains were drunk but happy to share a beer with us. The positive thing was that our drunk driver had got a hotel and was very happy to accommodate us for 5 dollars each.
So that was how whole my Laos experience began. With a lot of laughter and patience. And that is how Laos will be for me in my memories.
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