You get to enter his big fat mouth and check out the view of the entire park
Tourists are typically allowed to stay for 30 days in Thailand upon arrival by air, 2 weeks by land coming from Cambodia, and 30 days coming in by land from neighbor Laos.
As I was drawing close to my 30 days as a tourist in Thailand and was not really excited to pay 500 baht per day I overstayed, I had to do what is known here to falangs/farangs (foreigners) as a “visa run”. There are these companies that set up said visa runs for us falangs. You either travel to Laos or Cambodia by land, then immediately re-enter Thailand (coming in from Cambodia) or stay for a night in Laos. Picking Laos through these visa-run companies, you end up with a Thai tourist visa that allows you to stay another 60 days in the Land of Smiles.
These visa run companies set everything you need: they pick you up from your home, process your visas at the Thai/Laos or Thai/Cambodia border and hook you up at some 2 or 3 star hotel if you choose Laos…plus meals. The cost ranges from US$100 to 250.
Buddha Park in Vientiane, Laos
Holders of other southeast Asian passports pay less because we don’t need visas to enter Laos or Cambodia. That also saves up an extra page in our passports as Laos, I was told by a fellow visa-runner from England, uses 2 pages when issuing visas. And when you are a professional border-jumper and nomad like myself, you need those passport pages like that statue above needs a mad amount of Kip (Laos’ currency) just to keep his manicure in tiptop shape!
Unfortunately, the Thai government recently changed the Cambodia visa run laws. Falangs used to get 30-day extension when they do the red-tape fun process of visa-running via Cambodia (a MUCH shorter ride getting there too than faraway Laos). A very inconvenient new law, to say the least.
For what could very well be the a reason called money for the government, doing a visa run from nearby Cambodia nowadays will just get one a mere 15-day extension. So Laos is the visa run paradise of choice for most falangs currently, myself included.
Pha That Luang in Vientiane, capital of Laos
The caveat? A 12-hour car trip when coming from Pattaya or Bangkok. Very fun indeed. ..if you like sitting in a cramped vehicle for that duration and enjoy convenience store food. The van that picked me up was comfortable enough however and they did stop at a few 7/11′s for some classy snacks and WC stops (Water Closets to you Americans).
Going through the Thai and Laos borders was a breeze, thank goodness. You bypass the lines, the visa run company does all the paperwork for you and then the van drops you and all the other border-jumpers to your
hotel in the Laos capital of Vientiane (pronounced Viang Chan and means Sandalwood City. I like giving away useless information).
a strip of European-inspired cafes and restos in Vientienne
Now most people familiar with Laos (I don’t know many from this lot) realize that the capital of Laos is not exactly the country’s prettiest jewel. That would have to be historic Luang Prabang with its enigmatic Plains of Jars (some hours by land away) or another great way to enjoy Laos is to check out the very fun alcohol-induced activity called tubing in Van Vieng which, unfortunately, is also some hours away from the capital city.
With just one day and a night to stay in Laos, most visa-runners choose to stay inside their hotels and drink all the Beer Lao they can get their hands on. A beer that is, by the way, that turned out to go down really easy and taste oh so fresh. I could now probably say it is my favorite Asian beer. Just don’t tell other Filipinos I said that.
Beer Lao FTW
We are very proud of our San Miguel and Red Horse beers very, very much, you see. San Miguel, the most popular Filipino beer brand, has been around since 1890. Yes, another useless piece of information again. But, yes, we are proud of our local Pinoy beer for sure.
As I am not like most tourists (or most human beings for that matter) I decided to leave my hotel room and check out what so-called boring Vientiane had to offer anyway.
I did get a free tour of the Beer Lao brewery during my day trip (a separate post on that later). Yes, Beer Lao is that special to me.
I found my tuk-tuk driver right outside this Euro-inspired structure
A tuk-tuk driver was waiting outside some temple as I was walking aimlessly about the very simple and rural-looking capital city (reminded me of Phnom Pehn, Cambodia). He offered his 3 to 4 hour driving services for 700 Baht. That included an hour of driving to Buddha Park, Pha That Luang temple, a stop at the Beer Lao factory and a view of the Thai-Laos friendship bridge. A very crappy looking bridge but, contrary to what some ex-boyfriends of mine believe, I do admire the concept of friendship and peace so I will post a picture of the bridge.
A US-Mexico Friendship border in the future for easy crossing? Probably not
The Buddha Park turned out to be a surprisingly enjoyable experience for me. It is not large, probably less than the size of a football field (American football to you Europeans) but full of Gothic-styled statues, some of which about a hundred feet tall with some imposing war stance.
The style of the statues at the Buddha Park exponentially raised my interest in Lao culture. The Gothic art and lack of over-commercialization of the country appealed to me very much.
Only 20 Baht entrance fee plus another 20 if you have a camera. Talk about cheap!
View of the entire Buddha Park on top of Big Mouth
Light rain was dampening my charm and style, so I left the park after taking some interesting photos and my tuk-tuk driver took me to a very beautiful temple called Pha That Luang. While admiring the architecture and walking around its perimeter, I felt like I was in some Arabian tale. Or the Prince of Persia video game.
Enigmatic Pha That Luang
It's no Angkor Wat, but it still soothes the mind and eyes
Laos-inspired Street Fighter scene
Angkor Wat in Cambodia brought me to the Tomb Raider game in my head. Seems to me these video game designers pick southeast Asia as their top choice for inspiration. Sure enough after looking at my Laos photos back in Thailand, someone commented how the lying Buddha statue is straight out of the backdrop of a Street Fighter game.
Straight out of a Street Fighter scene!
A virgin sacrifice in Laos. Very impossible to accomplish in Pattaya for, er, lack of the necessary ingredients.
Next post…the Beer Lao Brewery tour and my tuk tuk driver’s indecent proposal.
Lao trip highlight, for sure
