Visa-run from Chiang Mai-Vientiane - taking my time, making it leisurely.....

I am aware that there are many blogs on this topic, however when I was looking, I found none posted after July 2014 - when visa rules changed, and none by Europeans, which I happen to be. Many focus on getting in and out of Laos pretty quickly but I decided (after a really enjoyable time in Luang Prabang at the beginning of 2014) to spend a few days in Vientiane, and also explore the different transport options in doing this particular journey.

Sunset over the Mekong, in Vientiane

I left on a Saturday afternoon from Chiang Mai. I decided to fly to Udon Thani one way as my tourist visa was expiring that night at midnight. I booked the flight about 4 days previously for 2, 000bht (approx. EUR48 right now), you can get them cheaper or you can fly to Vientiane for about 9, 000bht more, if you're feeling flush. The flight was nice and easy, free checked luggage with Nok Air and out of the airport within about fifteen minutes. I had been told to get across Udon Thani to the bus station and get a bus to Nong Khai and then from there to the border, but I was offered a mini-bus directly to the border for 200Bht (EUR4.80) and that seemed far less hassle for a saving of what would amount to 50bht. I met a fellow Chiang Mai dweller on the mini-bus, which proved to make the whole trip easier and more enjoyable.

We were dropped right at the border. It's pretty easy to leave Thailand, but I had a hairy moment as I'd lost my departure card. I cajoled a little (with my absolutely minimal Thai) and the guard gave me another. I don't really understand the departure card - as the stamp for entry is in my passport so they know when I came in? Anyhow, there are many things I don't understand! Once you're through you get the bus across the Thai-Laos Friendship Bridge (20bht/50cents) and arrive at the Laos border.

As it was a Saturday evening, there was no one else around and I had come prepared money-wise. For Europeans, it's usually $35 (approx. EUR27) for a Laos visa, but add $1 for weekends or after 6pm. After 6pm on a weekend seems a great time to do it, and I was happy to pay the $1 extra. Note that you can also pay in Thai baht, but you pay 1500bht (approx. EUR36) so there's a nice little surcharge on there, for whoever it is that prefers the US Dollar. Also, have a couple of passport photos handy. They say one but in SE Asia, laws are apt to change. The forms don't take long and are processed within about five minutes.

Vientiene's version of the ubiquitous signpost

My new friend, John, had forgotten to go to the bank back in Thailand, due to some silly law his bank had (as I said - many things I don't understand) so I said I would wait for him at the Laos border to get to Vientiane together. It also meant I had the time to people-watch, one of my favourite pastimes. I deduced that toilet paper must be cheaper in Thailand, as people seemed to be bringing stacks of it (I mean, hundreds of rolls!) across the border, along with various foam packaging, for restaurants I guess. The border got much more crowded around 8pm and there was a queue of cars when John returned, about an hour later.

We headed into the city by minivan. If you share, expect to pay no more than 200bht per person, but try and get the songtheaws, some have bargained down to 100bht per person. Thai baht is freely accepted here, even preferred to kip, the local currency.

I had chosen www.vientianestarhotel.com as my lodgings, and they were perfectly adequate. The owner and staff were really friendly and helpful, the rooms were really clean (and bed-bug free - bed bugs are a huge problem in Vientiane), as were the bathrooms, and they have a cool courtyard decorated with graffiti for drinks or breakfast. It's also a pretty good location, around the corner from the Mekong. John and I headed around to Via Via, an Italian restaurant, where we stuffed our faces with pide (Turkish pizza), hummus, falafel and salad. I also had a couple of mojitos, as it was Saturday night. We also had a couple of Laos whiskey (more like rum) in the courtyard of the hotel with some fellow travellers.

I didn't sleep well - not the hotels' fault, my usual problems with sleeping - so I rose late and went off exploring the town. It is a sleepy place and there isn't that much to do, but the perks are definitely the food. For breakfast fare, or indeed lunch, try The Scandinavian Bakery. It is substantially cheaper than some of the other French places, and offers a variety of breads and breakfast sets. I paid 27, 000kip for breakfast (about 110bht) compared to 50, 000kip in Le Banneton and I got more bang for my buck too. If you like wine, there are quite a few wine cellars near the American embassy, with a much better selection than Thailand. Also, explore the side streets for great examples of French architecture in the houses, and stop off at Patuxai, Vientiane's nod to the Arc de Triomphe.

A window near the top of Patuxai

Next day, bright and early we headed to the embassy, reaching there at 6.25am. Mel spoke some Thai, so she negotiated that the five of us would be taken by songthaew for approx 40bht each/10, 000kip. There was no one else at the embassy, but people began to arrive about ten minutes after us. By 8.30am, when the gate opened, I was told the queue stretched about 1km down and around the block. Tip: Download the application form free from www.thaivisa.com the night before, or pay 80bht outside the embassy to get one! When we entered, although we were first, we didn't have our forms completed, so we ended up being between 30-60. Not a big deal, as the lines move fast. However, when I reached the guy, he told me my application was incomplete/incorrect but wouldn't tell me why. As I had seen my friends, Lauren and Simon, have theirs accepted two queues over, Mel, Rica and myself simply moved to that queue and had our applications accepted there. There is no point in arguing with the officials - as we found out. If they say no, then arguing the toss is simply un-Thai, they won't give in as it would mean losing face. Then, we entered the main building, paid 2, 000bht and were given a receipt to return the next day. It's all quite confusing, no one tells you what is going on, you can simply go with the flow.

Success! Non-B visas acquired!

After more sightseeing, and a lovely dinner by the Mekong, we returned at a more reasonable hour of 12.30pm the following day, to pick up our visas. The embassy doesn't open until 1.30pm but they started giving out numbers at 1pm. Visas completed, we headed out for some lunch and then the long journey back. I had decided to join my fellow teachers on the overnight bus. We booked one for 1100 bht pps, a songtheaw picked us up at the embassy and brought us to the bus station outside Vientiane, where we boarded a bus to the border. We had to pay another 45bht to exit Laos (again, why?) and got back on the same bus. At the Thai border, they checked our passports, we entered Thailand, returned to our bus again which took us as far as Udon Thani. There, we were met by tuk-tuks which brought us across town to another bus station, to take the overnight bus. We had about half an hour to eat and use the toilets before we boarded our bus to Chiang Mai. Onboard, we were given blankets, a snack and water and about 10pm the air-con was turned on, although it wasn't great. It was a bumpy ride and I slept fitfully, although better than most of my friends. We arrived back at Chiang Mai bus station around 6.40am, exhausted but relieved.
Breakdown below.

Type of Cost	Description	Price (THB)	Price (EUR)/(USD)
Travel	Flight	2, 231	Approx. EUR58/USD73
Travel	Bus to Border	200	Approx. EUR5/USD 6.35
Travel	Bus across F/Bridge	20	Approx. 50cent/65cent
Visa	Laos Visa	1, 500*	EUR 28.40/USD 36
Food	Dinner at Via Via	400	EUR 9.85/USD 13.50
Accomodation	Vientiane Star – 3n	1, 760	EUR 44/USD 56
Food	Le Banneton	200bht	EUR5/USD 6.35
Food	Scandinavian Bakery	110	EUR2.80/USD 3.55
Drinks	Drinks	240	EUR7/USD 8.90
Travel	Songthaews x 3	120	EUR 3/USD 3.75
Visa	Thai Non-B Imm.	2, 000	EUR 50/USD 65
Food	Scandinavian Bakery	110	EUR2.80/USD 3.55
Food	BBQ on the Mekong	240	EUR 7/USD 8.90
Travel	Bus back to CM	1, 100	EUR 27.50/USD 35
Food	Dinner in Udon Thani	40	EUR 1/USD 1.25
TOTAL		10, 271	Approx. 252/USD 318

Overall, it was a nice trip and could have been worse. I do recommend not rushing it, as you will be less stressed. Take in the Mekong, get some nice French food (and wine!) and make sure you have all your paperwork. Note that the tourist visa costs the same as the Non-B.

My favourite travel blogs and websites

As a travel-junkie, obviously I do my own fair share of reading other peoples' blogs and tips for their travels, even when I don't have plans to visit a place it's still brilliant to read them and day-dream about when I might get to visit far-flung (or some nearby places). There are also some websites I check regularly and find very helpful. So, since I have many friends who like to travel almost as much as I do and I thought I'd share them with you.

www.skyscanner.com
This is a no-brainer - the cheapest flights I've found, my parents use it and I've recommended it to numerous people. It has lots of options for you to choose from (You can check flights for the whole month or year if you like) time you want to fly, you can exclude certain airlines if you don't like to fly with them. I've been using it now for about 7 years and I'm always stunned that people don't know about it.

http://www.hostelworld.com/blog/what-does-1-buy-you-in-every-european-country/158597?source=newsletter-hwnljune14
Here's a great article about what $1 will buy you in each European country - I don't know why they put  Walkers crisps in Ireland, if you want potato chips in Ireland you must buy Tayto or King. You don't know what you're missing until you eat these, that's a fact. Also, $1 in most Irish supermarkets or Centra/Spar etc will buy you 2/3 sausage rolls - which are brilliant for the hangover you will undoubtedly experience at some point in an Irish trip.

http://www.resorthoppa.com
This is a pick-up service from airports around the world. They do offer reasonable rates (I've checked and I've often taken tuks, taxis and buses from airports to the city centre or where I'm staying) and if there are more than one of you it can be good value. It also means that you don't have to worry about negotiating the journey in a foreign language after 14 hours travelling. They'll be waiting for you with a sign. Definitely cheaper than taxis and helpful in places where buses aren't readily available.

http://www.wwoof.net
If I had known about this! I first heard about Wwoofing when I was in New Zealand and it sounds like a great way to get free food and accomodation whilst travelling, particularly in more expensive countries in Europe or Australia/New Zealand. They also offer stays as short as 4-7  days so you aren't stuck doing something if you really hate it and - in the great tradition of travellers - you might actually learn something! Alternatively you can try http://www.workaway.info for longer stays (usually at least a month) and a wide variety of positions (au-pairing, working in a hostel, helping school-children, photography, marketing). Be very careful about vetting the owners/place though. I thought I had a month sorted in Sri Lanka volunteering at a hostel when the owner hit on me (via Skype). He suggested we have an affair whilst I was there. Needless to say, I turned him down and was lucky enough to find other work, without the site. There are many good projects though and I don't think it's a reflection on the website.

http://www.worldofwanderlust.com
I love this blog. A fellow female traveller, she has done so much that I'm envious of and the layout of the blog makes it very easy to navigate. It's always worth looking up her blog for tips on different places, hotel rooms (for the traveller with a bit of extra cash), places to see, ways to save prior to your trip etc.

http://www.whichairline.com/news/Battle-of-the-low-cost-airlines%3A-Ryanair-AirAsia-or-tigerair-None-of-them-in-2014%21
Another good article on low-cost airlines. WhichAirline recently did a cost comparison (WITH baggage) with some interesting results. Some budget airlines are excluded from the comparison search engines so this up-to-date article is a handy tool on which airlines websites to visit for the best deals.

http://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/the-ultimate-guide-to-traveling-when-you-have-no-money/
I subscribe to Nomadic Matt and I've included a link here to one of his great articles on travelling with no money. For most of us, having no money is a concern of some sort, particularly when we want to get to our next place. Matt scours the net and partners with some travel companies offering great discounts, who are doing the best travel-related deals now on credit cards and other sites and he always has an abundance of helpful info in his emails and articles.

If you like to read about travel, like me, who likes to have a deeper insight into the places I've been or am going to - not just from Lonely Planet, Rough Guide etc - check out Conde Nast's list of travel books. http://www.cntraveller.com/recommended/culture/best-travel-books/page/books-on-worldwide-travel

For places to stay, I always use www.hostelworld.com and I would highly recommend becoming a member on their site. Their ratings are great and always from people who have stayed in a particular place. I vehemently advise against hostelbookers.com. They double-booked me on the one occasion I used them, in Christchurch and I ended up having to pay NZD150 for a room that night, last-minute. The website weren't even apologetic. The reason I was double-booked (along with a few others) was that hostelbookers hadn't sent through the booking forms to the hostel in question until the day I was due to arrive and by that stage they were fully booked. I had a 'confirmed' email in my hand. The staff at the hostel were ever so helpful but two other couples arrived in whilst I was online trying to find somewhere else and the exact same thing had happened to them. I've used hostelworld on approximately 30-40 occasions and nothing like this ever happened.

http://www.goodbyevirginiahelloworld.com
I met Ansley in a hostel in Kaikoura, New Zealand and we've kept in touch. I subsequently discovered her wonderful photo-blog. She really captures the essence of places on her travels and has photos of some neat little wonders that I have yet to come across. If you are keen on photography and far-flung places you will enjoy this blog.

Here are a couple of app's I have on my phone which I can't do without.
XE Currency - does what it says on the site, converts any currency to another in seconds. Free.
Travel Safe Pro. Emergency numbers for any country you may visit, embassy details and other numbers you might need should you have an emergency far from home. No, a lack of wifi isn't actually considered an emergency. However, if that is your emergency - there is a free app called Wifi Finder to help you.
TripIt - Picks up your flight details, bus details etc and stores them all in a handy format. It also tracks how many miles you've covered and where. You can also add your loyalty programmes to it and it will track those. I found it quite handy.

So there you have my little collection of websites and apps I use on a regular basis that make my life easier and more interesting. If you have any, please let me know as I'm always interested in anything travel-related.

Stansted to Split (How NOT to travel.....)

I had planned well. I had managed to get a week's worth of clothing and shoes (YES, SHOES) into carry-on luggage. Under 12kg. That, I'm sure ladies will agree, is probably an unsurpassed feat. But my shining moment was about to be clouded over...how? By me, of course.

The alarm went off at 4am. I had gotten back to the hotel at 1.15am. We all do it, don't we? We tell ourselves - "It'll be fine, I'm going on holidays, I'll sleep on the plane,. Then, feeling god-awful, we drag ourselves into the shower and get ready. It was bloody freezing that morning, I was so glad to be leaving the U.K, although the forecast for Split wasn't great. Rain. Typical. I leave Ireland, experiencing a heatwave for the first time since 1995, to go on a cruise in Croatia - and RAIN is predicted. Of course I haven't a single thing packed for inclement weather. Why would I? That 11.5kgs didn't allow for it!

I got to Stansted and Katherine was already at the gate. I hadn't even met Katherine yet and she must've already thought I was a bit scatty, arriving about an hour before my flight. Whilst passing through security I was stopped, I had "too many items" in my plastic liquid bag. So it had to be repacked. A very kindly American girl offered to take the extras through for me but the snotty security said no. So I relinquished shower cream, hand sanitiser and toothpaste, hoping Sarah (my room mate to be) would have these. I then scurried to Boots, to pick up other items I needed, where the queues were literally winding down the aisles out onto the public area. Only at the cashier did I realise that I was sans boarding pass and I heard my name "Would Caitriona McBride please return to the security area?". Now what would Katherine think of me? She was texting saying that the flight was boarding and I was wondering if there was food near the gate? I managed to reach there for final call, clutching a brie and bacon wrap and feeling rather pleased with myself. Katherine looked rather worried and we barely had time for introductions before we had to take our separate seats (we didn't find out in time about each other in order to snag seats together - and changes on Easyjet aren't cheap!). Somewhere between Security and Boarding I had managed to take a Xanax so it was lights out for me before we even ascended.

At Split airport I felt much more refreshed and found Katherine, apologising for my earlier tardiness and general scattiness. I was proud to show off my carry-on but rather jealous of her suitcase, probably packed with goodies I couldn't bring on with me. We wandered around in the sunshine (for now!) looking for a bus and eventually were directed towards one which we were assured would get us to the port. We were straight on the texts, alerting Louise and Sarah that we'd arrived and would be seeing them soon. We settled in on the bus and pondered on the week to come, psyching ourselves up for the late nights and crazy drinking and praying our boat would be nice. We needn't have worried. Below is what awaited us at Split port....

Next Stop - HQ - and our last stop London

My lovely boyfriend upgraded us to First Class for our trip from Cardiff to London Paddington. The rain had started as we left there but it began to brighten as we headed east. My humungous suitcase was dragged around a few more stations before we got to Jerome and Eli's in North Acton. Not long in we decided to venture back out to find a bit of grub and enjoy some of the sunshine. We headed to Notting Hill and found a lovely pub festooned with greenery and photos of music idols on the wall. Gareth claimed that at 4pm it was about bloody time he had a beer and a glass of wine seemed a pretty good idea to me too. Woozy after a few we wandered back to Eli and Jerome's where plans were laid for the evening. Sure where else but HQ, AKA the New Inn in Ealing? This has been the base for many a drinking session since 2007 when I started visiting Jerome and Susie in London. Susie is a very old friend that I know from Siamsa Tire and Tralee - where I went to college (uni). Nowadays I'm proud to call her whole family friends, including Jerome - her eldest brother.

It was a lovely few days in London, taking in the hottest day of the year in the UK where we picnicked in Hyde Park beside the Serpentine and I got my birthday present in the form of a trip to the Globe Theatre to see "The Taming of the Shrew". We had drinks overlooking St. Paul's Cathedral and the Thames and discussed that we could probably live around there. There was a drunken late night at HQ and swigging from a bottle of wine with Susie on Ealing Broadway (Sheer class as usual). I endured possibly the worst hangover of the entire trip on my last day and took solace in a dark cinema in Leicester Square. Unfortunately I also found out that a friend back in Dubai had passed on and I didn't get to fully enjoy the last few days of being bathed in the perfect glow of love with Gareth.

He took me to Heathrow on Tuesday morning and held me tight as he said goodbye; I knew I'd miss him but I had no idea that this was the last time that we, as a couple, would be straightforward, that we weren't caught in a maelstrom of emotions. I waved back with a little smile - my boy would be back to me in 9 days and we'd just spent the most amazing month together, taking in so many friends and creating so many memories.

So, on I walked to the A380 for the first time, where I got whisked up to the business class lounge and ended my holiday in style by drinking rather too much Dom Perignon and chatting to the lovely cabin crew. Next stop Dubai....and where would lilIrish travel next?

Travel:Prep and Execution...Goodnight Abu Dhabi....

Yesterday I woke up too early, too hungover and too hot. Not the ideal conditions with which to greet my last day in Dubai before the epic hols but I tried to be positive - since I was up early I might grab a quick nap later and not be shattered whilst waiting for my 2.20am next morning. I always take night flights as I feel I get to start my holiday earlier, and it's a system that works for me, but those couple of hours prior to the flight are always a battle of wills to stay awake, even in the most uncomfortable of airports.
Despite my tiredness in the morning I was super productive, working at twice my usual speed and for once getting positive results from various U.A.E sources that are usually baffling and have downright bad customer service. One of these is National Bank of Abu Dhabi - I *think* they have finally sorted my online banking, after a few quiet words with the branch manager in Dubai Mall. Those of you who know me would probably be surprised to hear that they were quiet words - but it is Ramadan and to be honest I was so worn out from the banking system in the U.A.E that it was more an exasperated plea than anything else. I also managed to procure my E-gate card. This should have been done years ago. Your e-gate card allows you to skip queues to passport control in and out of the U.A.E at the various airports and also ensures your passport isn't stamped again - for many Dubaian's it's an absolute must, and I'm glad to report that it must be the easiest card to get in the U.A.E. Dnata Holiday Centre on Sheik Zayed Road had me in and out in less than ten minutes, bad photo included.
The day passed in a blur, soon I had everything fully packed, didn't need to sit on the suitcase to close it - although Gareth is probably still shaking his head at the size of my case - if I bent over I could fit into it no problem at all - with a bit of breathing room. He plans to take a rucksack. A small one. I loved when he exclaimed "The problem is fitting all my shoes,". Women the world over are nodding in understanding. He doesn't even know how many pairs of shoes I have packed! I did mention that since we're not sharing any baggage and he doesn't have to carry any of it as we're not traveling together that he simply doesn't get a say, but I think he was just trying to be helpful.
The Etihad experience last night was superb to say the least. The minute I was out of a taxi on SZR a porter came to help with my bags, I was checked in at Chelsea Tower (22.9kgs thank you very much - expert packer??) and settled down on the coach to Abu Dhabi airport. I got there at 1am for my 2.20am flight, had a bit of a fiddly moment using the e-gate card for the first time (There's an order to things which I still haven't figured out and the dopey fug of tiredness didn't help) and made it to my gate with no issues. I even helped a few people on the way and had some friendly banter (Flight to Ireland? Terminal 3 - you can follow me if you like,). It was a busy flight but I had secured 41G, an aisle seat with two seats free beside it and just one lady to the far side of that. The only 4 seats in the middle that had two free! Success! Also with the layout of the plane, there were only three seats behind me I could recline in piece without someone banging on the entertainment system at the back of my head. The lovely lady in my row and myself alternated between using the extra two seats for our leisure - perfect. The service was actually excellent too, although the lights were dimmed and I slept through first service, I woke up to my table open with a little snack in a bag in front of me - a nice touch I thought. They also circulated throughout the cabin with water all night and really seemed rather helpful and friendly. I watched "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" a british ensemble piece with Bill Nighy, Judy Dench and Maggie Smith. Lovely charming fodder for my tired mind. Another plus for Etihad - they always seem to land early. Once again we touched Irish soil about 40 mins earlier than planned. Their sky mapping gurus must just have it all figured out.
The relief. It wasn't until that moment of touchdown that the holiday really began for me, I actually felt a little emotional! This isn't common for me, unless I'm coming home for a sad event but this was unapologetic "Green, green grass of home," sentimality.
So, I'm home. I'll leave it there for today - it's all ahead of me.