Thai on the Road--begins in Laos??

I am now on the road again! My first stop, after a 12-hour night bus journey, was Vientiane, the capital of Laos. I went there specifically to visit the Thai Consulate to apply for and receive a two-MONTH tourist visa for Thailand, which will take me to the end of my stay here.

I booked a nice Airbnb apartment far enough from the Consulate to give me opportunities to walk a great deal. After I submitted my visa application and passport (to be collected, along with the visa, the following day) I had a delicious fish soup for lunch, and then walked down to the Mekong River to have a look. If you too have lived through the Viet Nam War, “Mekong” will bring back difficult memories. But here it is a broad and lovely river, ready to create new and positive thoughts. After the long bus ride, the tension of getting my visa process started, and landing in a new country, I began to feel a bit low—“I don’t speak Lao,” I whined to myself.

The following day, I started out afresh, and walked about two and a half miles to the Vientiane Textile Museum. During my walk I talked with many people, because I discovered that mostly everyone spoke Thai! Not only are the languages similar, but being only a few miles from the border encourages Vientiane citizens to learn. I felt ever so much better, having conversations. The Textile Museum is a family compound, and all the buildings were in the old Lao style of about 100 years ago. It is a beautiful place, showing the process of collecting the raw cotton, silk, hemp, bamboo, reeds, etc., spinning and dyeing it, and finally weaving fabrics on various hand looms. Note: the silkworms are NOT boiled alive. They are allowed to hatch and fly away as moths.

After a long and relaxing visit, I went and collected the visa—a joyous event—and had a scrumptious Vietnamese lunch of phô, and a slow walk back to my apartment. A very pleasant stay indeed—and I shall certainly get back to Laos one day for a proper exploration.Read more