Tha Khaek, Laos (really?)

I arrive in Tha Khaek hassle free. I realize it is too late to cross the border, as I was hoping to do. It is just past 6:00 pm, and now I must find a place to spend the night. I quickly look up guesthouses in Lonely Planet, hop onto a sawntao taxi, and ask for Phoukhanna Guesthouse. We arrive, and just as I'm getting out of the sawngtao loading on my rucksack, the manager comes out and in English, apologizes, but the guesthouse is full due to the festival. Many villagers from surrounding areas are in town for the festival. Ugghhh..

But, he suggests another guesthouse. We arrive, and they are full too. Finally, we find one, but the rooms are 50,000 kip/ night. I was hoping to spend 25,000 kip, and even more so, I do not have 50,000 kip on me! Even after all that whole Western Union saga, I am almost money dry. And I want to eat tonight. And who knows what I'll have to pay at the border for the ferry? The manager at this guesthouse tells me to walk about 100 m down the street, and he believes there is a cheaper guesthouse. Frustrated, I march down the streets of Tha Khaek, now swarming with villagers carrying carnival food, balloons and giant stuffed animals. This guesthouse is also full. The woman is not so nice. I sit down on the side of the street, with my rucksack on and all, and begin to cry.

I finally collect myself, as a bunch of Laos men eating and drinking across the street are staring at me, and walk back to the 50,000/ night guesthouse. Sniffling, I ask the manager if he can please drive me to an ATM, so that I can withdraw more money. He obliges. After more than an hour of arriving in Tha Khaek, I finally have a room to settle in for the night. Hunger drives me out, even though I would very much like to stay in for the night. I walk over to the festival, only a few blocks away from my guesthouse/ hotel, to see what all the "hub-bub" is about. Here's a glimpse:


7:00 am wake-up. I gather my things, and prepare to leave Laos. I walk about 15 minutes to the Mekong River border point, and buy my ferry ticket. I am on the first boat to cross this morning. After one of the most interesting travel adventures in Laos, I find myself back in Thailand - in Nakhon Phanom:

Here is a picture from Tha Khaek, Laos, looking across the river at Nakhon Phanom, Thailand.

Here I am in Thailand, looking across the Mekong River back at Tha Khaek, Laos. Notice the landscape difference between the two pictures. One side is extremely developed, and the other, not at all.

After I arrive in Nakhon Phanom, I find my way to an ATM, pull out Thai baht, and proceed to the bus station. I need to get to Bangkok, in order to get the bus to Sangklaburi, all the way on the other side of Thailand. It is about 9:00 am. The next bus to Bangkok does not leave until 3:00 pm. This is impossible. I simply will not wait here for 6 hours! A kind bus ticket woman informs me that I can catch a bus to Khon Kaen, and buses from there leave every hour to Bangkok. So, I get on a bus to Khon Kaen. I arrive in Khon Kaen, and book a ticket with Nakhon Chai Air to Bangkok, just two hours later.

This is unlike any other bus I've been on in Thailand, or anywhere for that matter. It is similar to an airplane, but a bus. I check my luggage, just like at an airport. I board the airBUS and find my seat, which reclines almost all the way back. The bus stewardess, in full bus attendant dress, serves us blankets, pillows, dinner, milk, juice and water. They play "Night at the Museum 2", dubbed over in Thai, on the above screens. The back of the bus is the restroom cabin, and is separated by a sliding door. They are extremely clean facilities with a sink!

I arrive in Bangkok just after 11:00 pm, and find myself back at Suda Palace Hotel - where we had our MediaKids orientation. I spend the night there. Tomorrow morning, I will head to Baan Dada Children's Home via the 9:30 am bus from Mochit to Sangklaburi.