Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Visa Running in Laos


On Sunday (5/27/12) I went on a visa run to Savannakhet, Laos to convert my visitor’s visa to a non-immigrant B visa, which will allow me to work legally in Thailand (hooray for not being deported!). The trip was short—just two nights—but it was SO COOL to experience another place in Southeast Asia!

Savannakhet is the second largest city in Laos, but you would never guess it. The city does not have big buildings or the typical city bustle; most notably, there is very little traffic, and the traffic that does exist ambles along at a relaxed pace. I was thankful for this, because after I applied for my visa conversion on Monday morning, I biked around the city to see some of the sights it had to offer, and not once did I feel like I was going to get run-over!

I began my bike ride with the intention of visiting a dinosaur museum—from what I understand, Savannakhet is the only place in Laos where dinosaur bones have been found. However, upon arriving at the museum, I decided to just keep on biking instead. The afternoon turned into a slow-paced, aimless wander around the city. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves:


The [open-air!] Royal Thai Consulate. Thankfully, all went smoothly.

The mighty Mekong River, as seen from the Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge connecting Mukdahan, Thailand, to Savannakhet, Laos.

My sweet ride around the city, borrowed from one of my student's extremely friendly and welcoming aunts who lives in Savannakhet. It was a tad small for me, but that seems to be a general truth around here. There aren't many women my height in Southeast Asia.

There's me blocking the view of the Mekong. For those who don't know, I have a very, very poor sense of direction. But! I did not get lost on this trip, thanks to the Mekong river, which boarders the entire eastern side of Savannakhet. This made my wandering particularly carefree, because I knew that if I could find the river, I could find my way back to my hotel.

A market along the Mekong.
I huge tree on the banks of the Mekong. I'm still trying to figure out why people in Southeast Asia tie colorful scarves around really large trees.

One of the many beautiful temples I biked by. Notice the vibrant blue tiled background on the temple. Also notice the new vs old towers. The wear of the older tower (black and white, on the right-hand side) reminded me of some of the ruins I've seen in the caribbean, which has the same climate as Thailand and Laos--tropical. i.e. HOT and HUMID. 

Unlike Thailand, which was never colonized, Laos was colonized by the French. I spent most of my time biking around the older parts of the city, which had a classic French/Western look to them that you cannot find in Thailand. Many of the buildings are slowly being destroyed by time and climate, but time has also given them a sort of rustic beauty. I loved the colors of this particular building.
A Catholic church--a rare sight in this part of the world. This is the first one I've seen. 

Yet another temple, but this one's different--it's Chinese! Notice the difference in architecture, and of course, the dragons on top.
I don't think I'll ever get sick of looking at temples. They're SO beautiful!
Not totally sure if I should be taking pictures of legal documents, but check it out! My visa as a *non-immigrant* to The Kingdom of Thailand. 'Cause I live here. Booya.

There's the Friendship Bridge, looking westward from Laos towards Thailand. I headed back to Ubon on Tuesday afternoon, after picking up my passport and visa from the Thai consulate.

And to end the trip, a beautiful Thai sunset on the way back to Ubon Tuesday evening.

And so went my visa run to Laos. I definitely plan to go back, especially because my student's aunt (who I borrowed the bike from) has promised to take me to a monkey forest if I do!

2 comments:

  1. I am enjoying your experiences. Great pictures! Happy to read you did not get lost on your bike trip.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great Photos and Stories Eliza! This is what we have been waiting for!

    My TA, Mimi, flies back to Bankok in two weeks and is excited to get in touch with you. We looked at a bunch of international schools in Thailand online last week. :)

    ReplyDelete