Crossing the Mekong

Our journey to the boarder didn't start well as got to the bus station and the next two buses were full so had to wait over 2 hours for the next available one. This was a bus to Chiang Rai where we would change to get to the boarder. As we left a lot later than planned we didnt think we would get there in time before the boarder closed. No matter.

The bus from Chiang Mai was quite a run down thing. Not even the fans worked but the windows opened so it was fine. While on here I met a fellow Essex boy from Southend. He and his friend were trying to get across that day to meet a group the other side. We got to the boarder town of Chiang Khong with half an our to spare so it was a quick dash in Tuk Tuks down to immigration. Got stamped out of Thailand and then got our boat across the Mekong with the sun setting behind us. Even this far from the mouth it is still an impressive size. In Laos quickly filled in forms for the visa etc and got stamped in with ten minutes to spare. Just in time to witness a beautiful sunset across the Mekong.

The next day we headed up to the north west of the country.